much ado about not much at all ANZ sets the pace on profits and dividends Key factors behind ANZ's $3.18 billion six-month profit and the decision to boost pay outs to shareholders, analysed by senior business columnist Adele Fergusion. Is it something about Mondays? This is the second week running that Monday night's episode of The Voice has been significantly less engaging than the Sunday night show, in spite of a teaser last night that indicated we were headed for high drama. Alas, it was not to be. If pushed for a theme for tonight's show, it might be much ado about not much at all, really. There was no outstanding performance tonight that matched the calibre of last night's battle between Lyric McFarland and Emma Pask, two singers with big, big voices belting out What a Wonderful World. And there was nothing that came close to the genuinely spine-tingling battle between Jackie Sannia and Jenna Dearness-Dark in a surprisingly beautiful rendition of My Immortal. No, there was none of that tonight, which is not to say that anyone was awful - some were even quite good. Just well short of show-stopping. Seasoned performers Michelle Martinez and Simone Stacey were the first cabs off the rank, singing Battlefield, originally performed by Jordin Sparks and written by Ryan Tedder, mentor to Team Delta. Perhaps it's better when Sparks performs it, but tonight the song sounds a little boring. "You have to have an air about you that makes people go, "Shit,"" said Seal during rehearsals. I'm not sure either singer achieved that tonight, but Michelle had the edge on Simone. First battle of the night: Michelle Martinez and Simone Stacey. Photo: Channel Seven Ricky says she turns him on (no mean feat), and Seal says that Michelle put her money where her mouth is. Michelle is the unanimous winner and Simone goes home unsaved. The second battle is the one we've been waiting for. We've all seen the trailer where Chris Sheehy and coach Joel Madden appear to be having a heated discussion, the usually affable Madden looking uncharacteristically riled. Turns out that what stands between the two men is a guitar. Chris is battling Danny Ross, covering Lenny Kravitz's Are You Gonna Go My Way. After experimenting with both young men rehearsing the song with and without guitars, Joel decides that Chris should perform with the instrument, while Danny is better off without it. Chris doesn't take too well to the news, and gets a bit mouthy. The glint in Madden's eye suggests he'd like to give Chris a sharp slap, but he grits his toothpick and stays cool. "Her serenity, her strength, it's visceral": Karen "Miss Murphy" Andrews defeats Sione Felila. To his credit, when it comes time to duel, Chris loses the attitude, and both boys make a fist of a difficult track to cover. Danny, in leather pants and fedora, is brooding, and "so cool," according to Delta. Although Chris is praised for shaking off the chip on his shoulder, Danny is labelled the more mesmerising performer. "I couldn't keep my eyes off you," says Seal, the first of many times he will utter the phrase tonight. Joel chooses Danny and pleads with Delta to save Chris but she says she already has two of his ilk on her team. More than a good voice, it's seems that a magnetic stage presence is what the coaches are looking for. Sione Felila is battling Karen "Miss Murphy" Andrews next. Miss Murphy's battling nerves during rehearsals, which perplexes coach Ricky. "In the blind auditions she was like a panther!" he cries. They're singing Curtis Mayfield's gospel- influenced track, People Get Ready and host Darren McMullen warns us to "get ready for a battle of biblical proportions!." Big man Sione has a beautiful voice, but Murphy wins the judges" hearts. "Her serenity, her strength, it's visceral," says Ricky. Two strapping young lads on Team Delta, Ben Goldstein and Mitchell Steele, are next to battle it out. They're singing Ed Sheeran's Give Me Love "because they both have very big hearts," says Delta. Mitchell was troubled by a flu while rehearsing, which is not overly apparent during the battle, but Ben is favoured by all but Ricky, who says that Mitchell showed his soul. Seal couldn't keep his eyes off Ben, and Delta, after consulting with mentor Ryan, decides on Ben too. Tim Morrison beats Oscar Chavez in the following battle, singing Lanterns by Birds of Tokyo, a song that is far more suited to Tim's frontman rocker 'tude than it is to Oscar's more soulful vibe. It's no surprise that all four coaches side with Tim. Joel says there's something very Melbourne about Tim. I'm not sure about that but it was a good performance so we'll take it. Jac Stone faces off against Lauren Dawes next, singing You Don't Know Me. "Let yourself be great," Seal implores his charges to as they take the stage. They're both good, equally good enough to leave Seal feeling as if he's erred. "I make a big mistake each year and my big mistake this year is putting the two of your together," he says. Delta feels Lauren was more authentic, Ricky refuses to choose while Joel leans towards Jac. Seal consults his mentor, Connie Mitchell of Sneaky Sound System, who has so far been memorable mostly for her ever-changing, extravagant hairstyles. Seal ends up choosing Jac because he feels that she "tells a story." He begs Delta to save Lauren but she won't be moved. Finally, Simon Meli faces Juliane Di Sisto in the last battle of the night, singing the Black Crowes" version of Otis Redding's Hard to Handle. Simon, a massive Black Crowes fan, should be a shoo-in, but Juliane has an impressive set of pipes. Ultimately though, it's Simon's strutting of the stage that seals the deal. Seal, once again, couldn't keep his eyes off Simon. Joel says it's the best case of white dude dancing he's ever seen, and Ricky says, "This is crazy what I'm feeling right now." He goes on to illustrate that what he's feeling is, in fact, crazy, but with a smile like his Ricky can get away with saying whatever he wants. "I can see the miles on the road in every sentence that you throw at us and in every movement," he says, smiling. I'm going to go with Simon. I should know better by now than to trust the trailers, but if the ad for tomorrow night's show is any indication, things are about to get interesting (or at the very least more interesting than tonight). Delta has no choice but to finally hit the button and save someone, and we're promised "the best battle to have ever been staged," between Mitchell Anderson and Steve Clisby on Team Seal. Here's hoping.