Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Morgan Myles performs during the Top 10 show on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Fans of The Voice will select eight semifinalists this week.

The Top 10 perform tonight, singing songs suggested by their fans.

That’s a nice broad theme that should give each artist the ability to chose songs that fit their musical style.

But it could rob the artists of a chance to take strategic risks, like Morgan Myles and Kim Cruse did last week when they genre flipped, performing Beyonce’s “If I Were a Boy” and Willie Nelson’s “Always on My Mind,” respectively.

Among the big questions that will be answered this week: Just how popular are the members of Team Blake?

Last week, they skated through the Top 13 eliminations unscathed. None of them even had to sing for an instant save.

If the same happens this week, I think we’ll have our answer.

At this point, Team Blake is the only one not to lose a singer since fan voting began. Team Camila, meanwhile, is down to just Morgan Myles.

Song by song grades will be added below, after tonight’s show.

See also …
Ranking the Top 10
Song by song grades for the Top 16
Song by song grades for the Top 13

Parijita Bastola, 17, Severna Park, Md., (Team Legend), “Scars to Your Beautiful” by Alessia Cara — After Parijita’s lovely, emotional rendition on Lady Gaga’s “I’ll Never Love Again” on Top 16 night, I can see where this song choice made lots of sense. But it didn’t come together quite as well and, in fact, seemed like Parijita was forcing it or didn’t completely connect. Still, it was solid, especially given her age. Grade: B

Rowan Grace, 16, Rapid City, S.D., (Team Blake), “I Love You” by Billie Eilish — Rowan found the sweet spot in her voice around the 1:50 mark. But this was much closer to three strikes and you’re out territory than a performance showing Rowan belongs in the semifinals. Grade: C–

Justin Aaron, 34, Junction City, Kansas, (Team Gwen), “Just Once” by Quincy Jones — Yep, I would have gone with another take-them-to-church gospel song for Justin. This was a solid performance, but Justin tends to try to take listeners to church at the end of every performance. Last week, on a gospel song, it worked. On Top 16 night and again tonight, it seemed just a tad bit too much for the song he was covering. Grade: B–

Brayden Lape, 16, Grass Lake, Mich. (Team Blake), “Homesick” by Kane Brown — That a cappella run-through of the chorus near the end of the performance was nice. But for all his potential, Brayden isn’t showing quick enough progress to merit a semifinal spot. If voting is based on performances and not coaches, Tuesday should be a double elimination for Team Blake. Grade: C+

Kim Cruse, 30, Woodville, Texas, (Team Legend), “Love on the Brain” by Rihanna — The first words out of Kim’s mouth were “and you got me.” Yep, she’s got me, every time I’m reintroduced to that rich, rich singing voice of hers. Kim was great again. And whenever you think she can’t possibly deliver more vocal firepower, she reaches deep and does just that. I just worry she’ll be underappreciated, like so many other R&B powerhouses on The Voice before her. Grade: A

Bryce Leatherwood, 22, Statesboro, Ga.. (Team Blake), “Sand in My Boots” by Morgan Wallen — Hey, he just needed to take off the hat, right? Joking aside, this was by far my favorite Bryce performance, one deserving of a spot in the semis. He performed with more conviction and more emotion. A great song choice, coming courtesy of a Voice alumni, didn’t hurt either. Grade: B

Kique, 18, Miami, Fla, (Team Gwen), “Call Out My Name” by the Weeknd — Since he has COVID, The Voice aired a performance Kique recorded in a studio setting. He started very strong. In fact, I sorta wish he had done a better job of building the song’s dynamic. That said, he sounded stronger than he did last week, when he needed an instant save, and I’d argue he’s earned a semifinal spot compared to the Team Blake teens. Grade: B–

Morgan Myles, 35, Nashville, Tenn., (Team Camila), “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton — If ever a Voice performance screamed, ‘Forget the semis, go straight to the finale!’ … well, this was it. Morgan channeled Janis Joplin on the bluesy country number. Yep, this will rank as one of my all-time favorite Voice performances. I must have thought, ‘Damn, woman,” about a dozen times before Morgan closed on that great glory note. Grade: A+

Bodie, 29, from Ladera Ranch, Calif., (Team Blake), “Golden Hour” by JVKE — Team Blake fans are used to the coach’s performers rapping, but here’s betting they won’t hesitate for vote for Bodie. They shouldn’t, because he delivered another top-notch performance, making a convincing argument that he too belongs in the Season 22 finale. He handled the rap portions of the song just fine, but it remains his conviction and ability to sell what he’s singing that’s most impressive. Grade: A

Omar Cardona, 33, Orlando, Fla., (Team Legend), “I Want to Know What Love Is” by Foreigner — Technically, Omar once again displayed great power and range. But I wasn’t crazy about the song choice and in spite of all the passion Omar poured into the vocals, it came off more theatrical than emotional. And I couldn’t help thinking, wow, Morgan should have gotten this spot in the lineup. Grade: B