Overview
- Season 28’s Battle Rounds began Oct. 13–14 with a new rule that lets contestants pick their duet partners while coaches still determine the songs.
- Each coach has one Save and one Steal in this phase, and the opening two episodes saw both tools deployed as team lineups started to shift.
- Lizzo (Team Snoop), Nick Jonas (Team Reba), Kelsea Ballerini (Team Bublé) and Lewis Capaldi (Team Niall) joined as advisors to mentor performers.
- One high-profile faceoff triggered all three rival coaches to hit their Steal buttons as the original coach used a Save, underscoring the format’s new tension.
- Night 2 continued the roster churn with a successful Steal and a Save that drew a competing Steal attempt, setting up a volatile path to the Knockouts.