Idol Chatter & Voice Views

We met eight of the Season 6 cast members last night on The Voice.

And as much as I liked the performance from Dawn and Hawkes, I was a little surprised to see it outperform all the others on the iTunes chart.

Delvin Choice landed on Team Adam after turning four chairs on The Voice.

Remember, I’ll be posting bio blogs on all the contestants who advance. Those will likely go up this weekend.

Meanwhile, there are more cast members to meet tonight.

1. Delvin Choice, 24, Greenville, S.C.: Here’s another returning auditioner. He works for Starbucks. I don’t remember his first performance, but he says he’s been working on his music through his church. He’s singing “A Song for You.” Nice strong start. And he gets three coaches to turn around quickly — Adam, Shakira and Blake. Nice rich tone to this guy’s voice. And a final touch of falsetto gets Usher to turn his chair just as the performance ends. Surprised I can’t remember this guy. Must have changed his hairstyle. Adam says he’s 20 times better. Shakira says he’s the singer she’s been waiting for. Usher play the I-know-who-sang-that-song card. And this four-chair turn recipient lands on Team Adam. That’s his second four-chair turn, for those keeping track. Usher has two four-chair turn contestants as well. Grade: B+

Madilyn Paige

2. Madilyn Paige, 16, Provo, Utah: The teen says she loves to make short films and she’s one of five children. She says she entered her first singing competition at age 12 and took first place. She’ll sing “Titanium,” a slower version than the original, she says. This is a different version of the song, but Madilyn is showing nice range. Usher turns when she hits the first chorus. A really nice glory note gets Shakira to follow. And Madilyn ends the song very well, too. Usher likes the fact that she showed her gentle side with the performance. Shakira liked the fact that her voice was powerful and beautiful and says she’s anxious to work with a young female artist. And Madilyn picks Usher. Grade: B–

3. Noah Lis, 22, Palmer, Mass.: He plans to perform “Me and Mrs. Jones.” He says he wants to bring back old jazz and pop standards, with a “new take.” He says he began taking piano lessons at age 6, loved music, and now books upwards of 200 performances a year as part of a music business he began in ninth grade. There’s nothing wrong with the start of this performance, but it’s a bit sleepy. Noah livens it up with a nice run close to the end. And, it looks like no one is going to turn around. Wait. At the last second, both Adam and Blake do. Just checked. This guy has 34,000 followers on Twitter. Adam says there were some rough spots in the performance, but says he thinks he can help him improve. Blake says he thinks Noah might actually want to “rough it up” a little. And Noah joins Team Blake. Grade: C+

4. Keith Shuskie, 28, Buffalo, N.Y.: This guy says he has a rock and roll voice with a touch of an operatic sounds. His band is called Den of Lions and perform indie rock music. He’s also a medical assistant at a hospital. Oh, and he sports a handlebar mustache and has a church background. He’ll sing “Somewhere Only We Know.” There’s the operatic touch he was talking about. But not sure these vocals are up to par. The pitch seems to be wandering all over the place. He finishes with a flourish, but it wasn’t enough to turn a chair. Not surprised. Grade: C–

A country singer, Cary Laine opted to join Team Adam on The Voice.

5. Deja Hall, 16, San Antonio, Texas: She grew up in a military family and had to make friends and lose friends as a result. She says the one constant in her life has been music. She’s also into sports, running track and playing basketball, and says she brings the same competitiveness to singing. She’s singing “True Colors.” The opening seemed just a wee bit rough, but Deja Hall displays a very sweet sound on the first run-through of the chorus. That prompts Blake and Shakira to turn around. And a really nice soft ending means they are joined by Usher. Very composed performance for a 16-year-old. Shakira calls her “angelic.” Blake reminds Deja that he previously won the show with a 16-year-old. Deja opts to join Team Shakira. Grade: B–

6. Cary Laine, 28, Citronelle, Ala.: I’m guessing from Cary’s twang that she’s a country singer. She says she got married at 18, “so it’s a balancing act between mom at day and rock star at night.” She confirms she’s a country singer. The family has recently moved to a tiny town in Wyoming. That means her gigs are few and far between, Cary says. Cary looks a heck of a lot like Miranda. She’s singing “Better Dig Two.” And she’s digging into it like a rock star. Adam is the first to turn around. Followed by Blake and Shakira in rapid succession. Before she launches into the last chorus, they’re joined by Usher, making her the fifth four-chair turn of Season 6. Adam, anticipating a fight with Blake, escorts Cary to his chair. And Cary picks Adam. This guy has a knack for landing singers who turn four chairs. Poor Blake has won The Voice three times and he still only has two artists. Grade: B+