Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Brandon Diaz and Bryan Jaymes performing during the battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Brandon Diaz earned the third steal of Season 30 and a pair of four-chair turns advanced at the battle round continued Monday night on The Voice.

Brandon earned his steal from Adam Levine after he and Bryan Jaymes collaborated on the night’s bet performance, cover Stevie Wonder’s “As” for Queen Latifah.

Queen chose Bryan to advance, putting Brandon at risk before Adam swooped in with a save. That means Queen Latifah has the only save remaining during the Season 30 battles.

Four-chair turns advancing on Monday included Amanda Mikkel of Team Adam and Kyle Davis — the oldest singer on the show — for Team Kelly.

Here’s a recap. Follow the links for profiles of the singers, complete with information on music they’ve already released.

BEST OF THE NIGHT

TEAM QUEEN LATIFAH

The match: Bryan Jaymes vs. Brandon Diaz
The background: Bryan Jaymes, 39, of Baton Rogue, La., performed “Everytime You Go Away,” turning 3 chairs in the blinds. Brandon performed “Drink You Away” and turned 2.
The song: “As” by Stevie Wonder
The feedback: Riley Green called the performance “awesome, like a heavyweight boxing match going back and forth.” Kelly Clarkson said both of their voices are sexy and said either one should do well in the competiition. Adam praised both singers, but gave Bryan a slight edge. Queen Latifah said the song isn’t easy and proclaimed the performance “fire” and “unbelievable.”
The outcome: Queen awarded the win to Bryan. Adam then swooped in and stole Brandon
My take: And then, sometimes, a coach picks a great song and the two singers make it work to perfection. That was the case in this performance. Bryan is clearly a polished performer and an impressive onstage presence. But every time I thought he should be the winner, Brandon would do something vocally that would change my mind. Great choreographed ending too. Having both advance was the only fair outcome.

THE COACH GOT IT WRONG

TEAM ADAM

The match: Amanda Mikkel vs. Julia Clark
The background: Amanda, 31, Dayton, Ohio, performed “Moon River” in the blinds, turning 4 chairs. Adam claimed her with his first-in button. Julia, 24, of Hilton Head, S.C., performed “Bellyache,” turning 2 chairs.
The song: “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley.
The feedback: Queen Latifah complimented both singer without making a choice. Riley Green called the performance “awesome.” Riley gave Julia a slight edge, saying her voice drew him in. Kelly praised both singers, saying Amanda might do better in a competition setting. Adam said he sensed a lot of nerves. He picked Amanda, saying he thinks she has more potential in the competition.
The outcome: Adam used his first-in button to claim Amanda and awards her the win; Julia was eliminated.
My take: Loved Julia’s airy, ethereal opening. Her voice was just a much better match for this song. You can sense that Amanda was just dying to cut loose vocally in a way this song choice didn’t allow. Based on this performance alone, I would have given the edge to Julia.

TEAM KELLY

The match: Saade vs. Brianna Cameron
The background: Brianna, 13, of Union, N.Y., performed “River Deep, Mountain High” in the blinds, turning two chairs. Saade, 24, of San Francisco, Calif., turned 3, singing “Oscar Winning Tears.”
The song: “Mercy” by Duffy
The feedback: dam gave the edge to Brianna, calling what she did at 13 “shockingly amazing.” Riley Green called the performance “a lot of fun.” Kelly Clarkson commended both singers. She called Brianna’s voice “insane” and complimented Saade on finding her groove again after a minor misstep.
The outcome: Kelly declared young Brianna the winner; Saade was eliminated.
My take: Brianna is fearless on stage at age 13 and has tons of vocal firepower. But she often sounds as young as she is. Personally, I preferred Saade’s vocals. She showed off plenty of attitude and vocal dynamics as well. That said, I’m not surprised by the outcome, especially since Kelly prides herself on nurturing very young artists.

THE COACH GOT IT RIGHT

TEAM ADAM

The match: Wade Turner vs. Owen Uffens
The background: Owen, 18, of Rigby, Idaho, performed “Everybody’s Talkin'” in the blinds, turning 2 chairs. Wade, 18, of Georgetown, Mass., auditioned late in the process and turned the only two available chairs with his cover of “This Town.”
The song: “Dive” by Ed Sheeran
The feedback: Queen Latifah congratulated then both on an “awesome” job. Riley Green gave Wade a slight edge, but said he enjoyed the performance. Kelly Clarkson gave a slight edge to Owen. Adam complimented them on a much improved performance from rehearsals. Adam said Owen has an “intangible awesome quality” to his voice he had to stay with.
The outcome: Adam named Owen the winner; Wade was eliminated.
My take: This was pretty much dead even. I found Owen’s vocals a bit more interesting, but the near laugh he broke into a couple of times a bit distracting. Wade was a bit more vocally perfect, but I think Owen has a bit more potential in the competition.

TEAM RILEY

The match: Harmony McKee vs. Allie Rae
The background: Harmony, 19, of Medina, Tenn., performed “Gunpowder and Lead” and turned 2 chairs in the blinds. Allie, 15, of San Jose, Texas, performed “Black Velvet” and turned 3.
The song: “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers
The feedback: Kelly Clarkson gave a slight edge to Allie Rae, but complimented both singers. Adam gave Allie Rae the edge too, even though he didn’t turn for her in the blinds. Queen Latifah, who seldom names a favorite, didn’t again, praising both singers. Riley Green called Harmony one of the most talented singers on the show and said he sees a bright future for Allie Rae.
The outcome: Riley named Allie the winner; Harmony was eliminated. Riley had used his first-in button to snag Allie during the blinds.
My take: Dang, for her age, Allie has a wonderful country twang with a little touch of soul. My only complaint about her performance — that cowboy hat kept her face almost entirely hidden. Harmony showed off a nice growl in her vocal, but I can’t disagree with an Allie Rae win.

TEAM KELLY

The match: Matthew Chiu vs. Kyle Davis
The background: Kyle, 62, of Prince George, Va., turned 4 chairs in the blinds, singing “In Your Eyes.” Matthew performed “Home” by Daughtry and turned just Kelly’s.
The song: “Take Me Home” by Phil Collins
The feedback: Adam Levine said Matthew’s performance was better than a one-chair turn. He called Kyle one of his favorites and gave him the edge. Queen Latifah gave Matthew the edge. Kelly complimented them on doing a great job. She said Kyle has a special sauce that makes her feel like home.
The outcome: Kelly named Kyle the winner. Matthew was eliminated.
My take: At 61, Kyle isn’t going to start jumping all over the stage. But he certainly stood and delivered a very impressive classic vocal performance. In this pairing, he deserved to advance, though it was Matthew who brought more energy to the save.

Brianna Cameron and Saade listen to the feedback from the coaches on The Voice. (NBC Photo)