Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Anthony Arya and Steve Memmolo await the outcome of their battle round match on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Anthony Arya admits he thought his time on The Voice was over.

He’d just heard Adam Levine declare Steve Memmolo the winner following their performance of “Amie” by Pure Prairie League.

And Anthony had finished thanking Adam for turning a chair for him during the blind auditions.

“And since I’ve been watching since Season 1, usually most of the steals happened during the little (farewell) speech, you know.

“So I was like ‘Oh, okay, all right. This is the end of my journey. And I went down to hug Adam, but then at the last second, I saw JHud hit the safe button. And I really didn’t expect that someone would steal. So it was incredible.”

And just like that, 15-year-old Anthony from Santa Cruz had second life on the show, as a member of Team Jennifer Hudson.

Steve didn’t experience that type of drama when the battle ended. But he did have a challenge during the battle: being asked to sing a song well outside his artistic wheelhouse.

He’s been fronting Boston-based Classic Yellow, his own wedding and event band, since 2007. And it’s safe to say “Amie” isn’t part of the set list.

“My background is jazz, soul and more Motown and funk, and it was definitely challenging,” Steve told Voice Views, referring to the song choice. “I think Anthony had sung the song a bunch of times and I had heard it. I was vaguely familiar with it.

“When you’re on a show like this, the hope is that you get to sing songs that you’re in love with because I think that shows in your performance. And if you don’t, you know, you just kind of have to do your best.

“So I really had to put in extra time and effort to make sure that I was really giving it everything I had,” he added. “Even the song itself is kind of one speed. So we — me and Anthony — worked really hard to give it dynamic and make it build and make it bigger than it is because the recording, if you listen to it, is just very chill, very laid back.”

Their hard work paid off. The coaches praised their performance. And they both wound up advancing to the knockout round, which begins Monday, Oct. 29.

Anthony said he’s looking forward to working the Jennifer.

“I think I can learn a lot from JHud,” he told Voice Views. “She puts so much emotion into her vocal performances. She’s an incredible singer, and I always thought that I could learn a lot from her. So I’m super excited.”

The battle round continues Monday and concludes Tuesday on NBC.

See also …
Videos from Night 1 of the battles
Videos from Night 2 of the battles
Katrina Cain talks about the side of her music she hopes to display on The Voice
Nastasia Greycloud, Mike Parker talk about their dual battle round success
Kymberli Joye says her background of being in the background helped during the battles
Chris Kroeze talks about overcoming a battle round obstacle
Sandy Redd talks about being stolen and landing on Team JHUD
Michael Lee talks about battling a friend in the battles
Patrique Fortson, Colton Smith talk about taking on a Blake Shelton song

Steve Memmolo and Anthony Arya listen to feedback during rehearsals for their battle round match on The Voice. (NBC Photo)