Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Alicia Keys and Miley Cyrus era officially began on The Voice Monday night.

And you know what? Miley might not be as unpleasant an addition to the show as I feared, though her wardrobe choice was regrettable.

You do realize we’ll still be watching Miley in those big flowers two weeks from now, when the blind auditions conclude?

Ah, but opening night shouldn’t be about the coaches. It should be about the singers, and The Voice introduced us to a talented nine who earned spots on the show during Monday’s two-hour episode.

Dave Moison and Ali Caldwell became the second and third singers to turn all four chairs (you’ll recall We McDonald turned the trick during that half-hour post-Olympic sneak peek back in August).

Also earning spots on the show were Christian Cuevas, Gabe Broussard, Dana Harper, Riley Elmore, Sundance Head, Jason Warrior and Courtnie Ramirez.

By the way, as of 2 a.m., none of the songs from Monday’s show had cracked the Top 200 on the iTunes singles chart.

Here’s a recap of Monday’s show, beginning with the three artists I found most impressive, followed by everyone else in alphabetical order.

1. Ali Caldwell: The 28-year-old, a former member of a girl group called “Exhale,” auditions with Ariana Grande’s “Dangerous Woman.”Dang, Ali demonstrates great control, range and power over the course of a 90-second peformance and prompts chair turns from all four coaches, with Adam leading the way. Miley talks about challenging Ali with songs no one would expect her to sing. Alicia calls Ali “special.” In a bit of a surprise decision, Ali joins Team Miley, saying her mom always told her to “dare to be different.”

2. Jason Warrior: The 21-year-old from Chicago auditioned with Stevie Wonder’s “Living in the City.” His theatrical background shows in his performance and he shows off nice range, prompting chair turns from Adam and Alicia. Alicia complimented him on his energy and his soul. Jason joined Team Alicia.

3. Gabe Broussard: Just 15, Gabe auditions with “Lonely Night in Georgia” by Marc Broussard (no relation, by the way). For someone so young, Gabe delivers a really strong opening to his performance, prompting an almost immediate chair turn from Blake. As Gabe nears the end of the performance, Miley turns too. Miley compliments him on an “amazing voice” and says he sounds older than 15. Adam and Alicia admit they made a mistake in not turning. Gabe joins Team Blake.

Christian Cuevas: The 20-year-old who recently lost his dad to live cancer auditioned with Michael Bolton’s “How am I Supposed to Live Without You.” Blake say he’s “hypnotized” by Christian’s personality. Alicia said she felt the emotion in Christian’s performance. Christian joined Team Alicia.

Courtnie Ramirez: Full of spunk, the 17-year-old Texan tackled Jessie J’s “Mamma Knows Best.” Despite an exuberant performance, Courtnie was well into her version before Miley and then Alicia turned around. Miley complimented Courtnie on her range, swag and rocker vibe. Alicia calls Courtnie’s voice “immediate personality.” Courtnie says she’d like to do R&B/soul music, but opted to join Team Miley.

Dana Harper: The daughter of NBA player Ron Harper auditions with “Jealous” by Nick Jonas. And she prompts chair turns from Blake and Alicia. At the very last minute, Adam turns too. Alicia praises Dana for her “magnificent control” and “beautiful tone.” Dana says “Jealous” is a song she and her young niece sing together in the car all the time. Dana joined Team Blake in one of the night’s biggest shockers.

Dave Moisan: The former swimmer and current band leader showed off his ability to reach the stratosphere with his voice by singing “Sex and Candy” by Marcy Playground. Adam and Miley turned early in the performance; Alicia and Blake followed suit giving Dave the second four-chair turn of Season 11. Adam praised Dave’s smooth and soulful sound. Alicia compliments the passion in his voice. Dave joined Team Alicia.

Riley Elmore: The 16-year-old from Illinois loves jazz and Frank Sinatra and auditions with Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight.” He delivers a nice, smooth performance for his age and prompts chair turns from Adam and Blake. Adam says he loves that song and thinks he can teach Riley “a lot of stuff.” Adam strolls on stage to sing the song with Riley. And, of course, Riley joins Team Adam.

Sundance Head: Now 27, the former American Idol contestant (Top 24 in Season 6) auditions with Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.” Adam and Blake turned their chairs at the first big note in Sundance’s performance. And Sundance certainly showed off a big voice, and a nice gravelly tone. Sundance says he’s a country soul artist. Not surprisingly, the big guy from Texas opted to join Team Blake.