Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Was I hearing right?

Did the artists on Team Pharrell and Team Blake seem to have more say in what they sang in the live playoffs on The Voice?

If so, it showed, because night two was definitely more entertaining than night one, when ill-fitting songs seemed to seal the fate of some contestants — and not in a good way.

Tonight — in addition to a long-awaited performances of Sawyer Fredericks’ new single (more about that here) — we’ll learn who will make the Top 12 on The Voice.

Each team will have two contestants advance based on fan voting and iTunes downloads. Then each coach will select a third contestant to advance.

Here’s what’s likely to happen:

Team Blake: I start with Team Blake because it’s the easiest. I mean, Emily Ann Roberts, Zach Seabaugh and Barrett Baber were all sitting in the Top 5 on the country charts and the Top 25 on iTunes’ overall singles chart this morning. Emily Ann (brilliant song choice) and Zach (brilliant hip shaking) were leading the way, with Barrett right behind. If you’re Blake, don’t you simply advance all three country artists and let the best singer win? And a win isn’t out of the realm of possibility for any one of the three based on how well country singers have done on The Voice in the past.

Team Adam: After landing in bonus points territory on iTunes Tuesday, Jordan Smith is a sure bet to advance. But then, that was pretty much a given before the singing ever started this week. Amy Vachal, who scored the biggest hit of the knockout round on iTunes, continues to enjoy lots of support from fans. Then it gets very interesting. Based on Monday’s performance, Shelby Brown deserves the third spot. Unless Adam starts thinking and strategizing and comparing how Shelby did on iTunes with Blake’s country singers. In that case, Blaine Mitchell might look like the more enticing choice since he’d be the only rocker on the show.

Team Pharrell: Madi Davis had better be a shoe-in. She just delivered the best performance of the live playoffs. And she’d already been very, very good to this point. But Pharrell sure created a mess by bringing back Celeste Betton, didn’t he? And she complicated it by singing a country song on Team Blake night and doing much better on iTunes than anyone could have guessed. If she advances along with Madi, Pharrell has a mighty tough decision on his hands because that leaves fan favorite Evan McKeel, Mr. Charisma Mark Hood and oh-so-imressive Darius Scott in need of a coach’s save. I’d give that save to Mark. Based on last night, Madi, Darius and Mark should advance.

Team Gwen: Jeffery Austin will advance. He’s been wonderful the past two rounds and was the only Team Gwen singer to crack the Top 25 on iTunes. Ellie Lawrence was this week’s best choice for a coach’s comeback and delivered a fun version of Elle King’s “Ex’s and Oh’s” that also did well on iTunes. I’ll be surprised it she doesn’t advance as well. If that happens, Gwen will have to chose between teen Braiden Sunshine, Hungarian pop star Viktor Kilary, R&B belter Regina Love and pre-med student Korin Bukowski. My favorite among the four is Korin. The wisest choice would be Viktor. Gwen’s more likely to go with Braiden so she can style his hair some more. But please, Gwen, let the guy wear his glasses so he can see.

See also
Song by song grades for Team Adam
iTunes results for Team Adam
Song by song grades for Team Blake
iTunes results for Team Blake
Song by song grades for Team Gwen
iTunes results for Team Gwen
Song by song grades for Team Pharrell
iTunes results for Team Pharrell