Monday’s episode The voice introduced a franchise first!
Dan + Shay paired Kyle Schuesler and Madison Curbelo for their final Battle Round performance and gave them a tough task – especially for Kyle. The coaches selected “Lucky” by Jason Mraz, but chose the bilingual version that the singer released with Ximena Sariñana, titled “Suerte (Lucky)”.
Although Madison is Puerto Rican and tested with a bilingual version of “Stand by Me”, Kyle had never sung in Spanish before taking the stage for his Battle performance. And he totally delivered.
The pair received a standing ovation from the 25 coaches for the rest of the season – Reba McEntire, John Legend It is Chance the Rapper – as well as your own.
“You two gave us a beautiful, beautiful performance,” praised John. “Madison, you were brilliant, and Kyle, I don’t know if you’ve ever sung in Spanish before…”
“No,” the 19-year-old Huntingdon Beach native admitted, to which Reba refused: “What?!”
“I believed in you!” praised John.
All the coaches praised both performances, but it was Chance who scored Dan + Shay’s shot for them.
“I’m going to be super honest. You two can win the entire competition and neither of you should leave,” he explained. “I think John is going to try to steal Kyle. So if I were Dna + Shay, I’d use my Playoff Pass now.”
“Stay out of this, Chance!” John fired back. “Enough of you! Enough!”
Ultimately, though – much to John’s chagrin – that’s exactly what happened. Dan + Shay selected Kyle as the winner of the battle, sending him to the knockout rounds. When John tried to steal from Madison, the pair activated their Playoff Pass, which allows her to skip the playoffs and go straight to the playoffs.
“This was the most cohesive performance yet,” praised Dan. “I felt the energy. I felt the magic… When we came out of rehearsals the other day, Shay and I were like, ‘We both deserve to win this show.’”
“For Kyle to step up like this, to learn Spanish for this performance, it just shows how much he wants it,” Shay agreed. “Madison, just blew us away. (She’s) just a star.”
ET spoke to the season 25 coaches before the premiere, where they shared what it was like to receive The voicethe first pair of coaches in the history of the competition.
“They give great grades. They are very good”, praised Reba. “They know the business well, but they also have a lot of heart and that’s what they’re looking for.”
Dan + Shay say they’ve been fans of the show for years – they served as mentors to Blake Shelton team back in season 20 and even entered the scene guest coach Niall Horan’s team last season – but acting as a full-time coach for the first time was a whole new experience.
“It changed everything for us,” Shay admitted. “I really enjoy the process of working with these artists, and you really get attached. It’s painful when you have to let people go. But it’s been an amazing experience.”
Chance the Rapper returns this season for the first time since Season 23 Voice debut, where he joined Blake, Niall and Kelly Clarkson. He told ET that it’s especially exciting to be back with a whole new roster of coaching talent.
“I’ve always looked up to John and he’s helped me in so many different ways,” he reflected. “Being working with him and then being around Reba, and Dan + Shay, and this amazing team… I miss Blake, but it’s really cool to be back in the building.”
Despite the good vibes, however, the coaches are still quite competitive. With Niall stepping aside this season after winning back-to-back titles, the Voice the trophy is up for grabs – and there’s a better than average chance that it could go to a first-time champion, as only John has won the competition before.
“It’s getting hot out there, for sure,” Shay revealed.
“That’s why we’re here,” Reba agreed.
The voice airs Mondays at 8pm PT/ET and Tuesdays at 9pm PT/ET on NBC, and streams the next day on Peacock.
RELATED CONTENT: