Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Unless they stumble badly — very badly — Danielle Bradbery and Michelle Chamuel seemed destined for the finals on The Voice.

That leaves three contestants — Sasha Allen, Amber Carrington and The Swon Brothers — vying for the third and final spot on the show next week.

Sasha would get my vote based on pure vocal talent. Amber’s probably proven the most versatile of the three.

The Swon Brothers? At their best, they’re just flat out fun to watch.

Each performs twice tonight during a two-hour episode, with the results to be revealed tomorrow night at 8 p.m.

Tonight’s episode also will serve as a lead-in to NBC’s new singing show, “The Winner Is.” Longtime fans of American Idol are likely to recognize a couple of tonight’s contestants. Head here to find out who.

Now, the song by song grades …

And The Voice steals a page from American Idol, sending the Top 5 home for a celebration before the semifinals.

Colton and Zach Swon

1. The Swon Brothers: They’ll start the night singing Bob Segar’s “Turn the Page,” dedicating it to all the band mates who have performed with them over the years. Zach is doing very well with this. Nice choice of a song that fits neatly in the country, classic rock range. I was about to say it’s a song that doesn’t go anywhere, but then Zach picked up the pace over the second half of that performance and showed that the ladies on The Voice aren’t the only ones who can nail a glory note. Nice job overall. Something we’ll remember two hours from now? That remains to be seen. Grade: B

Sasha Allen

2. Sasha Allen: The gal from New York is singing “I Will Always Love You” to her two children. Yep, it would be on my list of songs done too often on these shows, but let’s see what Sasha does with it before we judge. And, of course, being one of the finest singers on the show, Sasha did just fine with the song. Given the tenderness she brought to the rest of the song, the growl near the end seemed a tad out of place, but that would be my only quibble with that performance. Her former coach Adam calls it an incredible job. Shakira said it took some “serious guts” to tackle that song, but that she probably made Whitney’s fans proud. Grade: B+

Michelle Chamuel

3. Michelle Chamuel: We’re treated to clips from Michelle’s trip home. She sure didn’t dress up for the occasion, did she? But she wound up singing at Fenway Park. Her song is “Clarity” by Zedd. Interesting song choice, but this is the type of music Michelle prefers — electro pop. In fact, she recorded some very good originals along this line prior to the show. And it’s another high-energy performance, with Michelle stalking the stage, punching her fist in the air. The crowd seemed to love it. And I somehow doubt we’ll be hearing electro pop from anyone else tonight. But that didn’t quite match the performance of the Taylor Swift song last week. Grade: B–

Danielle Bradbery

4. Danielle Bradbery: Now we’re treated to Danielle’s trip home, during which she’s greeted by classmates at her high school, then gets to sing the national anthem at an Astros game. Her first-round song: “Please Remember Me.” I’m glad Danielle reached the chorus, because the first verse of that song sounded far short of special. Then her voice soared on the chorus and she sounded great from that point on, especially with the power she showed in the final run-through on the chorus. Usher calls it “amaze-balls.” And Adam says a person can’t sing a song technically more proficient than she did. OK, Blake might have selected that song. Not sure. Bottom line, Danielle’s headed to the finals. Grade: B

Amber Carrington

5. Amber Carrington: The gal from Texas is singing Katy Perry’s “Fireworks” and dedicating it to the friends who helped her get through so much teenage drama. Honestly, that was a weak start for Amber. The first verse was barely intelligible. Amber hits the chorus, and fails to soar. She’s shown incredible versatility on this show, but she might have bitten off the wrong pop song this time around. And, sorry, Amber, but a couple of big notes at the end aren’t going to salvage that performance. It was, quite frankly, a bit of a mess. Grade: C–

The Swon Brothers

6. The Swon Brothers: Now, Zach and Colton head home to Oklahoma and visit the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, where they used to work. And, look at that, they win the rising star award for 2013, the same honor Blake Shelton won back in the day. And looks like The Swon Brothers have lots of support back in Muskogee. This time around, they’ll sing “Danny’s Song,” the ol’ Loggins and Messina tune. It’s another solid performance from the guys, though I’m not sure it’s going to deliver the moment they need to duet their way into the finals. Really nice, stripped down ending, though. Blake calls the performance “perfect.” Grade: B

Sasha Allen

7. Sasha Allen: Now Sasha heads back to New York to visit with her family. But she only gets to visit with her daughter? Her trip home wraps up with a performance at the Village Underground, where she performed as a college student. Her second-round song: “Bad Girls.” Interesting choice. Let’s see what she can do with it. I think I would have served up classic rock or another song along the lines of “Before He Cheats.” Not sure this is going to allow Sasha to show off her vocal range. Sasha does about as well as one could expect with it. Very nice from a performance standpoint. Shakira was shooting for fun, and explains that “Bad Girls” was the first record she ever got. For Sasha’s sake, I hope lots of folks get it overnight. Grade: B–

Danielle Bradbery

8. Danielle Bradbery: She’s going to sing Jessica Andrew’s “Who I Am,” dedicating the performance to her parents and her best friend. With lyrics that say it doesn’t matter if she makes the big leagues (we already saw her singing there) or if she wins a Grammy (to hear Blake talk, she’s well on her way). Again, Danielle hits her sweet spot once she starts singing the chorus and winds up standing next to her parents and hugging both at the end of the performance. It might not have been my favorite Danielle performance, but that was a smart song choice that will play well to her base. Blake calls her a superstar. Grade: B+

Amber Carrington

9. Amber Carrington: Time for Amber’s trip home, which includes a visit to her local radio station, a visit to the boutique where she used to work, a visit to the concert venue where she learned about her mom’s passing and a performance in Rockwall, Texas. She’s going to sing Maroon 5’s “Sad.” OK, this is already better than her round one performance. I’m just a little confused why she isn’t singing a country song for either of her selections tonight. But that was a sensitive, spot-on performance, especially the second half. Shame her first performance was such a misfire. Grade: A-

Michelle Chauel

10. Michelle Chamuel: She’s singing “Time After Time” and dedicating it to Usher, saying “time after time, you’ve been there for me.” She’s got this. Give her a big plus for picking a song that fits nicely into her vocal range. And you just knew that subtle opening and middle were going to explode into a big finish. And with a punch into the air, and the crash of a clock, Michelle delivered. Here’s betting that tops the iTunes chart tomorrow morning. Loved that finish. Like Danielle, Michelle Chamuel is finals bound. Listen to the crowd respond to that performance. Grade: A

OK, so Danielle delivers two solid performances and Michelle delivers the best of the night. That should be more than enough to make them finals bound.

If there’s a third spot in the finals … wow, it’s going to be close.

I still think Sasha is the most talented singer, but neither song choice tonight was very good. Amber Carrington turned in one of the evening’s best vocals, but also turned in one of the worst we’ve heard — perhaps the worst — in the last month.

And that could open the door for the always steady Swon Brothers, who don’t seem to suffer from the same sort of musical identity crisis as Sasha and Amber.