Idol Chatter & Voice Views

After wasting last week with a clip show, The Voice will host one of just three voting shows in a ridiculously short dash to the end of Season 18 Monday night.

Even then, for the first time in the show’s history, fans will be robbed of the opportunity to select all the semifinals.

That’s because each coach will pick one singer to advance Tuesday night, leaving the fate of just four singers to be determined by the fans who have watched and rooted them on since late February.

Silly? Yep. Unfair? Yep.

But that’s The Voice Season 18.

With the addition of an instant save artist from Tuesday’s results show, nine singers will move on to next week. Then, presumably, the field will be cut to four for the Season 18 finale.

Here’s a look at who’s still in the running for the Season 18 title. Tonight’s show, of course, will feature at home performances because of the pandemic.

The four-way knockout contestants: Nelson Cade III, Todd Michael Hall, Samantha Howell, Michael Williams. One will advance tonight; the other three will head home. The one who advances will then perform for a spot in the Top 9. Michael gave the best knockout performance, but Samantha’s my pick to advance. She seems the singer most ready to blossom in her career.

The remaining members of Team Blake on The Voice (from left) Todd Michael Hall, Joanna Serenko, Toneisha Harris, Joei Fulco and Todd Tilghman (NBC Photo)

Team Blake: Todd Tilghman, Toneisha Harris, Joei Fulco, Joanna Serenko. Todd and Toneisha turned four chairs in the blinds, but don’t count out Joei, who’s also been a fan favorite. Not sure about Joanna’s decision to join Team Blake after the knockouts. I can’t see Blake picking a newcomer to the team over three artists who have been with him since the blinds, so she’ll have to rely on fan voting to advance.

The remaining members of Team Kelly on The Voice (from left) Micah Iverson, Samantha Howell, Mandi Thomas, Megan Danielle and Cedrice. (NBC Photo)

Team Kelly: Cedrice, Megan Danielle, Micah Iverson, Mandi Thomas. Cedrice is probably the best performer of the group; Mandi is likely the best singer, but had her knockout montaged. That said, Kelly has developed an understandable soft spot for Micah and Megan, the latter being one of the few country singers on Season 18. Cedrice is in the same spot as Joanna, a newcomer to her team.

The remaining members of Team Legend on The Voice (from left) Mike Jerel, CammWess, Mandi Castillo, Zan Fiskum and Nelson Cade III (NBC Photo)

Team Legend: Mandi Castillo, Zan Fiskum, Mike Jerel, CammWess. Team Legend has been stacked since the blinds ended, and that’s still the case. But Mandi and Zan should advance based solely on what we’ve seen so far. The former because of her vocal prowess and bilingual abilities make her a dual threat; the latter because she has one of the most distinct voices on the show.

The remaining members of Team Nick on The Voice (from left) Roderick Chambers, Arei Moon, Allegra Miles, Thunderstorm Artis and Michael Williams. (NBC Photo)

Team Nick: Thunderstorm Artis, Roderick Chambers, Allegra Miles, Arei Moon. What I just said about Zan; ditto for Allegra, who’s been phenomenal for her age. Arei lights up a stage; Roderick’s looked like a pro and Thunderstorm’s been a front-runner since his blind audition.

Disclaimer:
Producers, coaches, judges and hosts on American Idol and The Voice will pretend they are hosting a legitimate singing competition over the next few weeks. Having blogged about singing shows for more than a decade, I can assure you they are not.

You cannot go from a Top 20 to a winner in four weeks (American Idol) or a Top 17 to a winner in three weeks (The Voice) and call it a fair and legitimate singing competition.

So have fun watching. Vote if you want. Put very little stock in the results because they will mean virtually nothing.

Most of all, support the singers when their time on the show ends. They deserved a better showcase for their talent.