Cee Lo’s Team Members Nakia, Tje Austin Fight to Get One Step ‘Closer’ to the Prize

Nakie and Tje Austin were pitted against one another by their team leader Cee Lo Green on tonight's episode of 'The Voice.' Each man was attempting to inch closer to the ultimate goal of performing at the live shows later in the competition with their version of Ne-Yo's 'Closer.'

Cee Lo's crucial advice to his charges was to make sure they didn't go for a pre-packaged soul sound or to perform soul-by-numbers. Cee Lo wanted to feel it. In this particular battle, it was all about the hair, as Austin sports a wild Afro and Nakia's loose, long locks give him a messy, unforgettable edge.

Cee Lo's secret weapon Monica told the singers to "make 'em feel it, remember it and respect it." That's the best advice she could have given them, and it was Nakia who took that advice to heart, as he belted out the song like his life depended on it. In this competition, it actually did.

Austin's smooth-like-butter voice is sweet and pleasant to listen to, but he simply could not compete with the force with which the big man sings. Nakia's strength was the the way he sang his heart out, then pulled back at the end, showing that he knows a thing or two about dynamics and restraint.

All three of the other coaches thought Nakia brought it from the first note. Indeed, he sold it like a door-to-door salesman whose only payment would be his commission! Cee Lo, who called each competitor extensions of his good taste, ultimately chose Nakia.

Either choice would have reflected Cee Lo's self-proclaimed good taste, but Nakia won by a TKO!

Watch Nakia and Tje Austin Battle It Out With Ne-Yo's 'Closer'