Lewis Capaldi Joins Team Niall Horan, Snoop Dogg’s Team Crush ‘Natural Woman’ During ‘The Voice’ Battle Round Kick-Off

Monday night’s (Oct. 13) kick off of the Battle rounds on season 28 of The Voice featured the expected high-energy vocal gymnastic showdowns fans have come to expect of the head-to-head competition, plus the reveal of some A-list mentors who will help guide the budding music stars.

And, in a new twist this time around, rather than the coaches dividing up their teams into pairs for the Battle rounds, this time the singers were the ones choosing their partners, though the coaches retained the power to choose what song they will sing.

That made for some interesting watching for the mentors who joined the fray last night, including Lizzo lending her expertise to Team Snoop Dogg, Lewis Capaldi joining Team Niall Horan, former coach Kelsea Ballerini returning to work with Team Michael Bublé and another veteran coach, Nick Jonas, throwing in with Team Reba McEntire.

The new format immediately paid of when Team Snoop’s Natalia Albertini and YOSHIHANNA squared off for a sing-off of Carole King’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman,” made famous in 1967 via what would become Aretha Franklin’s signature version, which hit No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Atlanta’s YOSHIHANNA came out of the gate hot, eerily mimicking Franklin’s rich, buttery tone, with New Jersey native Albertini also doing her thing by adding a bit of a yearning country twang as the two women traded off lines and circled each other warily, joining up on the soaring chorus to the studio audience’s delight. Albertini definitely leaned into the fireworks, ripping off a series of high notes as YOSHIHANAA matched her power with equally hard-hitting tones that had Snoop jumping in his red chair.

“Man, I’m in tears right now,” Snoop said as Horan gave the women props for doing a “proper” Battle and specifically shouted out Albertini for having the gumption to go toe-to-toe with her “powerhouse” rival as Snoop dabbed at his eyes. “YOSHIHANNA completely flawless, so natural. It comes out of you without even you trying,” Horan said, glad that he didn’t have to pick and happy to defer to Snoop.

McEntire praised Albertini’s “incredible” range and husky voice and said she thought she was actually watching Franklin when YOSHIHANNA sang. Bublé said he’s always wanted to cover the song, but knows it will “never happen,” giving YOSHIHANNA props for making it her own and singing in an “effortless” manner, while also noting that Albertini was “very disciplined” while standing in the middle of a boxing ring and not trying to swing for a knock-out.

“Y’all made me shed a tear,” Snoop said, confessing that it was breaking his heart to pick just one of them. In the end, though, after looking to the skies for help, he had to go with YOSHIHANNA. Spoiler alert: with the save back in action, Snoop didn’t have to make an agonizing decision after all, as he gave Albertini one more shot.

The next Battle Round will air on NBC on Tuesday night (Oct. 14) at 8 p.m. ET and the next day on Peacock.

Watch Albertini and YOSHIHANAA’s battle below.