Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Nadjah Nicole and Cole Criske prepare for their battle round match on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Look down the list of battle round song choices, and this one is perhaps most startling.

Blake Shelton asked Cole Criske, a folk singer who plays the ukulele, and Nadjah Nicole, who performs soul with a pop twist, to take on Britney Spears’ “Baby, One More Time.”

“It was surprising because, not only was it a Britney Spears song, but then to do the Ed Sheeran cover of it — it was a little awkward at first because I didn’t know how to approach it,” admits Nadjah, 24, of New Castle, Del.

Her battle partner and his guitar came to the rescue.

Nadjah said she’d never really done a duet before, but Cole “was such an easygoing guy and so talented that he made it really easy to work together. And because Cole played guitar, it was a lot easier to work things out vocally with him and harmonies and everything.”

Nadjah said once she and Cole worked out the arrangement of the song, her biggest challenge was matching the power in Cole’s voice.

“I don’t have a very big voice,” she said in a conference call with the media this week. “And Cole’s voice — when pushed he has a very strong voice. So I had to make sure that I was on his level and as well as him blending with me.”

When the singing and the feedback ended, Blake chose to advance Nadjah to the knockout round. Cole was eliminated when none of the other coaches stole him for their team.

Nadjah thinks experience might have tipped the scales in her favor. She’s been an aspiring singer since high school, though she had to take some time off with the birth of her daughter. Cole, of Temecula, Calif., was 16 when his blind audition was filmed.

“Even though I won, I will say that we both won in a sense because we both learned something from each other,” Nadjah said.
“And I think the end result (the iTunes cover) was pretty cool. I think it sounds beautiful.”

For more on Nadjah, head here. For more on Cole, head here.

For more of the stories behind the battles on The Voice, head here.

Nadjah Nicole performs during the battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Cole Criske and Nadjah Nicole perform during the battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)