Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The final eight on The Voice will sing for our votes and their mentors’ support in tonight’s semifinals show.

But, this being The Voice, don’t expect the mentors to just sit in their Star Trek chairs and watch the action.

Nope, Blake Shelton will take the stage to premiere a new single called “Over.”

The members of Team Blake and Team Christina will perform Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory.”

And the members of Team Adam and Team Cee Lo will perform “All These Things I’ve Done.”

But the focus should be on those solo performances.

Because this week, there are no second chances.  No mentor’s saves to be had.

Each mentor will split up 100 points between his or her remaining two contestants.  Another 100 points will be allotted to the two members of each team based on the public vote.

And the totals will determine who sings in the finals a week from now.

Team Adam

Tony Lucca:  After surprising everyone with “Baby, Hit Me One More Time,” is going to take on “How Do You Like Me Now,” an R&B tune.  Adam Levine says it’s as much as a risk as his last performance.  Tony starts off strong. And this is going to be another crowd-pleasing performance because he’s doing a great job of selling the performance.  Tony is on fire.  That’s two straight performances I never would have expected from a singer-songwriter type.  Great way to start the show.  Grade: B+

Katrina Parker:   The gal who had a moment with “Jar of Hearts” is going to sing “Killing Me Softly.” Another very solid vocal from Katrina.  Hmm, I didn’t expect her to come back that strong for a second week in a row.  Adam is going to have a heck of a tough time dividing up those 100 points.  The song lost a little fizz near the end.  But it was a strong vocal from start to finish.  Grade: B

Team Blake

Erin Willett:   She’s going to sing “Without You,” and says it’s the first time she feels “amazing” about what she’s about to do.  She was simply not very good two weeks ago when she tried to sing Adele.  Sorry, Erin, don’t think this is going to be the moment you were looking for.  For starters, the vocals are barely audible over a too-loud backing band.  Nice finish, though.  Better than last time, but probably not good enough to beat Jermaine.  Grade: C.

Jermaine Paul:  The former background singer is going to sing “Open Arms” by Journey.  Not sure I’m thrilled with the song choice, but Jermaine’s doing a fine job with it … well, perhaps a little over the top in a couple of spots, but the guy’s got a powerful voice.  A more powerful voice than Erin Willett.  Grade: B-

Team Christina:

Chris Mann:   Hmm, the opera singer is going to sing “Ave Maria,” which will no doubt be special.  But after striking out on commercial success despite four special singers in the finals in Season 1, The Voice needs someone who will do well after the show.  And we’ve got Chris singing opera.  Wow, some strategy.   It’s more fitting that “Viva La Vida.”  That’s all I’ll say.  He’d get a B from me on the vocals, but the concept was a dud.  Grade: C-.

Lindsey Pavao:  Her parents say getting her to perform in front of others wasn’t easy.  Clearly, she’s gotten used to it.  She’ll sing “Skinny Love.”  Interesting.  I thought Chris did Lindsey a huge favor singing opera.  Maybe not.  I wasn’t as impressed by that performance as I thought I would be.  I’m not sure a coffee shop performance was the recipe for beating Chris Mann.  Grade: C.

Team Cee Lo

Jamar Rogers:   The Team Cee Lo matchup is the most intriguing.  Jamar won the public vote last week, but Juliet Simms has outdone him on iTunes the past two performance shows.  And it looks like she might get to close tonight’s show.  After two upbeat performances, Jamar is going to slow things down with “If You Don’t Know Me By Now.”  He starts off strong.  But he’s faltering a bit on the chorus, which is supposed to be this song’s big moment.   He came back strong again at the end.  Not as good as Tony Lucca, but probably the second-best we’ve seen tonight.  Grade: B.

 Juliet Simms:   High hopes for Juliet.  She’s been the most fun to watch over the past month.  She’s going to slow it down and sing “It’s a Man’s World.”  Well, they saved the best to last on The Voice.  Juliet Simms just sings with incredible passion.  And what a great idea to slow it down and just belt it out. Fabulous.  Grade: A.