Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Gabrielle Zabosky performs during a Team Gwen knockout round match on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Three of The Voice’s talented young females earned battle round victories as the knockout round continued Tuesday night.

Katie O of Team Reba, Gabrielle Zabosky of Team Gwen and Shye of Team Michael are starting to look like they belong among the show’s Season 26 front-runners.

Edward Preble also advanced to the playoffs thanks to a Reba McEntire steal, but Tuesday’s show included more eliminations than Monday night’s.

Heading home were Frankie Torres and Kendall Eugene of Team Reba, J. Paul of Team Michael and Kay Sibal and Kelsmere of Team Gwen.

Oh, and remember, viewers, the knockout round is pre-taped and The Voice is not airing the knockouts in the order they occurred.

In past seasons, coaches have run out of saves and steals long before the round ends, meaning only the winner is eligible to advance.

The Voice could fix that, of course, by making the coaches take a fairer approach and listen to all the performances before making their save and steal decisions.

But, heck, that might add suspense to a show where you can pretty much predict that last knockout of the night will result in a steal or a save. Every single episode.

THE COACH GOT IT RIGHT

TEAM GWEN

The match: Felsmere (“Son of a Preacher’s Man” by Dusty Springfield) vs. Gabrielle Zabosky (“Used to be Young” by Miley Cyrus) vs. Kay Sibal (“One Last Time” by Ariana Grande.
The background: Gabrielle, 25, turned 4 chairs in the blinds. Kay, 24, turned 3; Felsmere, 33, turned 2. All three are original members of Team Gwen, meaning they won their battles. Remember, Felsmere competed on Season 1 as Kelsey Rey.
The feedback: All three singer received well-deserved praise from the coaches. Michael and Reba both gave the edge to Gabrielle.
The outcome: Gwen declared Gabrielle the winner. Felsmere and Kay were eliminated.
My take: Another knockout that’s a testament to the great job The Voice casting crew did finding talent — especially female talent — for Season 26. Loved Kay’s opening. Wish she had stayed at the piano a bit longer and been more selective when she went big. Loved Felsmere’s song choice. Kept wishing she’d cut loose. Then she did, very impressively, for a big finish. Then there’s Gabrielle, who won me over with this performance, showing that even with her big voice and big personality, she can deliver a tender, heartfelt vocal when the song calls for it.

WHO KNOWS?

TEAM REBA

The match: Katie O (“Turn on the Radio” by Reba McEntire) vs. Kendall Eugene vs. Frankie Torres
The background: Katie O, 18, turned 4 chairs in the blind, then won her battle. Frankie Torres, 24, turned 4 as well, but needed a Team Reba save to survive those battles. Kendall, 37, is the only coaches’ replay artist to make the knockout round.
The feedback: Reba complimented Katie O for taking one of her songs and making it her own.
The outcome: Reba declared Katie O the victor. Kendall and Frankie were eliminated. We didn’t get to see a single second of their performances. We didn’t find out what songs they sang. Heck, I wouldn’t even know they were Katie O’s opponents if it weren’t for publicity photos posted to the NBC press site.
My take: Look, Katie O. is talented, charismatic and has what it takes to go deep into this competition. But we didn’t even get to see her entire performance. I tire of telling The Voice what to do, because the show will never, ever change. But if all the filler and recaps and mentoring landed on the cutting room floor and the show aired just the performances, there would have been ample time to show all nine of them Tuesday night. And I don’t know about other viewers out there, but I tune into a singing show to watch contestants sing, not to listen to coaches and mentors talk.

ABOUT THAT STEAL …

The match: Edward Preble (“Send in the Clowns”) vs. J. Paul (“Kiss from a Rose” by Seal) vs. Shye (“The One that Got Away” by Katy Perry)
The background: All are original members of Team Michael, meaning they won their battles. Shye, 17, turned 4 chairs in the blinds. J. Paul, 37, turned 3 and Edward, 19, turned 2.
The feedback: The coaches complimented all three singers, noting their vast differences as artists. Besides Michael, Gwen was the only coach to voice a preference, saying she thought J. Paul won the knockout.
The outcome: Michael named Shye the winner, calling her voice one of his all-time favorites. Reba swooped in and stole Edward. That happened after an admirable display of sportsmanship on his part. Offered a chance to address his coach, Edward said he thought Michael made the right decision in awarding the win to Shye. J. Paul was eliminated.
My take: Shye has a distinct sound, ample vocal firepower and growing confidence. She’s a potential finalist. And the clear winner of this knockout.
Edward has a rich voice, but that was a sleepy performance. And there have been eliminated contestants with more long-term potential on the show who deserved that save. That would include J. Paul, who I thought did a very nice job and showed off impressive range during his performance.

Shye sings her way to a playoff spot with Team Michael Buble during the knockouts on The Voice. (NBC Photo)