Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Matthew Schuler turned four chairs more quickly during his blind audition than any other contestant in the five-season history of The Voice.

So facing off against a singer who turned just one chair in the audition round shouldn’t have been much of a challenge, right?

Matthew Schuler and Jacob Poole during their battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Think again, Matthew said during a Wednesday conference call with the media.

“Jacob (Poole) tried to beat me up on that stage,” Matthew said after prevailing in their much-acclaimed performance of “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark” by Fall Out Boys. “I definitely didn’t win by a lot.”

Matthew, 20, of Yardley, Pa., said he and Jacob, 30, of Water Robins, Ga., had about two weeks to rehearse for their performance.

Matthew Schuler and Jacob Poole embrace at the end of their battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

They became close friends during that time, and Matthew, a student at West Chester University, says he thinks their battle round effort benefited as a result.

Still, he called that battle round “a crazy, mind-boggling situation,” because that portion of The Voice encourages two contestants to work together to create the best duet possible, but at the same time pits them against one another once they hit the stage.

Because the likelihood is, only one will advance.

As for the tag of earning the quickest four-chair turn ever — well, Matthew called that a blessing and a curse.

“Now I have to live up to that,” the Team Christina member said. “That was one of my biggest concerns heading into the battle. Even though Jacob was a one-chair turn, that dude is a beast (as a singer). I wanted to make sure I worked my butt off and gave it my all.”

For profiles of all the Season 5 contestants on The Voice, head here.