‘The Voice’ Coaches Rock Out at Private Show

[reaper]

The coaches of NBC’s hit singing competition “The Voice” may be in the heat of the battle rounds, but they put their team rivalries aside on Thursday night as they gathered for a exclusive acoustic concert at the Sayers Club in Hollywood.

Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Shakira and Usher each performed two songs at the intimate event and got on their feet to cheer each other on all night long. There was also plenty of teasing to go around, as the coaches demonstrated the playful banter that fans of “The Voice” have come to enjoy.

Usher, who was the first to take the stage, jokingly sought approval after concluding his set with an acoustic performance of his soulful song “Climax.”

“Did anybody push their button?” Usher asked. The crooner laughed as Shelton said, “I pushed my button,” and Shakira added enthusiastically, “I want you on my team.”

Living up to their “Shevine” nickname, Levine and Shelton poked fun at each other throughout the night. When it came time for Shelton to perform, Levine quipped, “I didn’t know you could sing.”

After requesting a beer from the bar, Shelton began his set by sharing a story about one of his first jobs in Nashville – painting the house of country star Hoyt Axton’s mother. Axton invited him onto his bus and he tried to uncover the meaning behind a lyric in “Joy to the World,” which Axton penned.

“I was like 17 years old, literally, and I got up on this guy’s bus,” Shelton explained. “One day I got up the nerve and I was, like, ‘Hey Hoyt, what does it mean when you sing ”Jeremiah was a bullfrog / Was a good friend of mine”?’ Axton told him, ”I believe a songwriter is like a person who was born with a radio receiver in their brain and it’s the job of a songwriter to tune in because there are all these stations out there in the cosmos… I was real high, too.”

Levine didn’t perform any Maroon 5 songs and instead covered The Beatles’ “If I Fell” and Queen’s “A Crazy Little Thing Called Love” after commenting to Shelton, “I’m drinking with you tonight. I want you to know I’m not usually three deep when I sing.” He also told Shelton to keep his “meat hooks” off his fiancée Behati Prinsloo while he was onstage.

Shakira proved that she can hold her own amidst the guys’ antics and showcased her powerhouse vocals with an acoustic performance of “23,” a song she wrote about her relationship with Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué. She described the track, featured on her self-titled album that dropped March 25, as “one of my most personal songs.”

The Colombian songstress then announced, “I have a little surprise for you. Don’t worry, it’s not Blake Shelton dancing to ‘Hips Don’t Lie.’” While Shelton refrained from shaking his hips, Shakira invited him to join her onstage to perform their new duet “Medicine,” marking their first live performance of the song.

“(Anything) any of you people in the room go on to do that’s cool, ya’ll didn’t get to sing with Shakira,” Shelton teased.

As the evening came to a close, Shelton invited guests to stay for a drink as the gang was whisked away after the show.

NBC’s “The Voice” continues with another battle round on April 7.