Idol Chatter & Voice Views

CammWess was stolen by Kelly Clarkson and Nelson Cade III was saved by John Legend during the second night of battles on The Voice Monday night.

Also advancing were Darious Lyles and Mandi Castillo of Team Legend, Cam Spinks and Toneisha Harris of Team Blake, Tate Brusa of Team Nick and Micah Iverson of Team Kelly.

The third round of battles will air next Monday night.

Then come the knockouts where Nelson will join Team Blake’s Todd Michael Hall, Team Nicks’s Michael Williams and an undetermined artist from Team Kelly in a brand new four-way knockout featuring the saved artists from each team.

That outcome, apparently, will be determined by fans.

For those keeping track, Kelly has yet to use her save while Nick and Blake each have a steal left entering the final round of battles.

Here’s the Monday night recap.

WHERE WAS THE SAVE/STEAL?

TEAM KELLY

The match: Gigi Hess vs. Micah Iverson
The song: “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi
The background: Gigi, 22, of Lovington, N.M., performed “Lovesong” by The Cure. Only Kelly turned. Micah, 25, of Atlanta, Ga., turned three chairs, singing “All I Want” by Kodaline.
The feedback: The coaches praised both singers for their performances. Blake gave the edge to Gigi; John and Nick gave a slight edge to Micah.
The outcome: Kelly declared Micah the winner, saying he has the talent to make the finals. Gigi was eliminated.
My take: Wow, great performances. And I thought they were dead even. Micah showed off nice range and that wonderful tone Kelly talked about in rehearsals. But Gigi’s voice cut through every time she had a solo part of there was a really nice cry in her voice. Both delivered emotionally.

THE COACH GOT IT WRONG

TEAM BLAKE

The match: Cam Spinks vs. Kailey Abel
The song: “What Ifs” by Kane Brown with Lauren Alaina
The background: Cam, 29, of Alabaster, Ala.. performed “Wave on Wave” by Pat Green and turned two chairs. Kailey, 19, of Verdigris, Okla., performed “Forever Young” by Alphaville; Blake was the lone coach to turn.
The feedback: John called Kailey’s energy captivating, but said he would lean toward Cam as a vocalist. Nick gave the edge to Kailey; Kelly to Cam. Blake credited them for putting in the work to turn the song choice into a “great performance.”
The outcome: Blake awarded the win to Cam; Kailey was eliminated.
My take: Given how well male country artists do on the show and how Cam was pushed out of his element, I understand what Blake was thinking. But Kailey was clearly the most comfortable performer on the stage for this battle, has a unique tone and vocal firepower to spare. Based on this performance alone, I would have given her the edge.

WELL-DESERVED STEAL

TEAM LEGEND

The match: Mandi Castillo vs. CammWess
The song: “Senorita” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello
The background: Mandi, 23, of San Antonio, Texas, turned four chairs, performing “Así Fue” by Juan Gabriel. CammWess, 22, of Blythewood, S.C., turned two performing “Earned It” by The Weeknd.
The feedback:
The outcome: John declared Mandi the winner, praising her versatility. Kelly then stole CammWess.
My take: Mandi might not have quite delivered Camila Cabello sensuality to this performance, but she did very, very well. I would have given her the win, too, because I think she has the potential to do very, very well once the voting rounds arrive. CammWess did very well, too, so it was nice to see him saved. This ranked as the night’s second best performance.

THE COACH GOT IT RIGHT

TEAM LEGEND

The match: Darious Lyles vs. Nelson Cade III
The song: “Come Together” by The Beatles
The background: Darious, 30, of Chicago, Ill., performed “How Do You Sleep” by Sam Smith, turning two chairs. Nelson, 27, of Anaheim, Calif., performed “Pride and Joy” by Stevie Ray Vaughan and turned all four.
The feedback: Nick called it a phenomenal performance. Kelly complimented them on making the performance interesting and fun. Kelly gave the edge to Nelson; Blake to Darious. John called it one of the “most entertaining” battles we’ll see.
The outcome: John declared Darious the winner of the battle. And then he saved Nelson, meaning both advance to the knockouts.
My take: The performance of the night, even if I wasn’t crazy about that ending John came up with. Both guys showed off stellar vocals as they turned the classic hit into a true duet. Turns out Darious is quite the showman too.

TEAM BLAKE

The match: Jacob Daniel Murphy vs. Toneisha Harris
The song: “Good as Hell” by Lizzo
The background: Jacob, 27, of Elk Grove, Calif., auditioned with “Until You Come Back to Me” by Aretha Franklin. Blake was the only coach to turn. Toneisha, 44, of Roswell, Ga., performed “I Want to Know What Love Is” by Foreigner and turned four chairs.
The feedback: Kelly called it one of her favorite battles and loved their “vibe.” John said Toneisha showed “finale” quality vocals. Blake praised those vocal and told Jacob he’s the reason it was a great battle.
The outcome: Blake declared Toneisha the winner. Jacob was eliminated.
My take: The two indeed put on a fun show, playing off each other exactly the way a duet should. But it was Toneisha’s rich vocals that captured my attention. There’s a reason she turned four chairs in the blinds and we heard it again Monday night.

TEAM NICK

The match: Anders Drerup vs. Tate Brusa
The song: “Circles” by Post Malone
The background: Tate, 16, of Salt Lake City, Utah, auditioned with “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran and turned two chairs. Anders 36, of Austin, Texas, auditioned with “(I Can’t Help) Falling in Love with You,” by Elvis. Only Nick turned.
The feedback: The other coaches suggest they not form a duo. The coaches praised Anders for the power of his vocals; Tate for his rasp. Kelly and Blake gave the edge to Tate; John to Anders.
The outcome: Nick picked Tate, saying his tone stands out. Anders was eliminated.
My take: This struck me as the oddest pairing of the night, so I wasn’t shocked that the performance didn’t quite jell. I’m also not surprised the win went to Tate given the show’s affinity for young singers. I probably would have given him a slight edge too.