The Voice Battles are nearly over, and Monday night’s episode saw the first country artist of the round sent home.
The past two weeks, the 48 artists who earned a spot on a team after the Blind Auditions have gone head-to-head in hopes of advancing to the Knockouts. In the Battles, two members of the same team perform a song together. Their coach is tasked with choosing which artist will advance in the competition.
Team Snoop’s Makenzie Phipps and Lauren Anderson battled it out over a Carrie Underwood hit. Phipps and Anderson were both one-chair turns during the Blind Auditions, each earning last-minute turns from Snoop Dogg.
The two shared the stage on Monday to sing “Before He Cheats,” a song that allowed the artists to show off their powerful vocals. Battle Round advisor Lizzo compared Lauren and Makenzie, saying that it was a “nostalgic voice versus very 2025.”
Both women held their own during their performance. Coach Niall refused to tell Snoop which artist he thought was better. Reba and Michael said that they would lean toward moving forward with Lauren.
When it came time to choose who to advance, Coach Snoop agreed with his fellow coaches and chose to keep Lauren Anderson and send Makenzie Phipps home.
“My two country girls just really performed to the highest level. Lauren had a little bit more experience to get her to the finals,” Snoop said in defense of his decision.
Prior to Monday night’s episode, twelve country artists were in the competition.
During the first two episodes of the Battles, no country artists were sent home. Those who lost their Battle were either saved or stolen. Makenzie Phipps’ elimination made her the first country artist this season to do so.
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But she wasn’t the only country act sent home this week. Shortly after Phipps’ Battle loss, Team Reba’s Manny Costello lost his Battle against Leyton Robinson. The pair sang Chris Stapleton’s “Think I’m In Love With You.”
Reba ultimately chose to keep Leyton, saying that she thinks she could help the singer showcase her voice more as she advances through the competition. No other coaches opted to Save Manny Costello, making him the second country casualty this season.
Watch Makenzie Phipps and Lauren Anderson’s Battle performance of “Before He Cheats” in the video below.