Idol Chatter & Voice Views

During each live show of The Voice in Season 9, I’ll be live blogging.

And I’ll be grading each performance as it occurs, just as I have in past seasons.

Over the course of the show, I reserve the right to alter the grades based on the performances that follow.

Representing Team Blake in the live playoffs will be Barrett Baber, Emily Ann Roberts, Ivonne Acero, Morgan Frazier, Zach Seabaugh and a mystery candidate we’ll find out about later tonight.

Ivonne Acero: This teen is the only non-country singer in the live playoffs so far for Team Blake. She’s also making the best of her return to The Voice after failing to turn a chair in the Season 8 blind auditions. This season, she turned. Her more recent success was a knockout round win over Chance Pena; Ivonne sang Katy Perry’s “Part of Me.” She wound up on Team Blake when he stole her following a battle round loss to Siahna Im.

Tonight: She’ll sing “One of Us” by Joan Osborne. Congrats to Ivonne, who we learn was her school’s homecoming queen. She says this song represents the style of music she prefers to sing, and she’s dedicating the song to her mom. Like her song choice, but that opening required a little bit more of a deft touch. No doubt Ivonne is using the tune to show off her big voice, but I never got into that to the same degree I got into Darius’ show-opening performance. Grade: B–

Morgan Frazier: This gal from Nashville was hoping for a reunion with Team Blake following a knockout round loss to Darius Scott and got her wish. She performed “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” in that match, earning Blake’s only knockout round steal. She initially landed on Team Blake after turning two chairs in the blind audition. In the battle round, she lost to Emily Ann Roberts, but was stolen by Pharrell. They performed “That Kind of Girl.”

Tonight: She’s taking another rock song — Hinder’s “Lips of an Angel” — and turning it country. Cute — at rehearsal, Morgan presents Blake with a copy of the CD she released when she was age 9. Blake says Morgan has the potential to be a country star. You’ll recall that Morgan also country-fied a rock song in the blind auditions. Very nice performance from Morgan. She looked perfectly at home on stage. And she certainly showed off her big voice on that strong finish. Blake says if fans don’t vote Morgan through to the live round “they must be full of hate.” Grade: B

Zach Seabaugh: The teen from Marietta, Ga., won the only knockout round match we didn’t get to see on the show. He sang “Somebody’s Heartbreak” and was declared the winner over four-chair-turn recipient Chris Crump. Before that, Zach defeated the more experienced Tyler Dickerson in the battle round when they sang “I’m Gonna Be Somebody.” Zach turned third chairs when he auditioned with Sam Hunt’s “Take Your Time.”

Tonight: He’ll sing Steve Holy’s “Brand New Girlfriend.” Blake wants Zach to play up his heartthrob card. Zach shares the story of a radio deejay who asked folks to call in if they wanted to go to homecoming with Zach. Lots of older women apparently called. Zach is turning in a fun, high-energy performance. He seems to have learned some swagger from someone. Not sure that was the best vocal of the night, but that sure was entertaining. Dang, for being so young, Zach really worked the stage. Grade: A–

Nadjah Nicole: Not surprised Blake would try to diversify his country-heavy team, though I’m wondering what happened to Chris Crump. Anyway, Nadjah, of New Castle, Del., turned two chairs when she sang “Tightrope” for her blind audition. She defeated Cole Criske in a battle round match we didn’t see; they sang “Baby, One More Time.” She lost to Emily Ann in the knockouts; Nadjah sang “A Woman’s Worth.”

Tonight: Blake will have her tackle Diana Ross’ “Upside Down.” Nadjah says she used to listen to this in high school. Blake likes the fact that this shows the fun, youthful side of Nadjah. This young woman shows up on stage looking like a million bucks. Not sure how much she’s going to be able to dance in that dress. And, in fact, she doesn’t. Problem is, I’m not crazy about this song choice. Nadjah turns in a fine vocal, adds a few of her own wrinkles and really gets into it after somewhat of a slow start. I’m just wondering if it will be enough given the strength of the performances tonight. Grade: B–

Emily Ann Roberts: This young lady from Knoxville, Tenn., got a huge compliment from Blake during the knockouts when he said he can envision her still on the country charts 20 years from now. That’s after she sang the Dixie Chicks’ “Cowboy Take Me Away” to defeated Nadjah Nicole. In the battle round, Emily Ann was named the winner over Morgan Frazier when they sang “That Kind of Girl.” Emily turned two chairs with her blind audition performance of “I Hope You Dance.”

Tonight: She’ll sing a country/gospel song, “In the Garden,” that’s been covered by everyone from Elvis Presley to Brad Paisley. Another cute moment on The Voice as Blake sings happy 17th birthday to Emily Ann. Apparently this was the favorite song of a grandfather Emily Ann never met. Really smart song choice by Emily Ann. And she delivers a nice vocal. There were some special moments in that. I would have liked to have seen just a little more tenderness, but that was impressive coming from a 17-year-old. Blake says she has the voice of an angel. Grade: B

Barrett Baber: He’s the senior member of Team Blake and he’s battle tested, having been pitted against four-chair-turn winners in each of the last two rounds. Barrett defeated Dustin Christensen in the battle round when they performed “Walking in Memphis.” He then bested Blind Joe in the knockout round. Barrett sang “Colder Weather” by the Zac Brown Band and hit number 160 on the iTunes Top 200. Of course, Barrett turned four chairs himself when he auditioned.

Tonight: Barrett will sing Lee Brice’s “I Drive Your Truck.” Blake is encouraging Barrett to make sure folks can understand what he’s singing. He likes the emotional message in the song. Well, Barrett sure pulled that off. He could teach many of the contestants a great deal about dynamics. That was a powerful and emotional performance, certainly worthy of a spot in the finals for Team Blake. Grade: A

Summary: Based on what we just saw, I won’t be surprised to see Blake take an all-country team into the live playoffs. And considering how well country singers have done in the past, he probably should. Barrett Baber and Zach Seabaugh delivered the standout performances of the evening. Emily Ann wasn’t far behind. I’ll be surprised if they aren’t the three who advance.

See also
iTunes results for Team Blake
Song by song grades for Team Pharrell in the live playoffs
iTunes results for Team Pharrell