‘The Voice’ Battle Round Recap: Blake Shelton Steals Collin McLoughlin, Upstreams Terry McDermott + Gracia Harrison

Tonight (Oct. 8) marked the first battle round for Season 3 of 'The Voice' and coach Blake Shelton enlisted pop crooner Michael Buble as his advisor when he trained singers to go up against one another for the ever-important battle rounds, which separate the good voices from the voice.

Here's how Team Shelton shook out tonight.

Battle 1: Terry McDermott vs. Casey Muessigmann: Terry Wins!

For his first epic battle, Shelton chose to pit Scottish-born, American Dream-seeking singer Terry McDermott against country singer/wrestler Casey Muessigmann since they are both "loud powerful singers with great pitch." They each auditioned with classic rock songs, so the coach kept that going, giving them Kansas' hit 'Carry On Wayward Son,' which would weed one of them out. Shelton warned against being too comfortable with the song and going on autopilot.

Both singers picked their spots with range and dynamics, and Shelton didn't make the choice easy for himself, since there was no clear winner during the battle. Muessigmann had an assertive voice, while McDermott represented all that is rock 'n' roll and cool.

Shelton praised Muessigmann for not backing down -ever. He admitted his challenge with McDermott was the fact that he relates to country artists more than rock artists. That was a spot of creative editing by producers, since they tried to make it seem like Shelton would make the obvious choice, but we saw through it and had a feeling Shelton would go with McDermott.  "Someday this will make sense, but I think this battle comes down to Terry knowing what his voice is and he is the winner of this battle," Shelton declared. None of the remaining coaches attempted to use one of their two steals for Muessigmann.

Steal Attempt 1: Collin McLoughlin Joins Team Blake

Adam Levine let Collin McLoughlin go, leading Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton to use their steals on him, which meant McLoughlin got to pick his new coach. Shelton said that McLoughlin should choose him since during the comments phase, Cee Lo gave this battle round to his competition, Bryan Keith. That Blake, so crafty with his pitches. It worked, as McLoughlin joined Team Blake. That had to be extra sweet for Shelton, to steal a singer from his bro Levine.

 Battle 2: 2 Steel Girls vs. Gracia Harrison: Gracia Wins!

Since both acts are steeped in country, this pairing was inevitable, as this is what they pay Shelton the big bucks for. He had the the The Judds-like mother-daughter duo of 2 Steel Girls sing the Dixie Chicks' 'Sin Wagon,' a fast-paced song that's not exactly easy to belt, with classic country singer Gracia Harrison. So off the bat, it was two against one. But Harrison really bloomed with the final note of the song, ending the tune on her terms. It was certainly entertaining and an evenly matched performance, with Harrison allowing herself to be a bit more playful.

Shelton chose Harrison since she brought a boatload of confidence to her performance. It was the right choice for him, since the rest of the coaches were ready to pounce and "steal" Harrison had Shelton let her go. But he didn't so the point is moot.

Steal Attempt 2: Amanda Brown Goes to Team Adam

"Because I want to win this thing" was Shelton's pitch for Amanda Brown, who turned in a soulful rendition of Mariah Carey's 'Vision of Love' with Trevin Hunte for Cee Lo's team but wasn't chosen. It was a barn burning battle, so all three remaining coaches were wisely ready to steal Cee Lo's castoff. She picked Levine, though.

So far, Blake Shelton has upstreamed Terry McDermott, Gracia Harrison and added Collin McLoughlin. The battle rounds continue tomorrow night (Oct. 9), so tune in to see who the singer pairs up. It's war!

Watch Terry McDermott + Casey Muessigmann Battle

Watch Gracia Harrison + 2 Steel Girls Battle