Singer - 7. Battle Round

“Damn! You’re tight. Breathe, baby, breathe.” Chipper demonstrated by slowly inhaling and releasing a lungful of air.

He elicited a grunt from his companion. “Easy for you to say. You’re on top, and I doubt anyone could move you.” Bliss sounded frustrated. The shapely, black woman from Philadelphia shook her head and tried to follow her friend’s instructions while he massaged her shoulders.

“Say what?”

“Everyone knows you’re Adam’s boy, Chipper. You already punched your ticket to the live shows. My bad luck he paired us.”

Blind Auditions over, the aspiring performers interacted not only with show personnel but each other. Camaraderie developed, and flirting followed. Mostly amongst singles like Chipper and Bliss, although rumors abounded about a couple of the married contestants hooking up.

“That’s crap.” Chipper had heard similar grumblings before. “Just because I did one of his songs during the blinds doesn’t—”

“It’s not only that. You were on stage with him at Coachella, now this damn song. It’s like it was written for you.”

The second step in the competition was the Battle Round. Coaches paired contestants and assigned them a song to perform together. One of them would be selected to move on. Adam gave them Charlie Puth’s “Done for Me.”

“You know I had nothing to do with that.” Chipper was correct, but he knew there was some truth behind the statement. If he did not screw it up, he felt confident he would advance.

“That may be fact but the way he coached you during rehearsals tells me he expects you to win.”

Assignment made, Chipper and Bliss worked out how to divide the verses and where they would sing together. Levine tinkered with the arrangement and gave both pointers on their performance during a coaching session. Two weeks of rehearsals, often late into the night, led them to their current position.

Carson Daly sounded like an announcer for a wrestling match. “Next, we have the former athlete from Philadelphia, Bliss.” The audience responded enthusiastically. “And the soulful crooner from New York City, Chipper. Let the battle begin.”

Bliss wore a short, black mini-dress that hugged her curves, while Chipper had on a white, skin-tight, long-sleeved shirt over burgundy pants ending above his ankles. They looked ready to go clubbing.

The two embraced the lyrics about a couple’s breakup. As they moved around the stage singing to each other, Chipper nearly forgot about the audience. He sank into the performance, feeling the recrimination the lovers spouted. The first time he asked what she had done for him, his acting reached a new high. He sang staring into his fellow contestant’s eyes. When the verse ended, he dismissively waved a hand and strolled away. The audience went crazy.

Bliss was no pushover. Her vocals were as flawless as Chipper’s, and her spunky attitude while singing the lover’s defense earned her as loud a reaction. She stalked Chipper when he walked away. The moment she grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, their coach was on his feet, repeatedly pumping his arm. When the song ended, all four coaches were standing along with the audience.

“That, was intense.” Carson joined the two singers on stage; after they broke their hug, he stood between them. “I half expected one of you to slap the other one silly.” Smiling, he turned his attention to Blake Shelton. ”What did you think, Cowboy?”

“Well, damn if that wasn’t one of the best battles I’ve ever seen on this show.” Blake’s comment inspired a new round of audience cheering. “Chipper, I can tell Adam’s been working with you. Your falsetto was nearly flawless. Bliss, your vocals carried just the right amount of disdain and sassiness to make us all feel what you were singing. The newness of—”

“Hey! She’s one of mine. No talking about nooners.” Adam’s quip led to Blake shaking his head as the audience roared.

“Your mind’s in the gutter, Levine. I wish you luck picking a winner of this battle.”

“Thank you, Blake Shelton.” Carson looked as amused as always at the coaches’ interaction. “Kelly Clarkson.”

“Y’all slayed that.” Kelly looked toward Levine. “I don’t know why you paired these two, Adam. Too bad one of them has to go home. I honestly think they could both end up in the finals.” Clarkson highlighted the reality of the show to Chipper. For every winner there was a loser.

“I loooved it.” Alicia Keys did not wait for the host to call on her. “That was an amazing performance. For a moment, I forgot to pay attention to the technical aspects. I was so enthralled by the show. You have a tough decision, Adam. I would give it to Chipper because of him being a fellow New Yorker. But, Bliss, you belong on this show just as much as he does.”

“High praise from Alicia Keys.” Carson focused his attention on the remaining star. “Adam, your fellow coaches seem to think you have a tough decision to make. Let’s hear what you have to say.”

“Oh, man, this is hard. Both of you did everything I expected and more. Chipper, I hate to admit it, but the moron at the other end’s right. Your falsetto was on point. Bliss you surprised me. You kept up with him and showed us you have what it takes to make it.

“Watching the two of you up on that stage felt like I was at the Grammys watching two superstars. The way you both embraced the song is something that took me years to master.”

“You still haven’t.”

“Shut up, Blake.”

Chipper could not hide his grin. The way the two coaches went at it reminded him of how he and his friends back in Washington did the same.

“Okay, Adam. Who do you pick?” Carson lowered his microphone and waited while audience members shouted their favorite’s name.

“The winner of this battle is…” Levine’s eyes shifted between the two. “The winner of this battle is Chipper.”