Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Brayden Lape, just 16, advanced to the knockout round on The Voice Season 22. (NBC Photo)

Battle round victors included Eric Who, Brayden Lape, Parajita Bastola, Morgan Taylor, Daysia Reneau and Eva Ullmann.

And the sister duo The Marilynds advanced as well when John Legend used his save at the end of their match with Parajita.

But for a longtime viewer of the show, the night was marked by frustration more than anything else.

At least four of the five eliminated contestants performed when there were no steals or saves left to be had.

They all performed on day three of battle round taping — the show airs the battles out of order — and the coaches used most of their steals and saves on day one and had completely exhausted them by the end of day two.

For a reminder of how unfair I think that is and a suggestion on how The Voice should handle saves and steals, head here.

On top of that, montages reared their ugly heads again.

Because, hey, this is The Voice, where producers feel compelled to devote 20 minutes of airtime to battles aired in full, even though the performances last just two and a half minutes.

So instead of condensing the behind-the-scenes filler and airing just performances and coaches’ feedback, the show winds up montaging battles, showing us just a tiny snippet of some of them.

In this case, Eva Ullmann and SOLsong were montaged for the second time. SOLsong is off the show without a single full performance airing.

The show also montaged Morgan Taylor, who turned four chairs in the blinds. I, for one, sure would have liked to have heard her full performance.

Even more frustrating, the show can’t be bothered to put the entire performance on YouTube, even though cameras were rolling, even though it lasted just two and a half minutes.

Oh, well, that’s The Voice. I’ve pretty much given up thinking the show will ever improve.

On with the recap.

And don’t forget, following the links will take you to profiles of the singers, complete with information on music they’ve already released.

So, for instance, we haven’t gotten to hear Eva Ullmann on the show. But you can head there and learn about her excellent original music. And check out the music video to her great song “Renaissance.”

TOO SOON TO SAVE

Team Legend:

The match: Parajita Bastola vs. The Marilynds
The background: Parijita, 17 of Severna Park, Md., auditioned with “Jealous” by Labrinth and got all four coaches to turn their chairs. The Marilynds performed “What If I Never Get Over You” by Lady A and earned a pair of chair turns. The sister duo includes Lindsay (34) and Kasey (30) Staniszewski from La Plata, Md.
The song: “How Deep is Your Love” by the Bee Gees
The feedback: The coaches raved over the vocal prowess, self-awareness and confidence displayed by Parijita at such a young age. But the sisters also got lots of compliments for how well they mesh as a duo. And John was thrilled with the way the three were able to come together for this performance.
The outcome: John named Parajita the winner, saying she has a magical presence. Then he rescued The Marilynds from elimination by using his only battle round save on them, saying he feels they have something special to offer the competition.
My take: The ending, with all three singing together, was special. But all in all, I didn’t like the song choice. And the sisters’ decision to sing nearly every line they were given might have backfired, because it automatically made Parijita the best soloist on stage. John had at least five more battles to watch from his team. How could he possibly know The Marilynds would be most deserving of his save.

THE COACHES GOT IT RIGHT

Team Camila

The match: Eric Who vs. Sydney Kronmiller
The background: Eric, 22, of Grovetown, Ga., performed “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish in the blinds. Only Camila turned. Sydney Kronmiller, 25, of Ogden, Utah, performed “Latch” by Disclosure and earned chair turns from Camila and Gwen Stefani.
The song: “Paparazzi” by Lady Gaga
The feedback: Gwen Stefani said she loved the performance because it was “so weird,” in the best possible way. Both singers showed off unique tones. Gwen and Blake gave the edge to Eric.
The outcome: Camila awarded the win to Eric. Sydney was eliminated.
My take: Sydney showed off one of the most unique tones of a female singer on the show. But when it came time to harmonize, it was Eric’s voice that cut through. He also showed off nice stage presence. So I’d have to agree with Camila.

Team Blake:

The match: Brayden Lape vs. Benny Weag
The background: Benny Weag, 29, from Garfield, Wash., performed “Shivers” by Ed Sheeran in the blinds. Only Blake turned. Brayden, 16, of Grass Lake, Mich., was a one-chair turn as well, enticing Blake to spin for his cover of “This Town” by Naill Horan.
The song: “Pretty Heart” by Parker McCollum
The feedback: Camila called their performance “so awesome.” She gave the edge to Brayden. All the coaches seemed intrigued by the fact that he did so well at age 15 (he’s 16 now).
The outcome: Citing Brayden’s potential and star quality, Blake named his the winner. Benny was eliminated.
My take: I’m not sure this was a good song for either guy because I remember being more impressed with both — and especially Brayden — during the blinds. I guess I, too, would have given the edge to Brayden, more because of his heartthrob potential and his vocal from those blinds than anything that happened in this performance.
Special note: No steals or saves remained when these contestants performed.

THE MONTAGED

Team Legend:

The match: Morgan Taylor vs. SOLsong
The background: Morgan, 20, of Nashville, Tenn. performed “Cuz I Love You” by Lizzo in the blinds and turned four chairs. SOLsong performed “Turning Tables” by Adele, prompting a chair turn from John. That performance was montaged as well.
The song: “Die For You” by The Weeknd
The feedback: John said Morgan seemed a bit more confident and called her vocals strong, powerful and beautiful.
The outcome: Morgan was named the winner; SOLsong was eliminated, without ever having a full performance air.
My take: It’s impossible to judge when you see a tiny snippet of the performance.
Special note: No steals or saves remained when these contestants performed.

Team Blake:

The match: Ansley Burns vs. Eva Ullmann
The background: Eva Ullmann performed Maggie Rogers’ “Light On” in a blind audition The Voice montaged. Only Blake turned. Ansley 15, of Easley, S.C., got Gwen Stefani to run as well when she auditioned with “Unchained Melody” by LeAnn Rimes.
The song: “Wildest Dreams” by Taylor Swift
The feedback: In comments after the match, Blake said he was really surprised by Eva, adding “she’s ready for this. this is her moment.”
The outcome: Blake named Eva the winner, Ansley was eliminated.
My take: It’s impossible to judge when you see a tiny snippet of the performance.
Special note: No steals or saves remained when these contestants performed.

Team Gwen

The match: Daysia Reneau vs. Julia Aslanli
The background: Julia, 23, of Orlando, Fla., auditioned with “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green; Gwen was the only coach to turn. Daysia, 17, of Leavenworth, Kansas, performed “Crazy” by Patsy Cline in the blinds, prompting Gwen and Blake Shelton to turn.
The song: “Home” by Michael Buble
The feedback: Gwen said she’s amazed by how much Daysia has grown and called her spirit “incredible.”
The outcome: Gwen named Daysia the winner; Julia was eliminated.
My take: It’s impossible to judge when you see a tiny snippet of the performance.
Special note: No steals or saves remained when these contestants performed.