Billboard released an exclusive preview of the face-off. The song hit No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, and its vocals are tricky. Cook sets things up with the intro falsetto ad libs, then Closs takes the first lines with "You hit like a drunk cigarette."
Cook, wearing brown leather pants and a matching suede jacket, slips in next. The two circle each other while the judges bop their heads. Kelly Clarkson yells "wow!" when one of Closs' high notes grabs the studio audience.
Levine watches with a grin. Either singer could hand him his fifth win on the show, which would move him closer to former panelist Blake Shelton's record of nine. "Let's go!" he yells when it ends.
Clarkson praises Cook for climbing into the rafters and dropping into his chest voice with no hiccups, then jokes, "where are you breathing Celine?" She also likes the roundness of Closs' tone. Closs' runs and Cook's instantly grabby vocals earn nods from Queen Latifah. Levine credits both for finding their breath and giving each other room.
Riley Green says they sound like a duo already, but Levine can only send one of them through.