Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Jackie Foster reacts to another difficult decision on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

I thought it was a flop.

The Voice introduced the save to the knockout rounds for the first time Monday night.

It allows a coach to save an artist who loses the knockout round match.

And I think it’s a keeper.

Twice on Monday, coaches tried to retain artists they did not award knockout wins to, only to have a rival coach try to steal the same artist.

It added a bit more intrigue to the knockout round proceedings.

Just one complaint, producers. Please quit cutting to comments from the coaches while a singer is performing.

The coaches on The Voice get plenty of airtime. And ample time to voice their opinions when the performances are complete. I’d like to enjoy the performances minus the distracting chit-chat between the coaches.

Here’s a recap of what went down on Monday’s show.

FIRST KNOCKOUT ROUND SAVE EVER

TEAM BLAKE SHELTON

The matchup: Austin Giorgio vs. Spensha Baker
The songs: Austin — “Almost Like Being in Love” by Frank Sinatra; Spensha — “Broken Halos” by Chris Stapleton
The background: Austin turned two chairs in the blinds, then won a battle round match against Brett Hunter that was montaged. Spensha turned two chairs in the blinds and won a battle round match over Dallas Caroline.
The performance: You couldn’t get two more different performances. Austin looked, acted and sounded like a pro as he tackled a classic jazz tune with a solid vocal, not to mention some impressive footwork. And he nailed that glory note at the end. Spensha said the death of a friend helped her connect with the Chris Stapleton song. And connect she did. Honestly, that’s probably the best female country vocal we’ve heard so far in Season 14.
The outcome: Blake declared Spensha the winner. And then he saved Austin. And in my mind, that’s the perfect ending for the way those performances turned out.

AND ANOTHER

TEAM ADAM LEVINE

The matchup: Drew Cole vs. Jackie Verna
The songs: Drew — “Slow Hands” by Niall Horan; Jackie — “American Honey” by Lady Antebellum
The background: Jackie was one of the last contestants to land a spot on Season 14, then won her battle round match with Stephanie Skipper. Drew turned two chairs in the blinds; then won a battle round match with Miya Bass.
The performance: Drew wanted to show off his soul-pop chops. I had trouble making out the lyrics here and there, but mission accomplish. You can tell this guy is perfectly at home on stage. The revelation in this matchup was Jackie. That’s the best I’ve heard her sound. And if she keeps improving at that rate, she could catch fire on a show where the fans love country singers.
The outcome: Adam declared Jackie the winner, putting Drew at risk of elimination. But just briefly. Adam quickly hit his save button and Blake tried to steal Drew. In the end, Drew decided to stay put and remain a member of Team Adam.

THE COACH GOT IT RIGHT

TEAM BLAKE SHELTON

The matchup: Jaclyn Lovey vs. Kyla Jade
The songs: Jaclyn — “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae; Kyla — “You Don’t Own Me” by Leslie Gore
The background: Kyla, a background singer for Voice coach Jennifer Hudson, turned two chairs in the blind audition; then won her battle round match against JessLee. Blake stole Jaclyn after she lost a battle round match with Britton Buchanan. She also turned two chairs in the blinds.
The performance: Smart song choice by Jaclyn, and she executed it pretty well. But as a stolen contestant, she got a tough draw when matched against Kyla. And Kyla certainly didn’t stumble. She turned in a fabulous vocal and acted every bit like the front woman Blake has been pushing her to be.
The outcome: Blake declared Kyla the winner; Jaclyn was eliminated.

TEAM ALICIA KEYS

The matchup: Johnny Bliss vs. Miya Bass
The songs: Johnny — “Alive” by Sia; Miya — “Castle on the Hill” by Ed Sheeran.
The background: Johnny turned four chairs in the blinds; then won a battle match over Megan Lee that was montaged. Miya prompted a chair turn from Adam Levine and was stolen by Alicia after her battle round match with Drew Cole.
The performance: Great song choice by Johnny, who delivered an impassioned performance. He got to show off his range. He got to show off his power. He even slipped in a bit of Spanish. Miya might have been done in by her song choice. The last 30 seconds of her performance were excellent. The first part was just a bit shaky and not nearly as dynamic.
The outcome: Alicia declared Johnny the winner; Miya was eliminated.

TEAM KELLY CLARKSON

The matchup: Kaleb Lee vs. Justin Kilgore
The songs: Kaleb — “Free” by Zac Brown Band; Justin — “Shameless” by Billy Joel (Garth Brooks)
The background: Justin turned four chairs in the blinds; then won a battle round match with Molly Stevens; Kaleb turned two chairs in the blinds, then was stolen by Kelly after a battle round match with Pyror Baird.
The performance: Kaleb looked like the big underdog heading into this, a stolen artist going up against a four-chair turn. But it came down to song choice, folks. Kaleb picked a heartfelt song he could deliver and sound smooth as butter doing it. I’m not sure “Shameless” was as good a match for Justin’s voice and it certainly didn’t give him much chance to show off that nice rasp in his voice. I’m not sure he nailed that big note at the end either.
The outcome: Kelly declared Kaleb the winner; Justin was eliminated.

A POSSIBLE MISSTEP?

TEAM ADAM LEVINE

The matchup: Jackie Foster vs. Mia Boostrom
The songs: Jackie — “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence; Mia — “Wade in the Water” by Ella Jenkins
The background: Jackie turned two chairs in the blinds. She lost her battle to D.R King, but all three coaches tried to steal her. She opted to join Team Adam. Adam was the only coach to turn for Mia’s blind audition, but she went on to win a battle match with Genesis Diaz.
The performance: Nice song choices by both contestants. Mia opened strong, picked a song that displayed her rich tone and certainly ended with a flourish. Jackie opted to join Team Adam after her battle because she wanted to show off her rock side. She certainly did that. I would have like to have seen her attack the song with even more reckless abandon.
The outcome: Adam declared Mia the winner, then tried to save Jackie. But not so fast. Kelly, Blake and Alicia all pushed their steal buttons, leaving Jackie with another difficult decision. This time, she went with Team Alicia. Was that a mistake on Adam’s part. Remember, a female rocker won Season 13.