Aquile’s First Battle Round On “The Voice”

Casper "Voice" favorite Aquile encountered his first major test since being accepted for this season tonight - here's how our local guy fared in his first battle round.

Coach Christina Aguilera chose to pit Aquile against the youngest contestant on this year's show, 15-year-old Nathalie Hernandez.  With celebrity mentor, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong - she chose "You Give Me Something", from English singer James Morrison as their battle song.  Aquile got positive marks from Armstrong, who called his initial rendition "better than the original".  During further rehearsal and refinement, Aguilera reminded him of the need to focus, during a clip where Aquile missed a step in the song.

After a great performance by both contestants in the battle round, and before Christina Aguilera's ultimate decision, all coaches praised Aquile and Nathalie - with Cee Lo Green calling Nathalie's voice "precious", and Aquile's "commanding", "clear", and declared it a "perfect performance all the way through".   Maroon 5's Adam Levine called them both a "pleasure" to watch sing - ultimately siding with Aquile, saying "to me, it's a classic case of 'Aquile, you're ready', and 'Nathalie, you will be soon'."  Country coach Blake Shelton called Aquile "awesome", but had high praise for Nathalie's presence and performance at her age.

The ultimate decision came down to Christina Aguilera - who praised both contestants, before choosing Aquile to advance forward in the competition and make his way to the knockout round.  Aguilera later commented that Aquile "has such a smooth tone to his voice", "great charisma", and "should feel so proud of the job he did".

It's official - Casper's favorite singer is moving on and lives to see another day on NBC's "The Voice".  Are you watching?