Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Twenty singers remain on The Voice.

By the time the dust settles this week, only 12 will remain — the finalists for Season 7.

Each of the next two nights, the remaining contestants from two teams will sing solos.

Two of the five on each team will advance via fan voting. Then each coach will select a third singer to advance.

And tonight we’ll hear from the members of Team Adam and Team Blake.

Taylor Brashears

Taylor Brashears

Background: From Nashville, Tenn., and 21 at the time of her audition, she already has a self-titled EP, released in 2011, to her credit.
Blind Audition: Turned three chairs singing the Loretta Lynn classic “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man).”
Battle Round: Defeated Bree Fondacaro. They performed “You’re No Good” by Linda Ronstadt.
Knockout Round: Defeated Allison Bray singing “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac (Stevie Nicks).

Taylor has stopped working on the food truck, we learn. She’ll be singing “Long Time Gone” by the Dixie Chicks; Blake thinks it’s a song that will show off her sass. Blake says country music doesn’t have a classic female country singer like Taylor right now. She starts off playing the fiddle. She’s looking fabulous, but I’m not familiar with this song and couldn’t understand half the lyrics in that first verse. Actually, I’m not sure this was a good song choice for Taylor. We only get small glimpses of that huge voice of hers. Loved the expressions though. Gwen liked how comfortable Taylor seemed on stage. Adam likes her confidence. Blake says she did great and he loves the “onnery” side of her personality and voice. Grade: C+

Jessie Pitts

Background: From Birmingham, Ala., Jessie was 18 when she auditioned. She attends college and works at a record label “where I help other people get their music out. But I want it to be my turn.”
Blind audition: Turned a pair of chairs singing Brandi Carlile’s “The Story.”
Battle round: Lost to Team Gwen’s Ryan Sill; they performed “I Need Your Love” by Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding. But Jessie got a reprieve when she was stolen by Blake Shelton.
Knockout round: Defeated Tanner Linford with a performance of “Your Song” by Elton John.

Jessie is going to sing Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero,” a song she says she used to sing at the top of her lungs with her sisters. She plays to strip it down to a slow cover. Interesting. Blake likes her unique way of pulling listeners in with her voice. Yep, she’s changed the song up pretty dramatically. Really love Jessie’s voice. But this song is a fast-paced anthem written by Jim Steinman, and Jessie’s version is sapping the energy from the tune, which makes it far less special. That said, I’m still a fan of Jessie’s voice, and she nailed a heck of a glory note at the end. I just didn’t like that version of the song. But the performance brought Pharrell to his feet. Gwen says every one of her performances get better. Adam calls it “by far” her best performance. Blake calls her “completely original.” Grade: B–

James David Carter

Background: From Atlanta, Ga., he was 34 when he auditioned. He has already released two EPs and an album of acoustic covers. His latest was the five-track “Songs to God,” released last year.
Blind audition: Got all four coaches to turn their chairs for his performance of Kevin Sharp’s hit, “Nobody Knows.”
Battle round: Defeated fellow country singer Craig Wayne Boyd; they sang “Wave on Wave.”
Knockout round: Defeated Griffin with a performance of James Taylor’s “You’ve Got a Friend.”

James jokes that he’s been getting lots of marriage proposals since appearing on TV. He’ll sing Garth Brooks “Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House.” Blake says the up-tempo song will show a different side of James David, who’s done mostly ballads to this point. He also says James is going to have to pick up a couple of spots to shine vocally. OK, I can tell you already, this guy is going to the finals. He just looks like he’s been performing on stage all his life. And he worked a few vocal wrinkles into the song during a thoroughly delightful performance. That was a playful song, and a playful performance to match. Really nice performance, and I’m not a fan of that style of country music. Gwen calls his voice “so beautiful” and she likes his ability to “engage” the crowd without ever leaving the mic stand. Blake calls James David “a rock” he can always count on to sound great. Grade: B+

Reagan James

Background: Just 15 at the time of her audition, she’s from Burleson, Texas, and hoping to follow in the footsteps of another Burleson gal – Kelly Clarkson, the original American Idol.
Blind audition: Turned two chairs singing Ed Sheeran’s “Give Me Love.”
Battle round: Defeated fellow teen Kensington Moore; they sang Lorde’s “Team.”
Knockout round: Defeated Grant Ganzer with a performance of “Hit Em Up Style.”

At 15, Reagan is the youngest singer in the competition. She’s singing “Try” by Colbie Caillat. Blake likes the way Reagan is making the song her own; Reagan says she picked the song in part because of Gwen’s advice that she not act too much older than she is. Dang, this young lady had me from the first note. How can she be this assured at 15? She just held that “Try” forever and ever. And, folks, the youngest singer on The Voice just turned in a fabulous performance. There was a bit of a dead spot after she put down her guitar. But, otherwise, that was just fantastic. She clearly had a plan for that performance and executed it wonderfully. Pharrell is jealous she’s on Blake’s team. Gwen loved that song for Reagan. Blake calls her one of the “most important artists we’ve had on The Voice.” Folks, Reagan must make the finals. And not just because the elimination show falls on her 16th birthday. Grade: A

Craig Wayne Boyd

Background: From Nashville, Tenn., he was 35 when he auditioned and has two albums to his credit, a self-titled CD from 2010 and a 13-track CD called “I Ain’t a Quitter” from 2013.
Blind audition: Turned a pair of chairs singing Travis Tritt’s “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’.”
Battle round: Lost to James David Carter, but was so impressive performing “Wave on Wave” that he was stolen by Gwen Stefani.
Knockout round: Lost to Anita Antoinette, but sang the Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See” so well he was stolen back by Blake Shelton.

Look at this: The twice-stolen singer gets to close the show. He’ll perform “Some Kind of Wonderful,” hoping to establish Craig as a southern rocker. Blake says he “attacks a song, beats it up and then eats it.” This is another veteran performer unlikely to be intimidated by The Voice stage. And he’s going to deliver a crowd-pleasing performance that just might propel him into the finals. He’s another guy who knows how to work a crowd. And deliver a powerful vocal all the while. And he, too, delivers a very good finish. Yep, that should earn him a spot in the finals. Pharrell “loves” what Blake and Craig Wayne are doing together. Gwen thinks he delivered “a moment.” Blake calls it “the performance of the night.” Well, if not, darn close to it. Grade: A–

TEAM ADAM

Chris Jamison

Background: From Pittsburgh, Pa., he was 20 at the time of his audition and earned money delivering mail at Capital University in Ohio, where he also joined the rock ensemble. He was putting together a band to play corporate events and weddings pre-Voice.
Blind audition: He sang John Mayer’s “Gravity” and prompted all four coaches to turn their chairs.
Battle round: He defeated four-chair turn recipient Jonathan Wyndham; they performed “Young Girls” by Bruno Mars.
Knockout round: He defeated another four-chair turn recipient, Blessing Offor, with a performance of Otis Redding’s “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.”

Adam says he’s given Chris a song that’s “playful and fun” but “aggressive.” He’ll have him sing Ed Sheeran’s “Don’t.” But the fast-paced song has Chris just a little worried. Adam predicts girls will flip out over this performance. Chris is off to a strong start, showing off a few dance moves, sounding fine and showing not a hint of nerves. OK, he hit the chorus and got drowned out just a bit by the music and the background singers. That’s often a problem with the sound mix on The Voice. My guess is Adam will be correct and that performance will go over very well. Blake called it a tough song to navigate and says Chris did a great job. Pharrell agrees. Gwen likes his stage presence. Adam likes the energy Chris showed and the control he showed during the performance. Grade: B

Matt McAndrew

Background: From Philadelphia, Pa., Matt was 23 when he auditioned. A singer-songwriter, he taught music lessons at Bach to Rock and released an impressive album called “View of the Pines” earlier this year.
Blind audition: He sang “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri and enticed three judges to turn their chairs.
Battle round: Defeated Ethan Bulter; they performed Coldplay’s “Yellow.”
Knockout round: Defeated Rebekah Samarin with a performance of Train’s “Drops of Jupiter,” but only a snippet of the match aired.

Matt is singing the Beach Boys, the first time one of their songs has been performed on the show, according to Adam. He’ll be singing “God Only Knows,” and Adam calls it the perfect match of singer and song. Interesting choice. Matt thinks it’s one of the best songs ever written, and he has his mom in tears in the first voice. Not sure how it’s going to go over with the audience at home, though. As Adam noted, this isn’t standard Voice fare. Matt is helping out by working the stage and shaking hands with members of the audience. Matt sounded great throughout. Blake calls it a “great song choice.” Pharrell calls it “so awesome” and makes sure Matt gets a chance to plug his website and his music. Gwen likes his “uniqueness.” Adams calls him “fearless.” I still think Matt is one of the top contenders on the show, even if I wasn’t quite as crazy about that performance as the coaches. Grade: B+

Taylor Phelan

Background: From Sherman, Texas, he was 25 when he auditioned. Performed with a Chicago-based indie rock band called The Canes; they released an EP in 2012, but Taylor decided to find a more settled job after he and his wife had a daughter.
Blind audition: All four coaches turned their chairs when he sang The Neighbourhood’s “Sweater Weather.”
Battle round: Defeated Jordy Searcy; they performed “Breakeven” by The Script.
Knockout round: Sang “Rather Be” by Clean Bandit, but dropped the Team Pharrell match to Luke Wade. No problem, three coaches tried to steal Taylor, who decided to join Team Adam.

He’ll sing “Cool Kids” by Echosmith, trying to recapture the magic that made “Sweater Weather” an iTunes hit. Adam likes how sincere and genuine Taylor is. Taylor starts out on his guitar, but it isn’t long before he’s working the audience like a pro. And now he has the audience clapping and singing along. Very nice. That seemed to be a crowd pleasing, fun performance. Very nice vocal too. Pharrell says he’s “so proud” of Taylor. Gwen says he’s so good, it’s like watching a peer. Adam has high praise for the performance as well. I’ll say this: The battle for the three spots on Team Adam should be very, very interesting. Grade: B

Mia Pfirrman

Background: From Temple City, Calif., Mia was 19 when she auditioned. Her parents were in a band called “September” and she hails from a musical family. She said she’s hoping to find musical direction on The Voice.
Blind audition: She got all four coaches to turn their chairs for her cover of Katy Perry’s “Unconditionally.”
Battle round: Defeated Beth Spangler; they performed “I Turn to You” by Christina Aguilera. Beth was stolen.
Knockout round: Defeated Allesandra Castronovo with a performance of “Human” by Christina Perri.

Adam is having her sing “Young and Beautiful” by Lana Del Rey. Mia says she’s never performed a song like this before. Though the song has a dark side, it’s also a big and bold song. Mia plans to mia-fy it and deliver the best performance of her life. Mia has a really nice voice, doesn’t she? And no one needs to teach her the magic of a glory note. What in the world are voters going to do with Team Adam? That was probably the most impressive vocal yet from a member of Team Adam. Lots of vocal fireworks in that song. And Mia delivered those lyrics with plenty of emotion. Pharrell said her voice was the star of that performance. Adam said he was “amazed” by her performance and says Mia came into her own in a “surprising potent way.” Grade: A–

Damien Lawson

Background: From Monroe, La., he was 35 when he auditioned. He’s the TSA agent who had a co-worker gunned down at LAX and sang at the funeral. Back in 2007, he was a runner-up on “Gifted,” a Christian singing competition.
Blind audition: All four coaches turned their chairs when he sang Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.”
Battle round: Defeated Kelli Douglas; they sang Otis Redding’s “Knock on Wood.”
Knockout round: Defeated Toia Jones with his performance of “How Do I Live” by LeAnn Rimes.

Adam says he thinks he’s found a contemporary song that Damien can pour heart and soul into, instead of singing another classic. He’s having him sing Sam Smith’s “I’m Not the Only One.” That wasn’t a particularly strong start on Damien’s part, but he made up for it the moment he hit the chorus. With great vocals. And with the heart and soul he’s pouring into this performance. I really thought he might be a Team Adam afterthought, given all the excellent singer-songwriters on Team Adam. But he just delivered a fantastic vocal with a fantastic flourish at the end. And the crowd is going crazy over that vocal. And rightfully so. Blake likes his power and range and calls the performance “awesome.” Gwen noted that the audience reaction to that performance was the strongest of the night. Adam’s reaction: “The whole country felt that.” I have a new Team Adam favorite from tonight’s show. Grade: A