Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Voice Top 5 with Carson Daley, from left, Craig Wayne Boyd, Taylor John Williams, Matt McAndrew, Damien Lawson and Chris Jamison. Only Taylor John won’t be competing for the title tonight. (NBC Photo)

Fans of Matt McAndrew, Craig Wayne Boyd, Chris Jamison and Damien Lawson have better be ready to vote like crazy tonight and tomorrow morning.

This week, landing a song in the Top 10 on iTunes won’t get you bonus points toward winning Season 7.

This week, the success of past songs on iTunes won’t count toward their vote totals.

The selection of the Season 7 winner will be based solely on how the songs they sing tonight perform on iTunes and how many votes are cast by their followers.

In recent seasons, each finalist has performed three times, including one duet with their coach (shouldn’t the focus be on the finalists?), a repeat of one of their best performances (which are seldom better than the original) and one new song.

Because of the explanations in parenthesis, I’m hoping (but not hopeful) for a change in format tonight. Carson Daly has told us original songs might even be in the mix.

Yep, Carson just confirmed it: We’ll hear originals tonight.

And, whew, we might dodge the reprise bullet. That would be fantastic.

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.
Top 8: He sang Adele’s “Someone Like You.” Damien earned bonus points when the song hit number seven on iTunes; it was also number one on the site’s R&B/Soul chart. He was voted into the Top 5.
Top 5: He performed Michael Jackson’s “She’s Out of My Life” and Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want to Wait.” The former gave Damien yet another #1 song on the iTunes R&B/Soul chart, but the songs landed at #26 and #58 on iTunes overall chart, the eighth and 10th best from Top 5 night. He landed in the bottom two on results night, so he had to compete in the wild card round, singing “Grenade.” The next morning, he learned fan voting had made him Season 7’s fourth finalist and the show’s first-ever wild card finalist.

Coach’s choice: He’ll sing Donny Hathaway’s “A Song for You.” A very nice choice that should allow him to show emotion and his vocal prowess. Adam has a sharp-dressed Damien begin standing amid the audience. He sounds in fine voice. Oops, I fear Damien just missed a line of lyrics. But, if so, he recovers nicely as he wades back into the audience. Overall solid performance, though if he has to sing first every round, that’s a distinct disadvantage. Blake likes the way he “floats through a melody with so much power.” He calls the performance “great.” Pharrell compliments Damien for taking him “to church.” Gwen says that sounded like something he’d record after the show. Adam says it was one of his best performances. Grade: B–

Duet with Adam: They will sing “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” He said he picked the song partly because it’s so emotional. Dang, Damien sounds fabulous on this. Come on, Adam, let his vocal shine. He’s the contestant. Damien just delivered one of his best vocals of the competition. Just wish Adam would have given him more time in the spotlight and made it a bit less of a true duet. Grade: A– (and it might have been an A if Adam hadn’t butted in so much).

Damien’s single: This song comes courtesy of Max Martin; it’s called “Soldier.” Another solid single courtesy of The Voice. It drags a bit about a minute in, but Damien is nailing a very catchy chorus. But, wow, he found his stride, his passion and his emotion over the last half of that performance. Another fine, fine performance by Damien. Dang, he sure isn’t performing like a wild card pick or an afterthought, is he? That was really, really good. Adam says he’s “bursting with pride.” Grade: A–

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.
Top 8: He sang the Eagles’ “Take It Easy.” It marked his third straight Voice single to land at number one on the iTunes country chart. The song hit number 12 on the site’s overall chart. Craig Wayne was voted into the Top 5.
Top 5: He scored the biggest iTunes hit of the week with “The Rugged Old Cross,” which finished at number two on iTunes. He landed at number 23 on iTunes with “Workin’ Man Blues.”

His original: Blake Shelton says he’s been carrying this song around in his back pocket for years. He says the only reason he hasn’t recorded it, is it’s so hard to sing. The song is called “My Baby’s Got a Smile on Her Face.” Blake says the song is meant for Craig Wayne. And he sounds fantastic on the opening verse. He’s so ready for country stardom. Hey, originals on singing shows can be a crap shoot, but this sounds like it could be a country hit. And I like the fact that Craig Wayne abandoned the mic stand and went out to meet some audience members at the end of the song. Yep, that sounds like a country hit. Pharrell’s take: “Welcome to your future.” Gwen calls Craig Wayne ripe and ready to pick. Blake says he was nervous, but Craig Wayne pulled it off. Grade: B+

Duet with Blake: They will be singing “Boots On” by Randy Houser. Another upbeat number for Craig Wayne. A bit of a rocker, too. But The Voice could do better with the sound mix. The background music was doing a splendid job of drowning out Craig on that first verse. Blake is doing a great job of letting Craig Wayne shine. A perfectly solid performance, but I’m not sure it’s the kind that will have people talking about it tomorrow morning. Grade: B

Coach’s choice: He’s going to sing Alabama’s “In Pictures.” Dang, I have a feeling this is going to be a very good song choice by Blake. Craig Wayne says he’ll be thinking about his son while he sings the song. Oh, yeah, this is heading straight to number one on the iTunes country chart. Man, Craig Wayne and Blake are pulling on heartstrings with this song choice. This is going to go over so well with his fan base. And Craig Wayne ends by saying, “Love you, son.” Gwen calls it “truly emotional.” Blake calls the song a perfect statement for where Craig Wayne is in his life. Grade: A

Chris Jamison

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.
Top 8: He sang “Sexual Healing.” The song landed at number 12 on the iTunes singles chart and number eight on the site’s pop chart. He landed in the bottom four on results night and sang “Georgia on My Mind” for the instant save, which he received, advancing him to the Top 5.
Top 5: He sang Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man” and Maroon 5’s “Sugar.” Both songs landed in the Top 10 on the iTunes singles chart, at number six and 10, respectively. He was the only singer to accomplish that feat last week.

Duet with Adam: They’ll be singing Robin Thicke’s “Lost Without You.” In the intro, Adam calls Chris the singer to beat. Adam promises they’ll falsetto all over the place. And they fulfill that promise right off the bat. Chris is keeping his eyes open when he reaches for those notes, which is progress. Not loving the song choice, though. That said, Adam and Chris sound good together. I suppose if you’re a fan to two guys singing an entire tune at the top of their range, this will sound great. I happen not to be one of those people. Chris did provide a nice little wrinkle at the end. The performance got Gwen and Pharrell to their feet. I thought that was the weakest of the night so far. Grade: C+

His single: Adam says he hears Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars in this “legit” song called “Velvet.” He says he wants to deliver songs to his contestants that he’d record himself. Oh, boy, it’s the old mirror trick on The Voice. Not loving Chris on this opening chorus. Look, I know he’s a great-looking guy, but when it comes to being a natural on stage, he’s just not at the Matt McAndrew or Craig Wayne Boyd level yet. And this is my least favorite of the three originals so far. The crowd seemed to enjoy it, though. Pharrell says Chris is a star being born. Adam says Chris makes him proud. Grade: C

Coach’s choice: In a pre-performance interview, Chris says he was shy when he started on the show and tended to stand in one place when he sang. He’s clearly come a long way. For this round, he’ll sing Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River.” I have a suspicion this will be Chris’ best performance tonight. I like his falsetto more when he doesn’t use it for the entire performance. Then it stands out more. Yep, he’s doing a nice job on this. Easily his best tonight. That brought everyone to their feet. We’ll see whether it delivers him a win. That performance had Adam standing on his chair. 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 nubmer 27 on the iTunes overall chart and at number three on the site’s alternative chart.
Top 8: He sang “The Blower’s Daughter” and it turned out to be the most successful song of the week on iTunes. It landed at number two on the overall singles chart, bested only by Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space.” That earned Matt bonus points. It also landed at number two on the pop chart.
Top 5: He scored his third Top 10 iTunes hit since the live shows began with his take on Ed Sheeran’s “Make It Rain,” which hit number five. He hit number 15 with his other songs, a cover of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

Matt’s single: He’s going to sing a song called “Wasted Love.” Matt welcomes the opportunity, saying it gives him a chance to rely on his own artistry rather than the success someone else had with a song. Hey, The Voice does a much better job of picking originals than American Idol does. Matt’s fans are going to love this. Matt went a tiny bit sharp on that bridge, but dang, he’s pouring heart and soul into what is shaping up to be the night’s best performance so far. Love the a cappella ending too. The song brought all four judges to their feet. That, folks, should be a hit, too. And it was very well received by the crowd. Pharrell says all of Philadelphia is probably standing up for him now. Gwen said she got lost in that performance, which she calls “inspiring.” Adam says that was Matt’s own song. If so, fantastic. Grade: A–

Duet with Adam: They’ll sing “Lost Stars” and Adam calls it “beautiful and passionate, just like Matt.” It’s from the movie “Begin Again.” Adam starts off the song. Hmm, once again, isn’t Matt he contestant? Not sure this is as good a match for Matt’s voice as it is for Adam’s. Sorta glad this is the last of the duets. Matt and Adam sound very good together on the chorus. Grade: B–

Coach’s choice: Matt is going to sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” and Adam says it needs to be done in its purest, rawest form. Not thrilled with this song choice. But we’ll see. Well, four lines in, this really isn’t doing it for me. Adam has made some brilliant song selections; I’m not sure this is going to go down as one of those. The crowd seems to appreciate Matt’s version. It is unusual to see a male tackle this on a singing show. Matt ends with a flourish, but not sure that was a winning performance. Wow, that seems to have brought Matt to tears. Gwen compliments him on connecting and calls it a beautiful performance. Grade: B