Josh West talks about a battle we didn’t see on The Voice

The Voice

Josh West talks about a battle we didn’t see on The Voice

March 25, 2017 By Mark Franklin 0

Nala Price and Josh West during rehearsals for the battle round on The Voice Season 12. (NBC Photo)

Josh West says his most nervous moment on The Voice Season 12 so far came at the end of his battle round match.

He and Nala Price had just finished their performance of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears.

And Josh, the young rocker who turned four chairs in the blind audition, wasn’t at all sure which way the verdict would go.

“I just remember standing next to Carson and thinking about how well Nala did,” he told Voice Views. “Each time she hit a bit note I would think, ‘Wow, that sounded really good.'”

Still Adam Levine declared Josh the winner, meaning he moves on to the knockout round. Nala wasn’t stolen by any of the other coaches, so the promising teen singer from Florida was eliminated from the competition.

The battle between Josh and Nala was montaged, meaning viewers only saw a tiny snippet of it on Tuesday’s show. But Josh, 17 when he auditioned, said he and Nala received “very positive” feedback from the coaches.

for the song they were asked to perform, Josh said he’s a fan of Tears for Fears and he and his dad considered performing “Everybody Rules the World” several times, but never did.

“Curt Smith had such a unique voice, and it was a challenge to find a balance between my own input and staying true to the original,” he added. “The same went for arranging the song. We wanted to change it up enough to keep it interesting while maintaining the spirit of the song.”

With the help of Adam and John Legend, Josh says he believes he and Nala were able to do that. He said it helped that their voices blended well and that Nala “is excellent at singing harmonies.”

As for the outcome …

“I think Adam recognized that there’s more I can do than what I’ve done so far,” Josh said. “We connected on that first day and, when it comes down to it, I think he’s just glad to have a rocker on his team. Of course, in the end, I really just give all the glory to God. Basically every spare moment I have before a big performance is devoted to prayer.”

Next come the knockouts — just one step away from the voting shows — and the young man from Arizona says he’s hoping to show the coaches another dimension the next time he steps on The Voice stage.

“Specifically, I’d like to perform in a more ‘rock ‘n roll’ state of mind,” Josh explained. “Especially in my stage presence. I don’t think I’ve really shown myself in that regard yet.”