Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Nine artists advanced to The Voice Season 18 semifinals Tuesday night as the show continued its quickest ever dash to the finish.

Todd Tilghman, Thunderstorm Artis, Micah Iverson and CammWess advanced based on fan voting.

Then Allegra Miles, Zan Fiskum, Toneisha Harris and Megan Danielle were saved by their coaches.

Joanna Serenko, singing for Team Blake — her third team this season — got the instant save at the end of the show, completing the Top 9.

Here’s a look at what happened, team by team.

Todd Tilghman performs during the Top 17 show on The Voice Season 18. (NBC Photo)

Team Blake: Todd Tilghman won the fan vote. Blake then saved Toneisha Harris.
Eliminated: Joei Fulco
My take: I thought Todd’s performance was the weakest Monday night, but he’d been solid to that point and turned four chairs in the blind audition. Blake made the right choice considering how well Toneisha has performed throughout the competition. But with fans she’ll likely be another of The Voice’s underappreciated R&B vocalists.

CammWess performs on the Top 17 show for The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Team Legend: CammWess won the fan vote. John then saved Zan.
Eliminated: Mandi Castillo and Mike Jerel, both of whom turned four chairs in the blinds.
My take: CammWess was superb Monday night. Thrilled with John’s pick because Zan was too good to go home after Monday’s performance. That said, this was the most difficult team to choose from because Mandi and Mike were four-chair turns. Mandi should have gotten the instant save.

Micah Iverson performs on the Top 17 show for The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Team Kelly: Micah Iverson won the fan vote. Kelly then saved Megan Danielle.
Eliminated: Cedrice and Mandi Thomas
My take: Kelly’s save was predictable, but also well deserved. Megan was superb Monday and one of the true surprises of Season 18. I’m sorta surprised she didn’t win the fan vote based on the sparcity of country artists in Season 18. As good as Mandi and Cedrice have been, Micah might have delivered the team’s second best vocal Monday night.

Thunderstorm Artis performs on the Top 17 show for The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Team Nick: Thunderstorm Artis won the fan vote. Nick then saved Allegra Miles.
Eliminated: Michael Williams, Arei Moon, Roderick Chambers
My take: Honestly, I’m disappointed Allegra didn’t win the fan vote. She should be the favorite to win the show based on what we’ve seen. Meanwhile, Thunderstorm, with a four-chair-turn pedigree, has underwhelmed a bit to date.

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.