Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Voice coaches Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams and Blake Shelton look on during a performance last week on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

See those four faces above. I expect some fierce lobbying in support of their singers tonight on The Voice.

That’s because just four of the Top 8 will breeze into next week’s show on the basis of fan support when Carson Daly doles out the results Tuesday night.

The rest will have to rely on that dreaded instant save.

Which might work fine for already-twice-saved Ryan Sill and Chris Jamison, both of whom have East Coast fan bases.

But might not work out so well for Taylor John Williams and Luke Wade, who hail from Oregon and Texas, respectively. In other words, they’re from places where The Voice won’t even be on TV when the instant save window is open.

I still don’t understand how the show can even pretend that’s fair. But before we get to results and instant saves, we have tonight’s performance show.

Which we start off with the news that The Voice has moved 20 million singles in its first seven seasons.

Musically, we oen the night with a a group performance of “Geronimo.” Wonder if York’s DaNica Shirey feels a little lonely as the only gal left in the competition. She sounds in great voice. For that matter, so does Craig Wayne Boyd. This is a nice upbeat way to open the night.

Ryan Sill (Team Gwen)

Blind audition: He performed OneRepublic’s “Secrets” and enticed two judges to turn their chairs.
Battle round: He defeated Jessie Pitts; they sang “I Need Your Love” by Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding. Jessie was stolen by Blake Shelton.
Knockout round: He defeated Beth Spangler with a performance of Ne-Yo’s “Miss Independent.”
Live playoffs: He sang OneRepublic’s “I Lived.” The song hit number 181 on the iTunes pop chart and number 70 on the site’s pop chart. Ryan was Gwen Stefani’s choice to advance to the finals.
Top 12: He sang Duran Duran’s “Ordinary World.” The song landed at number 120 on the iTunes singles chart and number 56 on the pop chart. Ryan found himself in the bottom three on results night. He sang “More Than Words” for his save-me song and received the instant save to advance to the Top 10.
Top 10: He sang “Starlight” by Muse. The song landed at number 174 on the overall iTunes chart and umber 17 on the alternative chart. Ryan landed in the bottom three in voting, but received the instant save for the second straight week.

Yikes. Ryan needed a save to make the finals, two instant saves to make it this far. Now he has to sing first. He’ll be singing Journey’s “Open Arms.” Gwen knows the odds; she badly wants Ryan to make the semifinals, but says this needs to be a standout performance. Not crazy about the song choice, but he certainly starts off sounding strong, showing off lots of power. Oops, then he hit the chorus and his voice seemed to be straining slightly to reach some of those notes. And Ryan is pouring lots of emotion into the second verse, but the vocal suffered somewhat. Nice tender ending, though. Gwen is on her feet and appears to have tears in her eyes. Adam says Ryan is an incredibly good singer and says he killed it. Blake says he doesn’t know what else Ryan can do to avoid the bottom three. Pharrell says he seems to improve each week. Gwen notes that the song if very hard to sing and confirms the tears. Grade: C+

Craig Wayne Boyd

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.
Live playoffs: He sang Grand Funk Railroad’s “Some Kind of Wonderful.” His cover hit number 59 on the iTunes singles chart and number seven on the site’s country chart. He was voted into the finals.
Top 12: He sang George Strait’s “You Look So Good in Love.” The song hit number 11 on the iTunes overall chart and number one on the site’s country singles chart. He was voted into the Top 10.
Top 10: He sang Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” and scored another number one country hit on iTunes. The song landed at number six overall, earning him bonus points toward the finale. He was voted into the Top 8.

Craig is going to sing “Take It Easy” by the Eagles. Blake notes that it was a rock hit and a country hit, which he thinks makes it perfect for him. Craig says he’s done the song hundreds of times. But Blake criticizes him for not singing so folks can understand the lyrics. He wants a Grammy-type performance from Craig. Hmm, I think Craig got the message. He starts off trying to get the crowd involved, then launches into another wonderful performance. No problem at all understanding what he’s singing, Blake. Like the fact that they dialed back the music for that last voice to allow Craig Wayne’s voice to stand out, because this isn’t a song with lots of vocal gymnastics. Still, that will surely be a crowd-pleaser and should get Blake’s only remaining artist into the Top 5. Pharrell and Gwen were on their feet along with Blake. Pharrell: “This is your show.” Gwen calls him “so professional” and says she felt like she was at a country awards show. Adam likes the fact that he followed up a serious performance with a fun performance this week. Blake, of course, loved it too. Here’s betting he has another iTunes hit on his hands. Grade: A–

DaNica Shirey

Blind audition: Turned three chairs with her performance of Jessie J’s “Big White Room.”
Battle round: Defeated Toia Jones in one of Season 7’s most celebrated battle round matches; they sang Beyonce’s “Halo.”
Knockout round: Sang Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love for You” and defeated young Katriz Trinidad.
Live playoffs: She sang “Help Me” by Joni Mitchell. The song landed at 120 on the iTunes singles chart and 52 on the pop chart. She was voted into the finals.
Top 12: She sang Radiohead’s “Creep.” The song landed at number 59 on the iTunes singles chart and number 30 on the pop chart. She was voted into the Top 10.
Top 10: She sang Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing.” The song landed at number 49 on the iTunes singles chart and 23 on the site’s pop chart. DaNica was voted into the Top 8.

DaNica is going to sing Heart’s “These Dreams.” DaNica admits she’s a little reluctant about this song, because she keeps hearing Heart’s version and it’s a little outside her “wheelhouse.” But Pharrell is encouraging her and says he’s looking for the type of Grammy-level performance that will help her advance to the next round. Hmm, they’ve changed up the song quite noticeably. Not sure how this is going to go over. I was really hoping DaNica would do something more current this week. Fortunately, her voice soars — predictably — when she hits the chorus. Hmm, that was interesting. It seems like the verses were holding her back. But she sounded as strong as she ever has on the chorus. Gwen thought the song choice was great (I didn’t), and liked the fact that it tamed her a bit. Adam calls it “incredible” and says DaNica is “always amazing.” Blake says DaNica has been one of his favorites from the beginning because of her “enormous voice.” Pharrell says it could not have gone any better. I’m really rooting for DaNica, so I’m hoping voters liked that performance more than I did. Grade: B–

Now the Top 8 get to join Nick Jonas on stage for a performance of “Jealous.”

Damien Lawson

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.
Live playoffs: He sang “I’m Not the Only One” by Sam Smith. The song landed at number 40 on the iTunes overall singles chart and number one on the R&B/Soul chart. He was voted into the finals.
Top 12: He sang “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” and the song was one of the top performers on iTunes, hitting number 12 on the overall singles chart and number one on the R&B/Soul chart. He was voted into the Top 10.
Top 10: He sang Stevie Wonder’s “You and I.” He was voted into the Top 8 after the song landed at number 59 on the overall iTunes chart and at number three on the site’s R&B/soul chart.

Hmm, here’s an interesting song choice. Adam will have Damien sing Adele’s “Someone Like You.” Damien says he likes the challenge, saying he thinks he can relate to the lyrics. Adam thinks this could be Damien’s “moment.” We shall see. I immediately like the opening better than the early part of his performance last week. Keep it simple, Damien. We don’t need a run at the end of every line. Your voice is good enough to carry this. Could Damien have the best voice of any male singer on this show? Oh, yeah. The was a really great demonstration of power and range. Perhaps a few too many frills, but that’s a minor complaint after an emotional vocal like that. He brought all the coaches to their feet. Blake calls it a “perfect performance.” Pharrell says he’s “super happy” for Damien. Gwen loved it, too. Adam calls it his “best, best, best performance” and informs us that the song was one Damien wanted to perform. Grade: A–

Chris Jamison (Team Adam)

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.”
Live playoffs: He sang Ed Sheeran’s “Don’t.” Chris’ version of the song hit number 133 on the iTunes singles chart and number 50 on the pop chart. He was Adam Levine’s choice to advance to the finals.
Top 12: He sang “Jealous” by Nick Jonas. The song hit number 23 on the overall iTunes chart and number 15 on the site’s pop chart. He was voted into the Top 10.
Top 10: He sang “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson. The song hit 38 on the iTunes singles chart and 20 on the pop chart. He was voted into the Top 8.

Chris Jamison is going to sing “Sexual Healing” by Marvin Gaye and Adam says this song is very much in Chris’ zone. After all, he’s being billed as The Voice heartthrob. Chris compliments Adam for helping turn him into a much more confident performer. Interesting opening. Chris was being drowned out by the backing music for the first couple of rounds. OK, this just isn’t doing much for me. The vocal is OK, but we’ve seen a couple of vocals that were much, much better than OK so far tonight. I will say Chris’ stage presence has improved markedly over the course of the show and he’s doing a much better job of connecting with the audience. He stops singing, girls start screaming. Wow, shades of American Idol? Pharrell calls it “hands down” his best performance. Gwen says he did a great job. Blake doesn’t get to talk. Adam says he crushed the song. Once again, I don’t get it. Grade: C

Luke Wade

Blind audition: Got all four judges to turn their chairs for his performance of Otis Redding’s “That’s How Strong Love Is.”
Battle round: Defeated Griffin; they performed “Maybe I’m Amazed” so well that Griffin was stolen by Blake Shelton.
Knockout round: Sang Hall and Oates “Rich Girl” and defeated Taylor Phelan in a battle of singers who had turned four chairs in the blinds.
Live playoffs: He sang Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” The song landed at number 66 on the iTunes singles chart and 32 on the pop chart. Luke was voted into the finals.
Top 12: He sang Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud.” The song hit number 37 on the iTunes singles chart and number 20 on the site’s pop chart. He was voted into the Top 10.
Top 10: He sang Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness” and was voted into the Top 8 after the song landed at number 51 on the iTunes singles chart and number 25 on the pop chart.

Luke is going to sing “Holding Back the Years” by Simply Red. He says he needs to take a song no one his age has heard and that older folks love and he needs to make it a Luke Wade song. Pharrell predicts this will be Luke’s “moment.” We’ve heard that more than once tonight from the coaches. That said, Luke sounds great on this opening, showing off the rasp in his voice. I like the changes Pharrell and Luke made to this song much better than the changes to “These Dreams.” This seems a much better fit for Luke’s voice than the former did for DaNica. And going a bit crazy on the end of songs is becoming a bit of Luke’s signature, and he’s doing it again tonight, though not quite to the degree he did last week. Another solid performance from Luke brings Pharrell to his feet. Adam says he wanted to see a bit more fire in the performance. Blake calls it cool and “vibe-y.” Pharrell seems quite happy with the performance as well. Grade: B

Time for Gwen and Pharrell to perform “Spark the Fire.”

Taylor John Williams (Team Gwen)

Blind audition: His stripped-down version of “Heartless” prompted two coaches to turn their chairs.
Battle round: He defeated Amanda Lee Peers; they performed Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.”
Knockout round: He defeated Troy Ritchie with a performance of “Mad World” by Tears for Fears.
Live playoffs: Sang “Stuck in the Middle with You” by Stealers Wheel. The song landed at 63 on the iTunes singles chart and number one on the site’s rock chart. He was voted into the finals.
Top 12: He sang Bread’s “If.” The song hit number 34 on the iTunes singles chart and number 19 on the site’s pop chart. He was voted into the Top 10.
Top 10: He sang the Beatles “Come Together,” and it turned out to be the second most popular performance of the night on iTunes, hitting number 25 on the overall singles chart and number one on the site’s rock chart. He was voted into the Top 8.

Taylor John will sing Lorde’s “Royals” and Gwen calls it a perfect song for him. Taylor John says he’s stripping away some of the pop from the song and wants to put a little more anger into the mood. But Gwen’s cautioning him not to lose the performance style he showed off last week. Welcome to the Top 5, Taylor John. Brilliant song choice, Gwen. I’ll be surprised if this isn’t an iTunes success. Taylor John changed the song up, sounded fine, looked comfortable on stage and delivered a particularly fine ending. That might not have been one of the best vocals of the night, but it will be one of the best received performances of the night. Blake calls him “150 percent an artist.” Pharrell can’t wait for a Taylor John album. Gwen gives all the credit for re-arranging the song to Taylor John. Grade: B

Matt McAndrew

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.
Live playoffs: He sang the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows.” The song was the best received from night one of the live playoffs, hitting number 31 on iTunes’ singles chart and number 18 on its pop chart. Matt was voted into the finals.
Top 12: He sang Hozier’s “Take Me to Church.” The song was the best performing of the night on iTunes, hitting number 5 on the overall iTunes singles chart and number 2 on the site’s alternative chart. He was voted into the Top 10.
Top 10: He sang Coldplay’s “Fix You” and was voted into the Top 8. The song landed at number 27 on the iTunes overall chart and at number three on the site’s alternative chart.

Adam wants Matt to deliver a vulnerable moment, so he’s going to have him sing Damien Rice’s “Blower’s Daughter.” Matt says he’s a singer-songwriter, so this song feels like going back to his roots. Adam says the song is a big risk, but tells Matt the rewards could be great. Matt delivers the sensitive performance that Adam was looking for, showing off his range, his restraint and tons of emotion in the process. Yep, folks, that will be another iTunes hit for Matt. And he’s heading straight for the Top 5, too. Blake calls the performance “brilliant.” Adam says he accomplished everything he hoped he would covering that song. Grade: B+