U of A Student Heading Into the 'Battle Round' on NBC's The Voice

Courtesy of NBC

Trey O'Dell

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas junior Trey O’Dell will make his second appearance on the NBC music competition The Voice on either Monday or Tuesday, March 21 or 22, both shows starting at 7 p.m.

O’Dell is a supply chain management major in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. He’s on leave this semester so he can concentrate on The Voice.

His audition performance aired two weeks ago, when he sang “Geronimo” and was chosen to be one of 12 performers on country star Blake Shelton’s team.

That’s when O’Dell’s work really started.

“We had to get ready for the ‘battle round’ right away, there’s no time for congratulating yourself,” he said.

Each ‘battle round’ pairs singers from the same team, performing a duet together. After each performance the coach must select one singer to stay on the team and send the other one home.

“But it’s not exactly that we are competing against each other,” O’Dell explained. “The goal is for both of us to sound the best we can – because even if you get cut – there’s a chance you can get a steal and stay on the show.”

That’s because a coach from a different team has two chances to ‘steal’ a rejected performer.

O’Dell and his partner started working right away with Shelton and his team ‘adviser’ – Gwen Steffani.

“It was amazing – I grew up listening to both of them, I love their music – and them listening to us sing, giving us advice, encouraging us – it was just the best experience, a once in a lifetime thing,” O’Dell said.

His battle round will be on either Monday or Tuesday, but he’ll be watching both nights. After all it’s spring break, the perfect time for Voice-themed watch parties. He hopes other U of A students will be doing the same thing – rooting for him wherever they are celebrating.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.