Idol Chatter & Voice Views

If you’re a member of Team Christina, you won’t be stolen tonight on The Voice.

If you’re a member of another team, you’d better win your battle round, because the chance of a steal has just about disappeared.

We’ve yet to hear from 12 singers in The Voice battles and just one steal remains. And it belongs to Christina.

Meanwhile, we’ve yet to hear from two artists — Caity Peters and Owen Danoff — who turned four chairs in the blind auditions.

On with the battles …

Team Adam

Laith Al-Saadi versus Matt Tedder

The background: Laith is a veteran musician with three albums to his credit. He’s the guy who was so good on his guitar that the coaches asked for a repeat of his guitar solo. Matt is a 20-year-old from Texas who moved to Nashville in an attempt to make it in music. He’s a guitar player extraordinare himself.

The battle: Because of their love of the guitar, Adam says their pairing made lots of sense, and the guys agree. He’ll have them singing “Honky Tonk Woman” by The Rolling Stones. Interesting arrangement. They’ve slowed down the song to a blues jam. Matt opens the song and sounds fine. But the performance really takes off when Laith takes over the vocals. That’s a voice of experience. Pharrell marvels over the way Laith growls with no strain. In fact, all the other coaches say they’d go with Laith because on his superb vocal experience.

My pick: Laith. That vocal was phenomenal.

Adam’s pick: Laith. He predicts he’ll be around longer in the competition that people think.

The steal: There isn’t one, meaning Matt is eliminated. But he vows to “make a record.”

Team Pharrell

Caity Peters versus Joe Vivona

The background: Caity refers to herself as “the black sheep of the family” because she wants to pursue music and comes from a family of professionals. She turned four chairs during the blind audition. Joe’s family owns a traveling amusement park business, but his real love is music. He turned three chairs in the blind audition.

The battle: Pharrell says he paired them together because they’re both emotional singers. He’ll have them sing “Honesty” by Billy Joel. Sean “Diddy” Combs wants Caity to do her own version of the song, not Billy Joel’s. He and Pharrell want Joe to believe in himself. Not thrilled with this song choice, to be honest (lol). Anyway, Joe didn’t sound like he totally shaken the nerves during that opening, but he finds his comfort zone as the performance progresses. Caity has a really nice tone to her voice, and she’s certainly delivering a passionate performance. Christina says she’d give the edge to Caity. Adam and Blake compliment both singers.

My pick: Caity, who seemed more natural on stage and delivered a powerful vocal.

Pharrell’s pick: Caity.

The steal: There isn’t one, meaning Joe heads home.

Time for the montage portion of the show, where singers advance and are eliminated and we hear virtually nothing of their performances.

Team Blake: Gina Castanzo versus Peyton Parker. They perform “Borderline” by Madonna. Peyton is named the winner.

Team Christina: Joe Maye versus Ayanna Jaynee. They perform “I Knew You Were Waiting for Me” by George Michael. Christina awards the win to Joe.

Team Blake: Owen Danoff versus John Gilman. They perform “Runaway” by Del Shannon. Blake advances Owen.

Team Blake

Brittany Kennell versus Trey O’Dell

The background: Brittany is the gal from Canada who moved to Nashville. She’s been working as a songwriter and has released impressive original music. Trey is a student at the University of Arkansas and a big fan of Elvis Presley. We didn’t get to see his blind audition.

The battle: Blake has given them a great song to sing — Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain.” Blake and adviser Gwen Stefani are encouraging them to make sure they convey the emotion of the song. Hey, Trey and Brittany put on a really nice performance. Both singers showed lots of stage presence. Trey displayed great range. Brittany has lots of vocal firepower, not to mention a very unique tone. Adam says he’d chose Brittany. The other two coaches praise both singers.

My pick: Brittany, who was really strong on that performance. I’m also a fan of her original music.

Blake’s pick: He declares Brittany the winner, predicting her voice will “sneak up on everyone.”

The steal: Yep, Trey gets the season’s final steal courtesy of Christina Augilera. She says there’s no one on her team like Trey and “I had to have him.”