Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Sharane Calister listens to the feedback during the blind auditions on Season 14 of The Voice. (NBC Photo)

I mean, what better way to avoid another Team Blake Shelton/country singer triumph than to keep country singers off the show.

After four audition episodes, 33 singers had earned spots on the show.

Just three had auditioned with country songs. And that’s including Spensha Baker’s “Blackbird,” which isn’t exactly a country song.

Then Branson Ireland and Jordan Kirkdorfffer showed up — and won spots on Team Blake — on Monday’s epsiode.

Tuesday, they were followed by Dallas Caroline and Jackie Verna, and suddenly The Voice’s large country fan base had a larger group of singers to cheer on.

Heck, Adam Levine even landed a country singer for his team — after Blake’s was already full.

Now, please, Adam, don’t make Jackie sing a Phil Collins’ song (see Season 13, Adam Cunningham, if you don’t understand).

Here’s a recap of Tuesday’s episode.

BEST OF THE NIGHT

Sharane Calister, 24, Des Moines, Iowa
The song: “Make It Rain” by Ed Sheeran
The chair turns: Alicia Keys turned before Sharane hit the chorus. Kelly, at Alicia’s urging, joined her at the last moment.
The performance: Sharane was solid and soulful from the word go, and her performance kept getting more and more powerful — after the chair turn. Impressive! Season 14 is loaded with powerful R&B/soul singers, but that performance convinced me Sharane is one of the best.
The outcome:

THE REST (In no particular order)

Genesis Diaz, 19, Miami
The song: “Praying” by Kesha
The chair turns: Adam Levine and Blake Shelton turned at the very end of the performance.
The performance: Genesis delivered a powerful performance, displaying lots of rasp and delivering a really nice ending. And this is a young lady who appears to have a distinct style to go with that great voice of hers. She looks like a star.
The outcome: Genesis opts to join Team Adam.

Dallas Caroline, 17, Santa Rosa, Calif.
The song: “Always on My Mind” by Willie Nelson
The chair turns: Adam Levine and Kelly Clarkson turned as Dallas finished the chorus, Blake followed later in the song.
The performance: Yep, you could tell Dallas was a bit nervous. But you could also hear a pretty voice under that nervousness. And kudos to her for picking a male country song to showcase her voice. Note that she got every available chair to turn; Alicia’s team was already full.
The outcome:

Jackie Verna, 23, West Chester, Pa.
The song: “PeterPan” by Kelsea Ballerini
The chair turns: Adam Levine, perhaps spurred by the fact that Blake would not longer be a competitor, turned early in the performance.
The performance: Jackie seemed inspired by Adam’s chair, because she got stronger and stronger as the performance continued. Adam proclaimed it the best country singer he’s ever heard. And the most excited he’s ever been over a one-chair turn.
The outcome: Only Adam turned, meaning he landed the country singer he’s long wanted.

Amber Sauer, 35, Paradise, Calif.
The song: “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran
The chair turns: A big ending prompted a chair turn by Kelly Clarkson.
The performance: Amber sounded great on the opening of that song, but it was that unbelievably powerful ending that won Amber a spot on the show. Wow, the way her voice soared.
The outcome: Only Kelly turned because she was the only one with a spot left, giving Amber the last spot on Season 14.