Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Four has a new member, though she’s certainly not new to the singing show game.

Ali Caldwell, a Top 6 finisher on Season 11 of The Voice, won a seat on The Four Thursday night.

She was the only challenger to prevail on a night that once again featured four challengers and saw James Graham, Sharaya J and Jesse Kramer retain their seats.

Here’ a video recap.

PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT

Ali Caldwell versus Whitney Reign: Whitney sang “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” by Patti Labelle. And by the time she was finished, between her ab libs and her impassioned delivery, I figured her seat was pretty secure. Wow, was I wrong. Ali responded with Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain.” And the Voice alumni set fire to the stage with the absolute best vocal of the night. She won and very much deserved to take a seat on The Four. That said, if The Four has a comeback show in Season 2, I won’t complain at all if they bring back Whitney.

FANS GOT IT RIGHT

Dian Rene versus James Graham: Dian, 28, from Banes, Cuba, earned a challenge performing “Hero,” and I’m still trying to figure out how he did that while the panel turned thumbs down to Alma Lake. Oh, well, James won and deserved to with a solid performance of “Human Nature” that would have been more enjoyable without the over-the-top antics from all three of the judges. The Four has upped the game in terms of talent level in Season 2. If the judges would tone it down by about 50 percent, I might be able to stand watching this mess rather than reviewing video clips once it ends.

Brennan Villines vs. Sharaya J: Brennan Villines, 30, of Dixon, N.Y., was the last singer to earn a challenge Thursday, meaning he had to go up against Saraya J. And he did a nice job with his rendition of James Bay’s “Let It Go.” I mean, check out that glory note at the end. But Saraya is a unique talent. And while this week’s performance wasn’t as solid as last week’s, I think it’s going to take a pretty phenomenal challenger — or health problems — to knock her from the competition. That said, the weekly visits to the doctor’s office with Sharaya are already getting old. So how about we skip that from now on. Okay, Diddy?

WHATEVER

Felix Thompson versus Jesse Kramer: Showing up on stage in bright pink pants, Felix earned a challenge performing “Can We Talk,” then showed off his dance moves — including a mid-performance flip — during a performance of Bruno Mars’ “That’s What I Like.” Amazingly, he retained control of his vocal in spite of all the dancing. Jesse did what Jesse does. Which is growl his way through a song, dip into a guitar solo, then deliver an impassioned ending. To his credit, Diddy encouraged him to show some versatility in future performances. What the chants of “eat, eat, eat” all ended, I really didn’t care who won this one.

MEGHAN GOT IT WRONG

The only contestant we met who didn’t get a challenge Thursday was Alma Lake, 21, of Medellin, Colombia, who auditioned with “Exes and Ohs” by Ellie King. She called herself “very spicy,” then back that up by displaying a unique style and strong stage presence when she hit the stage. Not to mention a nice, raspy vocal. But Meghan proclaimed she couldn’t beat any of the four. I disagree. In fact, I’d far prefer Alma to one of The Four. Try The Voice, Alma. Please.