Idol Chatter & Voice Views

When The Voice started out with 16 members per team — up from eight in Season 1 and 12 in Season 2 — you just knew there would have to be a rapid-fire elimination round somewhere along the line.

Especially since, for the first time ever, some contestants who lost during the now-familiar battle rounds were being stolen (read saved from elimination).

Well, here it is, the brand new knockout ring on The Voice.

Joselyn Rivera: Stolen by Adam, she’ll sing a Beyonce tune this time around, “Love on Top.” Decent performance by Joselyn, filled with big notes. Not thrilled with her song selection, but her poise on stage at 17 is pretty remarkable.

Kayla Nevarez: The gal who told Adam “we’d better win this” is going to sing “Shark in the Water.” Love the tone of this gal’s voice, and I think she’s doing a much better job of making the song her own. And I’m, again, amazed at how poised these teen artists are on such a big stage.

My pick: Kayla. Adam’s pick: Joselyn. She advances; Kayla leaves the competition.

Knockout 2

Joe Kirkland: The Artist vs. Poet lead singer will sing “Mean” by Taylor Swift. Hmm, interesting. He says he wants to show his versatility. That often spells trouble on The Voice. Well, Joe actually made the Taylor Swift song work in a fun performance. Neat tone in his voice. Not sure he had the big moment that Bryan did at the end, though.

Bryan Keith: The son of a Grammy winner, Bryan was one of the few to earn a four-chair turn-around in the blind auditions. He’s going to sing: “Everything I Do, I Do It for You.” Haven’t we heard this performed a million times on these shows? Bryan seemed to go off key early in the song, but he sure brought it home at the end. Until that point, I wasn’t impressed.

My pick: Bryan. Adam’s pick: Bryan.

Knockout 3

Amanda Brown: She’s one of the two contestants Adam stole, after her excellent performance in her battle with Trevin Hunte. She’ll sing “Paris Ooh La La.” Whoa! Smoky opening. My, my. That battle round performance wasn’t a fluke was it. That was an absolutely blistering performance. Sassy, sexy but most of all, a brilliant vocal.

Michelle-Brooks Thompson: She’ll sing “Spotlight,” the Jennifer Hudson tune. The bank employee who sings to customers is proving she’s a whole lot better than that. Really, really great talent on this show. She hit a couple of incredible notes during that song. From a performance standpoint, it wasn’t quite as good as Amanda, but the vocal was spot on.

My pick: Amanda Brown. Adam’s pick: Amanda

Knockout 4

Loren Allred: We haven’t even met Loren so far on The Voice. She’s a former Berklee student, a former wedding singer, who once had a recording contract, but didn’t get to make a record. She’s singing Amy Winehouse’s “I’m No Good.” Damn. I just knew we should have heard Loren before this. She slayed the ending of that song. Wonderful glory note finish. Didn’t sound wedding-singer-ish to me.

Nicole Nelson: The self-described hippie is singing “If I Ain’t Got You.” She’s been very impressive to this point, and it’s tough not to consider her the favorite going in because we’d seen so little of Loren. And Nicole showed great control throughout that performance. Another very fine vocal and another very even match.

My pick: Nicole, and only because she’s been consistently good. Adam’s pick: Loren. No complaint here.

Knockout 5

Melanie Martinez: The gal who played two instruments while singing “Toxic” in the blind audition wants to sing “Bulletproof.” Adam isn’t impressed with her first version of the song, but she’s going to stick with it. She seems to have corrected whatever the problem was. The two-toned hair and the big red ribbon might look gimmicky. Except that Melanie always backs them up with a fine performance.

Sam James: I thought this guy was something of a surprise winner over Benji in the battle round. He’ll sing “Walking in Memphis,” but is having trouble pronouncing Memphis, which would be pretty key to singing this song. Right? Anyway, he masters that by the time he takes the knockout round stage. And he turns in a perfectly credible performance. But I’m not sure he has the unique factor going for him.

My pick: Melanie. Adam’s pick: Melanie.

Team Cee Lo

Knockout 1

Avery Wilson: Avery Wilson, the guy who came from a family of singers, has been one of the show’s most impressive singers so far. He’s going to inject some energy into the show with a Chris Brown song, “Yeah 3X.” It’s easy to forget this guy is just 16. Nice performance. But I gotta say, that was the least impressive vocal I’ve heard from him to date.

Cody Belew: It’s been weeks since we’ve seen Cody, who was picked by Cee Lo at the last minute in the blind auditions, then defeated Domo in the battle round. He’ll sing “Jolene.” No bam-bam this time as Cody decides to slow things down. That was a very nice vocal. Better than I suspected Cody could sing. But I’m still betting Avery makes it through on potential.

My pick: Cody. Cee Lo’s pick: Cody.

Knockout 2

MacKenzie Bourg: Oh, no, MacKenzie is going to sing “Call Me Maybe” with his own twist. I’m still not sure MacKenzie should have won his battle round over Emily Earle. He does have the loudest parent on the show. No, no, no. I don’t think you take one of the most popular songs right now and change it so dramatically. Call me unimpressed.

Daniel Rosa: The comeback kid from Season 2 squeaked out a battle round win in another questionable outcome. He’s been struggling with his confidence. And he’ll tackle Taylor Swift’s “My December.” Hmm, not sure that was a perfect vocal. But he did do a touching rendition of the song. Much better than I expected.

My pick: Daniel. Cee Lo’s pick: MacKenzie.

Knockout 3

Terisa Griffin: Terisa lost the battle round despite a clearly superior vocal in the battle round. She was saved by Cee Lo and will sing “Saving All My Love,” broken ankle and all. I thought, ‘Oh, no,’ when she announced the song choice, because it’s another we’ve heard so often on these shows. But Terisa did a wonderful rendition of the Whitney Houston song.

Trevin Hunte: He defeated Amanda Brown during the battle round, meaning he’s performed twice and been excellent twice on The Voice. He’s going to sing “Against All Odds.” Not much in the way of original song picks in this knockout. Trevin lulled us to sleep with a pretty standard opening to that song. Then he started showing off his powerhouse vocals halfway through. What incredible range!

My pick: Trevin. Cee Lo’s pick: Trevin.

Knockout 4

Mycle Wastman: This guy has some of the best original music I’ve heard among Season 3 contestants. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to hear his battle round performance. He’s going to sing “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” Cee Lo is encouraging him to take a more fierce approach to the song. Great, a Hurricane Sandy news break just caused us to miss the first part of Mycle’s performance. Very nice job, though I like his original music better.

Nicholas David: The guy with the unruly mustache will sing “Put Your Records On.” This is an interesting match-up because Nicholas has a wealth of pre-Voice music of his own. He defeated Todd Kessler in the battle round. Of the two, Nicholas has the more distinctive voice, but I get distracted by the strange facial expressions that accompany his performances. Another nice effort.

My pick: Mycle. Cee Lo’s pick: Nicholas.

Knockout 5

Caitlin Michelle: Caitlin is going to sing “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence. She had the misfortune of being matched against Melanie Martinez in the battle round, but was saved by Cee Lo. She’s doing a very fine job. Nice choice of song. It gave her a wonderful chance to show off her vocal range.

Diego Val: Hailing from Peru, Diego was the flashier performer in his battle round against JR Aquino, but I’m not convinced he was the better singer. He’s going to sing “Are You Gonna Go My Way.” Once again, he’s proving that he’s a charismatic performer. But the vocals just can’t match what Caitlin just delivered.

My pick: Caitlin. Cee Lo’s pick: Diego.