Michael Stangel lives to fight on The Voice Australia after being saved by Joel Madden The Voice contestant Michael Stangel was saved by Joel Madden in the battle round. Rocker dad given a grim diagnosis Saved by Joel Madden for Team Joel Ryan Tedder, Jessica Mauboy, Connie Mitchell and Bell Lee are team mentors IT was the kind of heart-stopping moment his doctors would have ordered Michael Stangel to avoid. But the hard rocking dad from Melbourne was given a new life of sorts on The Voice, after being "saved" from elimination during the first high-drama episode of the Channel 9 series' battle rounds. The 45-year-old family man, who has defied a grim diagnosis he would not live much beyond surgery for heart and brain tumours, almost came to the end of the road in the competition after being marginally outperformed by his Team Delta rival Rob Edwards. As if vocalising their plea to stay in the top-rating contest, the duo delivered an emotional rendition of John Hiatt's hit, Have A Little Faith In Me. The impassioned performance and Stangel's courageous back story convinced Joel Madden to use the new twist to save the singer and recruit him for his Team Joel. The tone for an electric battle rounds was set by the four superstar coaches, who faced off against each other during an all-in version of Muse's anarchic anthem, Uprising. Opening the new phase of the competition was a battle of the folk singers on Team Delta, Celia Pavey and Anna Weatherup, who sang and strummed their way through Christina Perri's A Thousand Years. Pavey, who won a legion of fans for her blind audition of Simon and Garfunkel's Scarborough Fair, won out over Weatherup, who was gracious in defeat. Doing their best with a dud song choice, Michael Paynter and Louise Roussety struggled through Justin Bieber's As Long As You Love Me, one for the tweens watching but lost on most of the studio audience. Team Ricky favourite Caterina Torres showed all of her industry experience to topple newcomer Katie Reeve, owning the stage in their take on Pink's Try. In a tight contest, Canberra busker Alex Gibson edged out Adelaide-born Skye Elizabeth after they went note for note on Adele's Skyfall. But the climax belonged to popera discovery Harrison Craig who was on familiar ground against Sutherland Shire pastor Tim Moxey, singing Josh Groban's You Raise Me Up. The Team Seal 'nice guys' were a guaranteed goose bump moment, with Nine executives desperate to maintain series two-million-plus audiences - and kick the viewer slump the show experienced this time last year. Viewers were also introduced to the team mentors with Jessica Mauboy guiding Team Ricky, One Republic's Ryan Tedder joining Team Delta, Sneaky Sound System's Connie Mitchell teaming with Seal and Ben Lee linking with his musical mate, Joel Madden.