Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Just six matches into the Season 12 battle round, three of the eight available steals are already gone.

During Monday’s first battle round episode, Felicia Temple, Brennley Brown and Ashley Levin survived to sing another day, thanks to the fact that they’re on new teams.

Blake Shelton diversified his team by picking up R&B singer Felicia while watching other coaches snatch up two of his talented country singers.

Brennley landed on Team Gwen. All three other coaches wanted to steal Ashley, who opted to join Team Alicia.

Meanwhile, Blake also showed us one reason he’s won The Voice more often than any other coach. While Alicia and Gwen seem fascinated by youthful potential, he seemed more impressed with singers who are ready for prime time right now.

Here’s a recap of Monday’s first night of battles.

THE COACH GOT IT WRONG — OH, SO WRONG IN ALICIA’S CASE

Team Alicia

Felicia Temple vs. Quizz Swanigan: Felicia is the full-time nurse who overcame cancer and turned three chairs in the blind audition. Quizz, just 13 when he auditioned, used to imitate Michael Jackson and is the youngest singer in the competition.

The battle: They’ll sang “Titanium.” And in this battle, folks, we see why lowering the age limit was not a good idea. There is zero on stage chemistry during this duet, which is likely the result of pairing a 28-year-old with a 13-year-old. But that didn’t keep Felicia from delivering three or four magnificent vocal moments. But who wins? Quizz. Why? Because he’s 13.

Look, if kids 13 and 14 decide to audition for this show and compete against more talented, skilled and experienced singers, THEY DON’T GET BONUS POINTS FOR BEING YOUNG. Fortunately, Blake swooped in and saved the day, stealing Felicia. Shame on Alicia. Credit to Blake for pointing out that she was 13 at one point too.

JChosen versus Kenny P.: JChosen was the very first singer we met during Season 12. He’s the former basketball star who turned to music and turned four chairs in the blinds with his cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing.” Kenny P. is from the Cleveland area but moved to Nashville in a tiny house to pursue music. He released a debut EP in 2015 and turned two chairs in the blinds.

The battle: They sang “I Was Made to Love Her” by Stevie Wonder. Kenny probably knew he was the underdog going in. He sure sang like it. That was a take-no-prisoners performance that should have resulted in a berth in the knockout round. Just take a listen to the notes both singers delivered at the end of the song and see who you think deserved to win. JChosen showed up with a four-chair turn pedigree, but wasn’t as impressive as he was in the blind auditions.

The verdict: Blinded by chair turns, Gwen gave the win to JChosen. Because he wasn’t stolen, Kenny P was eliminated.

THANK GOODNESS FOR THE STEAL:

Team Blake:

Ashley Levin vs. Casi Joy: Both of these young ladies have left their home states to relocate to Nashville in an attempt to make it in country music. Ashley is the young lady from Miami who was helping care for her elderly father before making that move. She turned three chairs in the blinds. Casi, the more experienced of the two, turned four chairs and has already released a debut EP.

The battle: They sang “How Blue” by Reba McEntire. First off, the a cappella opening was fabulous. Second, these two country singers sound fantastic together. Third, there was no more than a whisker of difference between them vocally by the end of that performance. All that said, Casi’s experience showed in her stage presence. Ashley seemed to have her eyes closed for part of the duet. Casi was slinking all over the stage.

The verdict: Blake wisely declared Casi the winner. The other three coaches wisely tried to steal Ashley, because she’s got ton of potential. Ashley opted to join Team Alicia.

THE COACH GOT IT RIGHT

Team Blake:

Lauren Duski vs. Brennley Brown: Brennley just turned 15, but she was one of three contestants who made the show this year because The Voice lowered the audition age limit from 15 to 13. A former contestant on America’s Got Talent, she turned two chairs in the blind auditions. Lauren is the young lady who comes from a family of dentists, but who moved to Nashville to make music. She turned three chairs with her blind audition cover of “You Were Meant for Me,” which wound up being one of the most successful blind audition songs on iTunes.

The battle: They sang “Better Man” by Little Big Town. This was an interesting matchup. There’s an undeniably lovely ache in Brennley’s tone. But Lauren has an excellent voice too. Lauren also has 10 years of experience on Brennley. And it showed. She was in control of her performance throughout, both in terms of her vocals and her stage presence. Brennely lost control of her vocal at one point and was a little more frenetic on stage than necessary given the song choice.

The verdict: Blake awarded the win to Lauren. Gwen stole Brennley. I just hope it was because of her potential and not her age.

Mark Isaiah vs. Gaby Borromeo: Mark is the 19-year-old pop singer from Pennsylvania who turned two chairs covering “Mercy” by Shawn Mendes in the blinds. Gaby is the purple-haired young woman from Seattle who moved to New York when she was just 15 to pursue music. She too turned two chairs in the blinds.

The battle: They performed “Pillowtalk” by Zayn. The opening by Gaby was a bit rough, but she recovered nicely by the first run-through of the chorus and showed off her range later in the song. Thing was, Mark seemed in the groove from the first moment and might be the best male pop singer on a show crowded with powerhouse female vocalists.

The verdict: Adam declared Mark the winner. No one stole Gaby, so she was eliminated.

Team Alicia:

Anatalia Villaranda vs. Missy Robertson: A bit of an odd pairing. Missy, 34 when she auditioned, is a worship leader who sings in a Christian band called OutGo with her sister. Anatalia just missed the semifinals on the final season of American Idol. She’s a 17-year-old pop singer who turned four chairs in the blinds.

The battle: They sang “Tightrope” by Janelle Monae. Ah, let’s see. I’d say that song choice falls a lot more in Anatalia’s wheelhouse than Missy’s. That said, Missy delivered a great vocal on a difficult song and the ladies collaborated on one heck of an ending. Missy’s problem is that she was matched against a 4-foot-9 dynamo who managed to command the stage with her dance moves and stay in perfect control of her vocal throughout. That was an impressive performance from Anatalia, easily the best from any of the minors on night one of the battles.

The verdict: Alicia awarded the win to Anatalia. Missy was not stolen, meaning she was eliminated.