Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Shelby Brown performs Monday night on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Judging from the iTunes results at noon, when voting ended, that’s certainly a possibility.

At the bottom of the iTunes charts sits Team Adam’s Shelby Brown. Her cover of Lady Gaga’s “You and I” landed at number 96.

And that’s 36 chart positions behind the 10th-place song, “True,” by Braiden Sunshine.

Two other factors not working in Shelby’s favor: Braiden has traditionally done better in fan voting than on iTunes. And Korin Bukowski’s fans have been motivated to keep her from falling into the bottom two again.

That increases the likelihood that Shelby will at least have to sing for her Voice future during the save-me portion of tonight’s show.

That outcome is something of a surprise. Sure, Shelby had to perform first Monday night, which is always something of a disadvantage.

But there were a handful of performances from Monday’s show that weren’t as entertaining or as strong vocally as Shelby’s.

And just two weeks ago, she was voted into the Top 12 while iTunes darling Amy Vachal needed the Team Adam save to advance.

A few certainties heading into tonight: The other two Team Adam members, Amy and Jordan Smith, can relax. Both hit the iTunes Top 10 again. No one from Team Blake is going home. They continue to do well on the charts and, my guess is, they’re doing very well in fan voting as well. And, as the strongest performances on Team Pharrell and Team Gwen, respectively, Madi Davis and Jeffery Austin shouldn’t have too much to worry about either.

That leaves Korin, Braiden and Evan McKeel as contestants who could also find themselves singing for an instant save tonight. Alongside Shelby.

And it’s time to get results … well, after Brad Paisley performs his new single, “Country Nation.”

Now it’s time for results.

Advancing on The Voice:
* Amy Vachal: No surprise there. She was coming off her best iTunes showing on The Voice.
* Braiden Sunshine: Really? Ugh. But I warned that he’s doing better than his iTunes results would indicate.
* Zach Seabaugh: Yeah, the only question is whether he’ll make the finals. He isn’t going home this early.
* Jordan Smith: Three weeks and three weeks in the Top 10. Jordan is finals bound.
* Madi Davis: She deserved to advance, and last night’s performance was very well received on iTunes.
* Emily Ann Roberts: Based on iTunes results, she seems to be leading the country quartet.
* Jeffery Austin: After some serious confusion on Carson’s part, the right contestant advances. He originally said from Team Gwen.
Barrett Baber: That means all of Team Blake is safe. If you’re a country artist, Team Blake is the place to be.
Shelby Brown: Wow, did you see how worried she was throughout the results show. She was at the absolute bottom on iTunes. But voters pulled her through.

That means Evan McKeel and Korin Bukowski will sing for the instant save.

Performances:

Gwen Stefani is joined by her three remaining singers to sing “Get What You Give.” Jeffery is clearly the standout among the group in a somewhat disjointed performance.

Amy Levine is joined by his three singers to perform “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” OK, I’m convinced The Voice should ditch these group performances. Let’s bring past contestants back to sing their new music instead.

Save performances:

Evan McKeel: He’ll sing another classic, “Let’s Stay Together.” I have not been a fan of many of Evan’s song choices on this show, and too many of his performances have just been boring. That was a step in the right direction, though I still don’t see Evan hanging around much longer. Grade: B–

Korin Bukowski: Her save-me song is “She Will Be Loved.” Really sweet opening by Korin. Hey, this young lady is in the middle of her best vocal since the knockout round. She sounds very good on this. Realy sweet ending too. Grade: B+

Sorry, but Korin’s performance was easily the best of those two.

And the instant save goes to: Korin Bukowski.

That means Evan McKeel is eliminated from The Voice. His elimination is at least a tab bit surprising since he finished 53 spots ahead of Shelby Brown and 20 spots ahead of Braiden Sunshine on iTunes.

See also:
iTunes results for the Top 11 on The Voice
Song by song grades for the Top 11
Team Blake photo gallery: Barrett Baber, Emily Ann Roberts, Zach Seabaugh
Team Adam photo gallery: Amy Vachal, Jordan Smith, Shelby Brown
Team Gwen photo gallery: Braiden Sunshine, Jeffery Austin, Korin Bukowski
Team Pharrell photo gallery: EvanMcKeel, Madi Davis