Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Sa’Rayah performs on The Voice Top 12 results show Tuesday night. (NBC Photo)

That had nothing to do with the performances they had given in hopes of getting a Twitter save that would advance them to the Top 11.

That had nothing to do with any of the performances they’d given on The Voice.

It had everything to do with the fact that Aaron’s coach was Miley Cyrus. And with Miley’s popularity. Not to mention her more than 31 million Twitter followers.

“Miley Cyrus has a huge following,” Sa’Rayah said. “And the show allows coaches to weigh in, telling their fans to vote for their teammate. At the point I was up against anyone from Miley’s team, I knew I was going home.”

Her hunch proved correct. When Carson Daly announced the Twitter save results, Aaron advanced to the Top 11. Sa’Rayah was eliminated.

But the Chicago native, 28 when she auditioned, still managed a Top 12 finish on the show. Impressive considering The Voice might have rounded up its most talented group of R&B female vocalists ever for Season 11.

Her ouster came one night after she decided to change things up by singing a rock song, Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” during The Voice’s Top 12 performance show.

It wound up being the only song of the week not to crack the Top 200 on the iTunes singles chart, but Sa’Rayah defended the song choice in a Wednesday conference call with the media, saying it was a collective decision.

The song allowed her to show she could sing something other than R&B, she said. And she was familiar with it, having sung background on the song while with Chicago Catz, a wedding and event band.

And the song’s message was timely.

“It deals with the relationship of two people that are at wit’s end, but they’re determined to hold on because they have one another and it’s all about love,” Sa’Rayah said. “I feel like at this time in the world – and especially in America – the one thing we have been lacking is love and that willingness to stand together and hold on.”

Post-Voice, Sa’Rayah says she probably continue to do shows with groups like Chicago Catz.

But she also wants to work on her own music, which she promised will have “a pop-rock vibe filled with soul” and is “absolutely happening soon.”

She also wants to continue the Love Only movement she launched after winning her knockout round match with Michael Sanchez. It came in response to the social media hate messages she received after that episode aired.

And she says The Voice has been a wonderful training ground on “how to handle my business. The Voice is a well-oiled machine. It’s definitely given me a clear vision on how to operate when it comes to my own business.”

Then, of course, there are new friendships she’ll cherish, including with Aaron Gibson.

After all, they were also paired together on the show’s battle round and wound up turning in a brilliant performance of “I’ll Take Care of You” that has been viewed nearly 2 million times on YouTube.

“I’ve established relationships that will be there forever,” she said.