Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Aren’t the judges on The Voice fun to watch?

Any fear that the panel’s chemistry would be lost with Shakira and Usher replacing Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green should have vanished by now.

This foursome seems natural together.

If anything, Usher seems a bit more invested in the proceedings than Cee Lo.

And Shakira is definitely more bearable, and more likely to poke fun at herself, than the sometimes self-indulgent Christina.

The panel’s good-natured jokesters — Adam Levine and Blake Shelton — are the keys, or course.

With them around … well, it looks like it’s easy to have fun on the job.

Tonight, we’re back to the job of selecting team members. Several of those we met last night have already released music.

More on that later, as I’ll be profiling all the team members before the battle round begins.

Audrey Karrasch, 20, Reno, Nev.: Audrey became a model in New York as a teen, but found the business superficial. So she moved to Charlotte, N.C., and has focused on her music. She says she likes the concept of The Voice because she’ll be judged solely on how she sounds, not on her looks. She auditions with “Price Tag,” and Blake spins almost immediately, followed by Usher a few seconds later. Like this young woman’s energy on stage. Wow, and Blake barely gets a chance to lobby for her services. Audrey decides she’ll join Team Usher in little more than a heartbeat. Grade: B–

Brandon Roush, 19, Louisville, Ky.: He’s a member of a band called the Dirty Grindstones. But he works with autistic kids when he isn’t playing rock music and says he loves helping people through his job. He describes his voice as different and thinks that will work to his advantage. His audition song: “With a Little Help from My Friends.” I really liked Brandon’s opening. And he unleashed a heck of a shriek that prompted Shakira to turn her chair. As it turns out, she’s the only one, so Brandon becomes a member of Team Shakira. Adam says Brandon looks like he belongs in Megadeth. Grade: B

Betsy Barta, 22, Minneapolis, Minn.: As a child, Betsy says she sang really enthusiastically at home, but says she froze up whenever she performed in front of a crowd. She and her guitar player sang on street corners for a while, trying to get someone to notice them. Betsy said that helped her overcome her shyness. Her audition song: Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain.” I immediately like Betsy’s voice best of the ones we’ve heard tonight. She finishes singing and not a single judge turns around. What the heck? I thought she was really good. Grade: B

Patrick Dodd, 35, Memphis, Tenn: He says he got started in music at age 18, spent 10 years in the landscaping business because music wasn’t going to pay his family’s bills and has more recently been trying to revive his career in Memphis. He’ll sing, of course, “Walking in Memphis.” In 2011, if I heard right, he was named the Beale Street (Memphis) Entertainer of the Year. And he’s got an appealing rasp in his voice and sings with a heck of a lot of passion. Shakira and Adam spun their chairs for his performance. Shakira calls him “awesome.” Patrick chooses Team Adam. Grade: B+

Now, here come some rapid-fire selections:

Pop singer Trevor Davis goes to Team Blake.

R&B singer C. Perkins lands on Team Shakira.

Returning singer Agina Alvarez sings Shakira’s “Beautiful Liar” and winds up on Team Adam.

Orlando Dixon, 24, Washington, D.C.: He’s a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and says he’s been training for a music career all his life. Orlando’s mom said her son started showing an interest in music at age 6. Now he works as a wedding singer, helping his mom make ends meet. His audition song: “So Sick.” Orlando shows off a nice tone at times during the song, but chose a tune that really didn’t provide him too many “moments.” At the very last moment, Usher turns around. And so Orlando is a member of Team Usher. He seems thrilled. He says Usher is the coach he was hoping would turn around. Grade: C

Savannah Berry, 17, Houston, Texas: She says she’s been singing since age 4 and started posting YouTube videos at age 13. One of those songs was “Stuck on Glue.” Sugarland heard it and invited her to perform with them as a promo for an awards show. So Savannah decided to go into home schooling so she could focus more on her music. She’s going to sing “Safe and Sound.” And she has a really nice tone to her voice. One that entices Adam to turn around after just a few notes. He’s soon joined by Shakira. And an impressive glory note lures Blake in as well. Only Usher doesn’t turn around. Big mistake, Usher. For a 17-year-old, Savannah sounded amazing. Shakira puts on the hard sell, saying Adam and Blake are “jaded, almost deaf” after three seasons. And Savannah heads to Team Blake. Grade: A–