Watch Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend Battle It Out for 3-Chair Turn Soul Singer on ‘The Voice’ Season 29

Mike Steele gets his pick of the litter after performing Giveon’s “For Tonight” during ‘The Voice’ Season 29 Blind Auditions.

Mike Steele auditions for “The Voice” Season 29.

Photo by: Griffin Nagel/NBC

Key Points

The Voice S29 Blind Auditions Episode
Coaches compete to win soulful singer Mike Steele for their teams.
Each coach highlights Mike’s unique voice and offers strategic advice for his future.

The competition between Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend continues on The Voice Season 29 Blind Auditions as the “Battle of the Champions” coaches fight for the three-chair turn artists.

On Monday night that means the three will go head-to-head to try to win 28-year-old Mike Steele from the Mississippi Delta to their teams.

In this sneak peek, Mike took the stage and gave a soulful performance of Giveon‘s “For Tonight.”

“I don’t feel like you’re talking voice matches your singing voice,” was the first thing Kelly said after he finished singing and introduced himself.”

“I get that a lot,” Mike responded.

Then John jumped in because he felt that Mike belonged on his team, asking the singer what he does in Mississippi.

“I make music on the side but I went back to school to better my life for my children,” Mike told him.

Mike, who was a teacher assistant before he went back to school, is currently studying music.

Then John got down to business, saying, “I felt like you made so many cool choices and your tone is really interesting. It has richness and depth. I’m curious what other artists you like to cover?”

“Well, I am a soul singer, so I like Giveon, Tyrese, Jodeci,” Mike said.

“Kind of like leaning like a little ‘90s, 2000s,” John said, evaluating the answer. “I feel like that’s coming back right now and you’re young, so you didn’t even really experience it when it was happening.”

“We’re old, we did,” Adam joked.

“We were all like, ‘Oh, this is a couple skate. You don’t even know what a skating rink is probably,’ Kelly added.

But John undeterred continued, “Let me tell you, Mike, we turned for you because we loved your voice, that rich baritone is rare. I’m a baritone myself and I would love to have you on Team Legend. I feel like we could have a lot of fun working together.”

Then it was Adam’s turn to try to woo Mike to his team. He said, “What I love so much about your voice is it’s that deep, rich voice I wish I had. But as strong and robust as your tone is, I think in the upper register there’s room for you to grow even more and that’s my world. I live in the high register, especially in the transition into those falsettos that were really, really sweet. In a weird way, maybe I’m crazy, I heard a little bit of me and John in the same voice because when he was up high, it was high, and it feels like you could do anything. I just want to be a part of it, so that’s why I’m here.”

Then Kelly had a suggestion to make, coaching Mike even before he joined a team.

“I grew up on all that music you just mentioned, too, but I think that would be a more predictable path to actually cover all those artists, or I think it would be really cool… I don’t even know if you like this artist, but like I heard you singing ‘Hello’ by Adele or even like Sam Smith,” she said.

John jumped in on Kelly’s idea, but pooh-poohed it, saying, “It’s so interesting she brought up doing other genres because what you’re trying to do here is win fans, so it is cool to do a cover here and there that’s kind of outside of that, but also establish your identity as an artist so people know what kind of album they’re going to expect from you.”

And then Kelly tried what may have been reverse psychology, saying, “I’m going to be be honest with you. Everything he said was good, but we are so different so everything he said, I would not do, so don’t choose me if that’s what you like. Here’s why: It’s because I went on a competition and sang Aretha Franklin almost every week and then I made a pop rock album. This is the time I think that you should stretch yourself a bit.”

And John pointed out, “But he’s doing it on national TV. This is his moment to tell people who he is.”

Adam interrupted, saying, “I hate when mom and dad fight.”

But Kelly wasn’t done. She said, “I  think this is the moment that you are able to stretch and do things, so I don’t think you should pick me if that’s the route you want to go because I am totally going to push you to pick things that maybe are outside the box.”

“We’ve won this show, all of us have, so you’re not going to go wrong, I think you’ve just got to follow your gut as to where the best place is to go,” John said, ending the argument.

Who does Mike pick as his coach? Tune in on Monday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC to find out. Streams next day on Peacock.