Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Liv Ciara embraces Kelly Clarkson after earning a spot in The Voice finale. (NBC Photo)

Liv Ciara, Alexia Jayy, Lucas West and Mikenley Brown are advancing to The Voice finale tonight.

The Voice — which has eliminated all live shows and all at-home voting this season — had nine singers perform for spots in the finale Monday night.

A audience including Voice “super fans” and past contestants then voted on who should advance.

One singer was chosen from Team Adam (Alexia) and Team Legend (Lucas). Team Kelly got two spots in the finale because she won last week’s all-star showdown.

Liv Ciara, just 16, stole the night with her wonderfully original performance of “What a Feeling” from the movie “Flashdance.”

Here are song by song grades for Monday’s performances.

K.J. Willis (Team Legend), “Higher Ground” by Stevie Wonder: K.J. takes the stage surrounded by dancers. He’s delivering an on-point, high-energy performance. And his impressive range is serving him well. And he’s working the stage like an absolute pro. This might be his best performance on the show. And he delivers a great ending too. He kicked off the show in fine fashion. Grade: B+

Mikenley Brown (Team Kelly), “I’m Not the Only One” by Sam Smith: Mikenley struggles a bit on the intro. She finds her groove once she hits the chorus. She’s showing off a nice bit of rasp. I liked Kelly’s advice, and would like to see even mroe emotion and fewer vocal gymnastics. John called it his favorite performance and lover the crackle in her voice. Kelly likes her believability. Grade: B–

Jeremy Keith (Team Adam), “Whip Appeal” by Babyface: Jeremy takes the stage and launches into a perfectly fine vocal. But I have huge questions about this song choice. It just doesn’t seem likely to deliver the type of moment Jeremy needs with a spot in the finals on the line and with Alexia Jayy on his team. That said, the performance certainly got more impressive over the last 45 seconds or so. Kelly says he makes it looks so easy. Grade: B.

Syd Millevoi (Team Legend), “Into You” by Ariana Grande: Syd has been one of the absolute standouts on the show to this point, but they want her to be more vulnerable in a performance. She’s certainly reminding everyone of her vocal prowess. Wow, this might not be my favorite Syd performance. But she is easily one of the best voices on The Voice. John called it a wonderful performance, saying she’s tapping into the artist, not just a singer. Grade: B+

Jared Shoemaker (Team Adam), “Soulshine” by the allman Brothers: Dang, nice opening by Jared. And his voice soars when he hits the chorus. This sorta sucks, because you know The Voice is going to put Alexia Jayy in the finals and eventually named her the winner, meaning Jared has no chance of making the finals in spite of the superb performance he’s turning in. This was my favorite performance so far tonight. Wonderful ending too. Grade: A–

Liv Ciara (Team Kelly), “Flashdance, What a Feeling” from Flashdance: Wow, wow, wow. She opens a cappella, and it’s flat-out beautiful. She’s going to do the entire song as a ballad. And this is brilliant. From the vocals to the way she’s building the performance to the way she’s using the stage. And what an ending. Correction: That is the absolute performance of the night. And the best performance I’ve seen on a singing show this spring. John called it a superstar performance. Grade: A+

Alexia Jayy (Team Adam), “I Never Loved a Man” by Aretha Franklin: Alexia has such a rich, powerful voice. Then she adds that bit of rasp and it’s just magic. I considered her the favorite heading into this semifinal show, and this performance isn’t changing my mind. Kelly calls her so gifted. Adam predicts she could win. This much is certain, tomorrow’s finale would seem empty without her. Grade: A

J.W. Griffin (Team Kelly), “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” by Willie Nelson: Smart decision by J.W. to pluck heartstrings when trying to make an impression among a semifinal group this talented. He delivers a solid, heartfelt vocal, nailing a high note at the end as an exclamation point. Kelly said he did an incredible job. Grade: B

Lucas West (Team Legend), “Maybe I’m Amazed”: Lucas and John worked on this song choice together. Lucas is sounding great on the opening to this. I’m a little surprised he’s staying at the piano for the entire performance. That hand clap moment didn’t come off as well as planned. But he turned in a self-assured, high-energy performance. John calls him the entire package and said he loves his artistry. Grade: B+

And advancing to the finals are:

Team Adam: Alexia Jayy

Team Legend: Lucas West

Team Kelly: Liv Ciara, Mikenley Brown