Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Get ready for three nights of The Voice this week.

That’s right, it’s time for the live playoffs. That means the top five singers from two teams will take the stage during a two-hour episode beginning at 8 p.m. Monday, followed by the other two teams at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

On Wednesday, we’ll find out which singers were voted into the Top 12 and which singers need a save from their coach in order to advance.

Of course, there’s a twist. On The Voice, there always seems to be a twist.

For the second straight season, each coach will be allowed to invite back one eliminated artist to compete for them in the live playoffs. The identity of those contestants won’t be revealed until performance night.

Meanwhile, here’s a team by team look at the live playoffs. Following the link attached to each singers name will take you to a bio page complete with info beyond what you learned on the show and videos of pre-show music.

Competing for Adam Levine in the live playoffs will be Laith Al-Saadi, Shalyah Fearing, Caroline Burns, Brian Nhira and Owen Danoff. (NBC Photo)

Adam Levine strengthened his team by stealing Brian Nhira and Shalyah Fearing from Team Pharrell during the last two rounds. Shaylah, one of the youngest singers on the show, turned in one of the best knockout round performances with her cover of “Broken Wing.” Brian has impressed every time he’s taken the stage. Adam’s holdovers include Owen Danoff, the top male singer-songwriter type on the show, and Laith Al-Saadi, who has one of the most distinct voices, not to mention mad guitar skills. Caroline scores big points on cuteness; unfortunately, The Voice opted not to show her knockout round performance. Bottom line: Don’t underestimate this quintet.

Brian Nhira
Caroline Burns
Laith Al-Saadi
Owen Danoff
Shalyah Fearing

Competing for Blake Shelton in the live playoffs on The Voice will be Adam Wakefield, Katie Basden, Paxton Ingram, Mary Sarah and Joe Maye. (NBC Photo)

Blake Shelton takes a more diverse team than usual into the live playoffs. But don’t discount Joe Maye and Paxton Ingram. Both have shown great stage presence and Blake won Season 2 with R&B background singer Jermaine Paul. But the favorite to advance to the Top 12 has to be Mary Sarah, whose throw-back country style is likely to be a hit with viewers and who entered the show with a pretty big following, not to mention three albums to her credit. Will anyone be shocked it she does a Merle Haggard tribute? She did a duet with him (“Fightin’ Side of Me”) on her “Bridges” album. The battle for the second and third spot in the Top 12 should be interesting because Adam Wakefield and Katie Basden are more traditional Team Blake members — solid country singers.

Adam Wakefield
Joe Maye
Katie Basden
Mary Sarah
Paxton Ingram

Singing for Team Christina in the live playoffs will be Bryan Bautista, Tamar Davis, Alisan Porter, Kata Hay and Ryan Quinn. (NBC Photo)

Alisan Porter established herself as a Season 10 front-runner the second she stepped on stage for the blind auditions, and certainly hasn’t disappointed in her two performances since. But this entire group should be fun to watch as Christina continues her quest to become the first female coach ever to win The Voice. Tamar Davis can hold her own vocally against any female singer on the show. Kate Hay is one of the most charismatic performers in the Top 12. Ryan Quinn is a four-chair-turn steal from Team Adam with ridiculous vocal range. And Bryan Bautista impressed Christina and Miley Cyrus with his performance of Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” during the knockout round.

Alisan Porter
Bryan Bautista
Kata Hay
Tamar Davis
Ryan Quinn

Singing for Pharrell Williams in the live playoffs on The Voice will be Emily Keener, Caity Peters, Moushumi, Hannah Huston and Lacy Mandigo. (NBC Photo)

In Caity Peters and Emily Keener, Pharrell has a pair of singers who turned four chairs in the blind audition. But it’s pre-school teacher Hannah Huston who has made the most noise to this point. Her knockout round performance of “House of the Rising Sun” hit number 46 on the iTunes singles chart, best of any singer on the show. Meanwhile, singer-songwriter Emily reminds me of a female Sawyer Fredericks. Wow, what great pre-show music. I’m not sure we’ve heard her best yet. And twice-stolen Lacy Mandigo has enjoyed a wild ride on the show. She’s only the second singer in Voice history (joining Tess Boyer) to sing under the tutelage of three different coaches.

Caity Peters
Emily Keener
Hannah Huston
Lacy Mandigo
Moushumi