Amy Vachal advances to knockout rounds

CEBU, Philippines – Two weeks after mesmerizing the judges of “The Voice” with her breathtaking audition, Filipino-American Amy Vachal delivered another sensational performance in the battle rounds of the U.S.-based talent search series on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old granddaughter of Cebu political kingpin Pablo Garcia and niece of ex-governor and Cebu 3rd district representative Gwendolyn Garcia effortlessly performed the Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody” in a sing-off with recently engaged couple Jubal and Amanda.

While the duo managed to hold their own with their power country approach, they nonetheless proved no match to Amy’s elegant reading of the Brothers Gibb classic. Judge Gwen Stefani thought that her “delicate and airy” vocals makes her “a star” on her own.

“You were shining there on your own as brightly as these two were together, you’re awesome,” quipped Adam Levine.

Addressing Amy’s coach Pharrell, Blake Shelton was pretty clear on who he thought won this battle round. “As great as they (Jubal and Amanda) are, I don’t know how you’ll move forward without Amy,” Shelton pointed out.

Pharrell himself needed no further convincing. “There’s a delicate way about your approach to songs. I can only imagine people listening to your voice after having a really tough day and you’ll just make everything feel like it’s going to be all right,” he noted before picking Amy.

Amy now advances to the Knockout rounds where all contestants will be mentored by R&B superstar Rihanna. The Top 20 contestants that will emerge in this grueling round will move on to the “Live Shows” of the competition.

Here in the Philippines, “The Voice” airs every Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:50 p.m. within 12 hours of its original U.S. broadcast, first and exclusive on AXN. — InterAksyon.com