Utahn Ryan Innes uses his powerful "Voice" to win his battle round

By the time Utahn Ryan Innes made his battle-round appearance on Monday's episode of "The Voice," we already knew he'd get through.

It was clear from the way this show is put together that he'd either be declared the winner by his coach/judge, Usher, or he'd be stolen by one of the other judges.

As it turned out, he and Orlando Dixon both delivered strong performances on their duet of "Ain't No Sunshine"; Usher - after much hemming and hawing for TV suspense - declared Innes the winner; and judge/coach Adam Levine stole Dixon for his team.

Other than his second-straight amazing vocal performance, a couple of things became clear during Innes' second appearance on "The Voice."

First, the producers are doing him no favor by hitting once again on the "tragedy" of his broken engagement. It's what "The Voice" does - pick out some personal story to make a contestant relatable to the audience.

But the show tends to beat those stories to death. And this one is already getting old. Which may backfire on Innes, through no fault of his own.

And, second, the Provo man needs to try to keep his eyes open when he sings. Once you notice how often he closes his eyes to express soul, it becomes distracting. And on this show, you want people to focus on your, um, voice.

Also on Monday, the duo of Midas Whale - former Utahn Ryan Hayes and his Rexburg, Idaho, buddy, former "American Idol" finalist Jon Peter Lewis - were declared the winners of their battle round by Levine. They performed "Burning Love" with/against Patrick Dodd.

On tonight's episode of "The Voice" (7 p.m., NBC/Ch. 5), Amy Whitcomb, a Florida native who now makes her home in Provo, will perform.