Idol Chatter & Voice Views

As I researched singers as the blind auditions played out on Season 12 of The Voice, I recall thinking, “Wow, Blake’s team is loaded with talent and potential.”

And it’s playing out that way. After Tuesday’s battle round episode the coaches have used four of the eight available saves. Three have gone to members of Team Blake; the fourth was used by Blake after Alicia foolishly advanced young Quizz Swanigan instead of the vocally superior Felicia Temple.

Here’s how Tuesday’s battles played out.

WHERE WAS THE STEAL?

Johnny Gates versus Sammie Zonana: Johnny is the guy who was invited to join a band because of his “awesome hair” and wound up falling in love with music. Formerly the lead singer of the Runaway Saints, he’s performing solo now and turned three chairs in the blinds. Sammie is the former screenwriter who now writes songs instead and served up a unique take on Ariana Grande’s “Dangerous Woman” in the blinds. Surprisingly, only Gwen turned.

The battle: They’ll perform “Drove All Night,” which has been recorded by Celine Dion and is being touted as a Celine song by The Voice. But I think Celine’s version might have been pre-dated by Roy Orbison’s. Of course, judging from Celine’s reaction to the version Johnny and Sammie propose, I wonder if Celine ever heard the Roy Orbison version. Enough sniping. Bottom line: These two singers put on a fantastic performance. Perhaps my favorite from all the battles so far. Both displayed distinctive voices and tons of stage presence.

The verdict: Gwen awarded the win to Johnny. Tough to argue. There’s a deeper pool of female talent than male talent on Season 12. And fans have embraced male rockers more than female rockers in the past. But I’m sorry to see Sammie eliminated after a performance that was definitely steal worthy.

THE COACH GOT IT RIGHT

RJ Collins versus Chris Blue: RJ is the guy from Chicago who works at a guitar center. He failed to make the show when he auditioned in Season 11, but turned two chairs in Season 12. Chris supposedly nailed down the final spot on the show, though an interview Davina Leone did makes me wonder if that wasn’t a figment of creative editing on the part of The Voice. Anyway, you might remember him as the guy who nearly lost his girlfriend to cancer. When she recovered, he made two promises. Marry her and try out for the show.

The battle: They sang Miguel’s “Adorn,” in a matchup Gwen would apparently like to watch over and over again she was so taken by Chris. Hey, look, there was nothing wrong with RJ’s performance. He was solid throughout. But given just half a song to impress his audience, Chris was very, very impressive vocally. He was the one delivering most of the moments.

The verdict: Alicia awarded the win to Chris. Blake even predicted Chris will make the finals. No one stole RJ, so he was eliminated.

Dawson Coyle versus Aliyah Moulden: Dawson is the Christian artist whose family lost their home to fire last year. Blake Shelton was the only coach to turn for his blind audition. Aliyah, just 15 when she auditioned, delivered a unique version of “Hound Dog,” earned three chair turns, then surprised nearly everyone by deciding to join Team Blake.

The battle: The teens are asked to sing “Walking on Sunshine.” Hmm, an awfully old song for two young artists loaded with potential. But, hey, they made it work. Dawson might have been trying a little too hard vocally, but he certainly served up some neat dance moves. As for Aliyah … wow, those vocals. This young lady is mature beyond her years. I absolutely love that little rasp in her voice. Vocally, she took that battle, hands down.

The verdict: Blake wisely declared Aliyah the winner. Alicia swooped in and stole Dawson. Blake, by the way, is making all the right moves in these battles.

WHO KNOWS?

It’s hard to tell whether the coaches picked the correct winner of the following three battles because they were all montaged.

And after taking a major step forward and posting montaged blind auditions for the first time ever just a couple of weeks ago, The Voice took a major step right back from failing to do so for the montaged battles.

What happened? Did Carson Daly forget how to use the upload button on YouTube?

Sorry to be critical, folks, but that’s JUST PLAIN LAZY on the part of The Voice.

And what in the world did Andrea Thomas do to piss off producers? She’s now been montaged twice.

Hello, folks at The Voice. She has an interesting back story. She sang background for Carrie Underwood, for crying out loud.

Maybe there’s just not enough sob in her story.

Anyway, here’s how the three battles we missed went.

Andrea Thomas prevailed over Micah Tryba on Team Blake. They performed “What Hurts the Most” by Rascal Flatts.

Aaliyah Rose won over Savannah Leighton on Team Gwen. They performed “Treat You Better” by Shawn Mendes.

Josh West prevailed against Nala Price on Team Adam. They performed “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears.