"The Voice" contestants didn't know what to expect of knockout rounds

Kelly Crapa, left, and Michaela Paige on NBC's "The Voice." / NBC

After making it through three weeks of battle rounds "The Voice" contestants head into the unknown -- knockout rounds -- a new hurdle "The Voice" participants have to jump in order to be crowned champion on NBC's reality singing competition series.

Team Christina, Team Blake, Team Adam and Team Cee Lo each have 10 contestants, but starting next week knockout rounds will begin where contestants go head-to-head without knowing who their opponents will be until they step out to perform -- a feat that some of them agreed was a little nerve-wracking.

• "The Voice": Battle rounds come to an end
• "The Voice" enters its final battle rounds

"It was definitely something that almost intimidated some of us. I think moving on, you've seen the blind auditions before, you've seen the battle rounds before. I think that everyone was trying to figure out what the knockout rounds were going to be like and I feel that was definitely something that added to the game," Team Blake's Michaela Paige said in a conference call with reporters. "We were all trying to figure it out, while we were trying to rehearse."

Team Adam's Joe Kirkland said as the competition progresses he feels "more and more pressure" and the new knockout rounded added to that feeling.

"A lot of us have always seen the show and this is kind of a new thing for 'The Voice' so none of us really knew what to expect," said Kirkland. "It's definitely high intensity and it's very, very interesting."

Team Adam's Nicole Nelson agreed with the group saying the "mental game" on the show continues to be a struggle.

"As things progress on the show the feeling of dread that I got about the elimination -- you're eliminating another person every time you perform -- and it is someone that really wants to be there and deserves to be there, and that feeling is really hard to shake."

"The Voice" starts knockout rounds next week on Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

[sunbeamcandy]

I'm really looking forward to the knockout rounds. I didn't even realize there was a new stage of the competition until last night, and it looks like it'll be pretty intense! The last couple battle rounds were great. Avery is probably my favorite singer on the show this season, but Chevonne definitely deserved to go forward. I'm glad Christina stole her. I'm excited to see more from both of them. I'm never around to watch this show live anymore since I work late nights at DISH, but I've got my Hopper all set up to record it for me. I'm always able to turn it on as soon as I get home.