'The Voice' Season 17 Battle Rounds: Fans slam John Legend, claim he made a wrong choice by eliminating Mendeleyev
'The Voice' Season 17 waltzed into the Knockout Rounds with Taylor Swift making her debut as this season's mentor. But prior to that, on Monday night when the series returned, the Battle Rounds concluded, and we got to witness a battle that no one was ready for.
From John Legend's team, battling it out was Mendeleyev and Preston Howell, both received four chair turns during their blind auditions. Despite being just 15-years-old Preston has already performed at the US Open. Mendeleyev, on the other hand, lost his childhood home which was burned down in a fire.
Both heading into the battle was anyone's game at the start because both are equally talented with their baritones. For a 15-year-old Preston has a voice that shocked everyone during his Blind Auditions, but heading into the Battle Rounds, he was a little nervous because he was just learning the song, while Mendeleyev was far more comfortable with it.
John was clearly struggling with these contestants, not knowing who he would end up picking, and Usher, the Battle Round mentor for Team Legend, helped the singers stress on their words. Battling it out to 'Fire and Rain', Mendeleyev charmed everyone right at the beginning and while we assumed it would be tough for Preston to match, he surprisingly turned out to be equally powerful as Mendeleyev.
Post their performance, Kelly Clarkson called Mendeleyev a beast and complimented Preston for coming out of his comfort zone with this song, Gwen Stefani raved about their harmonies while Blake Shelton felt that Preston has something in his voice that makes him get noticed.
It was a tough decision for John, as it was anyone's win. Both Preston and Mendeleyev deserved to go directly into the Knockout Rounds. John chose the wrong contestants to be paired yet again. But, in the end, he said he saw himself in Preston and so chose him as the winner, eliminating Mendeleyev.
Though Preston deserved the win equally, fans are not letting this decision of John go by idly, as the coach is now facing immense criticism for his choice. Taking to Twitter a fan said, "@JohnLegend, I’m usually a fan of your choices but not this time. Mendeleyev was the CLEAR winner. His voice is rich, melodious and emotional, while Preston‘s was sweet but paper-thin. Can’t believe no one stole Lev! #Disappointed #VoiceBattles #TheVoice@MendeleyevMusic."
Adding to that another said, "@johnlegend #TheVoice Whaaaattttt were you thinking! Mendeleyev is AWESOME. He’d have gone a lot farther than Preston will. Nobody is like Mendeleyev."
"@johnlegend #TheVoice how could you let Mendeleyev go! I had to set up a Twitter account just to tell you how disappointed I am. Who cares that the other kid is 15. There already is a Bublé. He was unique," shared a fan. While another added, "I can't believe you eliminated the man who could have won, Mendeleyev! @johnlegend #TheVoice."
Do you think John made a bad choice by letting Mendeleyev go? Or was Preston a good win? Let us know in the comments below.
'The Voice' season 17 airs every Monday and Tuesday only on NBC. Check your local listings for more information.