Nick Jonas has a tough call on his hands on The Voice's first night of season 20 Battle Rounds!
With the Blind Auditions over and final rosters locked, it's time to start pitting the singers against one another. Team Nick's first battle was between 41-year-old Houston, Texas, native Dana Monique, and 36-year-old Devan Blake Jones, from Denver, Colorado.
First, the pair of powerhouse singers got a crash course in breaking down their battle song -- Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber's quarantine ballad, "Stuck With U" -- from Nick and his season 20 celebrity mentor, Darren Criss.
"Nick brought in Darren Criss, from Glee!" Dana exclaimed, noting that her teenage daughter is a major fan.
Dana admitted that she originally picked Team Nick because he said he felt they both had something to prove -- an emotional motivator she could relate to as a singer often relegated to the background. Meanwhile, Devan seemed to be struggling a bit with the spotlight and the pressures of performing on the singing competition.
"Nick made a huge impact on me telling me that I need to work on my confidence," he admitted. "I didn't think he was gonna see that. Inside, I was buzzing like crazy, thinking about Dana: 'She's so good, I can't sing like that.'"
When it came time for their performance, Dana definitely did wow the coaches with her "natural" stage presence and a talent that Blake Shelton described as "incredible, and long overdue for an opportunity like this."
Check out the full battle performance below!
"I fully forgot that I was supposed to be taking mental notes," admitted guest coach Kelsea Ballerini, who was standing in for Kelly Clarkson while she was out sick. "I was just enjoying it."
"There's just something that's magical about your voice and your presence on stage," Nick praised. "There's a joy that surrounds you."
However, the coaches were also wowed by Devan, who "stepped up to the plate" and held his own, Blake said. "I feel like it made you better," the country star shared. "The only thing I can really say is, but it's Dana. Her voice is just so powerful and so complete."
"Devan, you came and you worked your butt off," Nick added, regretting that he thought he "mishandled" his team in pitting the two against each other. "You have a lot to be proud of."
While Nick ultimately picked Dana to win the battle, he did choose to use his one save of the season on Devan, who will now move on to the four-way knockout, with a chance to go on to the live shows.
"I was not saying goodbye to you today. I have a lot of belief in you," Nick said as Devan grew emotional on stage. "I gave you a really tough competitor in this battle, and I think you showed up and you nailed it."
"I wasn't thinking that I was gonna get saved," Devan added, tearing up backstage as well. "Holy cow! I've got a lot of work to do."
ET spoke with Kelsea ahead of the season 20 Battle Rounds, and she detailed how her last-minute involvement in this season of The Voice came together in "the biggest whirlwind" when Kelly fell sick.
"I was home in Nashville and got a text from Kelly at like 9 p.m., like, 'Hey, girl... I'm not feeling well. I don't have COVID, but with the protocols, don't feel safe going to set, could you cover the Battle Rounds for me?'" Kelsea recalled, noting that saying yes meant she had to be in Los Angeles the next day to start filming. "So I got on the plane, studied everything and watched everything. Landed, hair and makeup, set, said hi to Nick Jonas and John Legend and Blake Shelton, got in Kelly's seat and said, Fake it til you make it!'"
Thankfully, Kelsea had some kelp from Kelly herself, who was watching a livestream of the Battles and texting her notes, "and picking on Blake the whole time," she added with a laugh.
"I really enjoyed it," Kelsea shared, though she couldn't tease much about what moves she got to be a part of on Team Kelly. "I didn't have the time to get nervous, 'cause it was so quick, and that's good for me. If I know something's coming up, I mull over it and I get so nervous and anxious, so it was actually a real blessing. But yeah, I really liked sitting in the seat, I'm not gonna lie."
The Voice airs Mondays at 8 p.m. PT/ET on NBC. See more from season 20 in the video below!
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