The Voice 26: Sofronio Vasquez and Aliyah Khaylyn’s Powerful Celine Dion Battle Results in a Steal
The Voice season 26 continued with more battles on Tuesday (Oct 29). It was the first one hour episode of the season, but it still boasted highlight moments including the final battle of the night from Team Michael Bublé, featuring Sofronio Vasquez and Aliyah Khaylyn, which resulted in a steal. (Read our Recap)
Michael paired the two together, describing them as some of the strongest vocalists in the competition. In the pre-performance mentoring session, Sofronio relives his 4-chair turn audition. He picked Michael because he is his idol, he said. Later in the rehearsal clip, Aliyah relived her blind audition sharing that she was super nervous. Aliyah wants to be able to give back to her younger siblings after losing their mom,
Michael Buble shared a vulnerable story
Michael picked “Power of Love” by Celine Dion for the two. It’s a tall task and isn’t what I would have thought of when picking a song for the two soulful singers. Michael called Aliyah’s voice “sweet” and compares Sofronio to Bruno Mars. He advised Sofronio to keep it simpler as he sometimes tries to do too much. Sofronio would listen to the greatest hits on the radio every Sunday in the Philippines, where he recalled hearing the song. He wants singing to become his real career rather than his current dental assistant job.
As far as Aliyah was concerned, the song reminded her of her love for her siblings. In rehearsal, Aliyah asked Michael which of his original songs was vulnerable for him to release. He shared about his song “Forever Now” which was about a health battle his son went through and once his son was okay he found the strength to sing the song live.
Aliyah opened the Battle with a rich and soulful sound. She oozes with raw talent, but it seemed like nerves were affecting her ability to hit the notes fully. Sofronio, however, hit the notes more fully, and was more technically sound. He did throw a few too many runs in there, although he was able to pull most off. Due to his sheer vocal talent, he seemed to run away with the Battle, but Aliyah’s raw talent is intriguing nevertheless.
Snoop Dogg steals the losing contestant!
Snoop Dogg called them working together “beautiful,” saying “it really hit me in the heart.” Reba McEntire called it “the performance of the night.” She said the two performing together gave her chills. Gwen Stefani called the song difficult, but remarked that Aliyah “perfected that first verse.” She called Sofronio “mind-blowing,” making it tough to compete with him. Michael declared Aliyah “a star” and Sofronio a “force of nature.” Michael chose Sofronio to move on to the knockouts. But then Snoop stole Aliyah. He felt that she held her own with Sofronio.
