Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Voice knockout round concludes tonight, which means we’ll know the identity of this year’s live playoff contestants by the end of the show.

And there isn’t any room for error, because there’s only one steal left heading into tonight’s show. That belongs to Blake Shelton.

On to tonight’s knockouts:

TEAM ADAM

Brian Nhira

Nate Butler

The background: Brian has shown a penchant for singing coaches’ songs. He turned two chairs with his blind audition performance of Pharrell’s “Happy,” then earned a steal from Adam after performing Maroon 5’s “Sugar” in the battle round. Pre-Voice, he released 14-track Christian/gospel album called “Hope’s Stand.” Nate auditioned with “The Walk” by Mayer Hawthorne, turning three chairs. In the battle round, he defeated Natalie Yacovazzi, when they performed Tori Kelly’s “Hollow.”

The battle: Nate is singing “Let’s Stay Together.” Brian will perform Bruno Mars’ “Grenade.” Brian goes first and immediately impresses with his range and his tone. I really think he’s one of the best male singers on the show this season. He just turned in an excellent performance. Nate goes next, having gotten advice form Miley Cyrus to make sure he makes the song his own. He turns in a solid performance, but it isn’t quite as electric as Brian’s.

My pick: Brian. Nothing wrong with Nate’s performance, Brian was just superb.

Adam’s pick: Brian.

The steal: There isn’t one. Nate is eliminated.

TEAM BLAKE

Mary Sarah

Brittany Kennell

The background: Just 20 when she auditioned, Mary Sarah is already three albums deep into her country music career — including that album of duets with country greats. She turned four chairs in the blind audition, then defeated Justin Whisnant in the battle round when they sang “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man.” Brittany is a native of Canada who has relocated to Nashville and already has three EPs and an album to her credit. She turned two chairs in the blind audition, then defeated Trey O’Dell when they sang “The Chain” in the battle round.

The knockout: Mary Sarah is singing Loretta Lynn’s “You Ain’t Woman Enough.” Brittany is staying true to her roots by singing “Still the One” by Shania Twain, another artist from Canada. Mary Sarah goes first, delivers a pitch-perfect vocal, a big ending and tons of stage presence. That was very much a classic country sound. Brittany next, and she’s re-arranged “Still the One” pretty dramatically. Honestly, I’m not thrilled with this version of the song. Seems to have sucked the energy out of it. Pharrell, Christina and Adam all say they’d go with Mary Sarah.

My pick: Mary Sarah based on those two performances.

Adam’s pick: Blake picks Mary Sarah to advance.

The steal: There can’t be one because Blake is the only coach with a steal, meaning Brittany is eliminated.

TEAM CHRISTINA

Trey O’Dell

Bryan Bautista

The background: Bryan was part of one of the best battle round performances when he went up against Malik Heard singing “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World” and prevailed. He’s the former usher at the Barclays Center who tried out in Season 9, but failed to turn a chair. This season, he turned two singing “The Hills” by The Weeknd. Trey is one of the artists who earned a steal in the battle round. That followed his Team Blake match with Brittany Kennell; they sang “The Chain.” He sang “Geronimo” in the blinds to earn a spot on the show.

The knockout: Bryan is singing “Sorry” by Justin Bieber and adding elements of reggae into his version. Trey will sing “I Live” by One Republic. He says he wants to be an indie-pop artist. Bryan goes first and delivers a solid performance. He gave Christina the falsetto bit she was looking for, though I’m not sure he nailed it perfectly. But he showed nice range and great stage presence. Trey opened with a great first line, but I’m not sure I like his voice on this song. The song didn’t build as much as I expected either. All three of the other coaches give the edge to Bryan.

My pick: Bryan

Christina’s pick: She picks Bryan, saying there are surprises around every corner with his voice.

The steal: There isn’t one; Trey is eliminated.

TEAM PHARRELL

Caity Peters

Abby Celso

The background: Abby won a close battle round match against Brian Nhira (he was stolen) when they sang Maroon 5’s “Sugar.” In the blind auditions, she performed Tori Kelly’s “Should’ve Been Us” and turned two chairs. Caity was one of just five contestants to turn four chairs in the audition round, performing Nick Jonas’ “Jealous.” She then defeated Joe Vivona in the battle round when they performed Billy Joel’s “Honesty.”

The knockout: Abby is going to sing “Rich Girl,” saying she wants to show coaches something they haven’t seen before. Caity will sing “Leave Your Love” by Sam Smith, saying it challenges her vocally. Abby has a powerful voice, and she’s certainly showing it off with her rendition of “Rich Girl.” She still left more vocal frills in the performance than I would have preferred, after being told to take some of them out by Christina and Miley. Caity has a really nice, unique tone to her voice and selected a song that allowed her to show off what Adam refers to as “all the colors” of her voice. Adam and Christina both say they’d give the edge to Caity.

My pick: Caity. I didn’t love the song, but I loved her vocal on it.

Pharrell’s pick: Caity.

The steal: There isn’t one. Abby heads home.

TEAM ADAM

Jessica Crosbie

The background: Laith was 38 when he auditioned and turned two chairs with his rendition of “The Letter,” meaning he’s one of the show’s most experienced contestants. Pre-Voice, he released a trio of albums. In the battle round, he prevailed over Matt Tedder when they sang “Honky Tonk Woman.” Jessica is the singer from England who moved to Atlanta in hopes of pursuing music in the U.S. She lost her Team Pharrell battle round match with Nick Hagelin, but got a second life on the show when she was stolen by Adam. She turned two chairs in the blind auditions.

The knockout: Jessica is going to sing “Wake Me Up” saying it’s parallel to her own story as a performer. Laith will perform Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes,” saying he wanted to sing something that wasn’t so bluesy as a change of pace. I really love Laith’s voice, but not on this song. It just sounds too pop-ish compared to what he normally. It also sounded to me like there was a pretty major lyrical goof midway through the song. Like Jessica’s song choice and she sounds very, very good on the song. She also added some nice little wrinkles near the end.

My pick: Hmm, I liked Jessica better in that knockout, but I think Laith is more unique. I’d get him back to doing what he does best.

Adam’s pick: Laith.

The steal: There isn’t one, meaning Jessica goes home.

In a knockout we don’t get to see, Caroline Burns defeats Katherine Ho. Hold it, that means Katherine made it to three rounds on The Voice and we never got to hear her sing because she was montaged all three times. Boo! That should not happen, Voice producers!

TEAM CHRISTINA

Kata Hay

Joe Maye

The background: Kata is one of the more colorful members of the Season 10 cast — remember the blind audition kiss with Christina. She turned three chairs with that performance of “Redneck Woman.” Then she triumphed over Chelsea Gann in the battle round when they sang “I’m the Only One.” Joe turned two chairs with his blind audition performance of “I Put a Spell on You,” then got to duet with Christina. We didn’t get to see his battle round victory over Ayanna Jaynee; they performed “I Knew You Were Waiting.”

The knockout: Joe has decided to sing “Worth It.” Christina and Miley are trying to pull out more drama in the performance. She’ll sing “Why Haven’t I Heard from You” saying it’s part country and part rock-blues, which is her chosen musical style. Wow, these are going to be two vastly different vocals, aren’t they. Joe hits the stage with a nice, smooth delivery. And he’s delivering the drama Christina was looking for, even dropping to his knees for the end of the performance, just like she suggested. I’m not familiar with this song, but I really like Kata’s voice on it. Dang, Kata’s rocking it out, isn’t she? Another fiery performance from her. With a little smoothing of the rough edges, Kata could be dangerous on this show.

My pick: Doesn’t matter. As usual, The Voice has spoiled the suspense, as usual, already letting us know they both advance. For the record, my favorite was Kata.

Christina’s pick: Kata. Hmm, I was almost hoping she’d head to Team Blake.

The steal: Of course. Joe winds up on Team Blake.