"So angelic"— The Voice fans react to Sloane and Sydney's rendition of Birds of a Feather by Billie Eilish

The Voice season 26 aired a brand new episode this week on Monday, October 21, 2024. The segment saw the coaches and their teams compete in the first Battles round of the season in sing-offs with their teammates.

As part of the show's format, two contestants competed against members of their own team and only one moved forward. Team Gwen sent Sloane Simon and Sydney Sterlace as they sang Birds of a Feather by Billie Eilish and while Sydney won the round, Michael Buble stole Sloane and incorporated her into his team.

Fans of The Voice reacted to the performance online. One person wrote on X:

"Sloane Simon vs Sydney Sterlace coming in so angelic, love both their tones. Sloane so much control & quickly showed some beautiful transitions, she also worked the stage more comfortably. Sydney was embodying the lyric. They did so well. So talented"

"sydney and sloane’s battles performance was amazing… but i think my pick would be on sydney maybe … IT WAS JUST IMO," a fan commented.

"That was an amazing performance by syndey sterlace and sloane simon," a tweet read.

Fans commented on who they liked better, and some praised Sydney's performance.

"Sydney was def better than Sloane," a person wrote.

"@NBCTheVoice I actually heard the exact opposite, @MichaelBuble… I thought Sydney sounded way stronger than Sloan. #PickSydney!!" a fan commented.

"I liked Sydney better," a tweet read.

Those supporting Sloane said:

"All of y’all GOT TO GO LISTEN TO “Crash Into Me” by sloane simon - She needs to be wayyyy more popular!! I agree with Gwen that her voice has so much character- it felt like she was singing her own song," a person wrote.

"They have no stage presence, but if I had to choose a winner it would be Sloane!" a fan commented.

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Sloane Simon and Sydney Sterlace go head to head in The Voice season 26 Battles Round 1

In The Voice season 26 episode 7, titled The Battles Premiere, coaches Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, Reba McEntire, and Michael Bublé paired their singers against team members to compete in the first round of the battles. The singers perform a duet together as part of the format, but only one gets picked.

From Gwen Stefani's team, Sloane and Sydney were paired together, and during rehearsals, The Voice season 26 coach stated that she loved sharing her experience with the singers and watching them "grow" before her eyes.

The two sang Billie Eilish's Birds of a Feather and were met with praise from all the coaches. Gwen Stefani said it was going to come down to the contestant with the "most flexibility" and "personality" and admitted to it being "one of the toughest decisions" she had to make.

The Voice season 26 coach Michael Bublé praised Sloane, stating that she looked "settled, structured, and confident" about her performance. He further commented on Sydney's performance and said he could feel her nervousness and that she might not be "quite as settled."

"Nor should you be. You're 15," he reassured her.

Snoop Dogg was thrilled with the performance and told The Voice season 26 singers they sounded like "true professionals." He added that they shouldn't let age dictate what they could do since they were all young once. The coach further said that he was glad he wasn't in Gwen's shoes because he wouldn't have known who to pick.

Gwen Stefani ultimately picked Sydney over Sloane, but the latter's journey didn't end in episode 7. As part of the show's format, the rest of the coaches could "steal" her, and while all three pressed their buttons, Sloane Simon chose Michael Bublé.

Fans of the show reacted to the segment online and praised Sloane and Sydney's performance.

Episodes of The Voice season 26 are available to stream on Peacock.