Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Cedrice was stolen for the second time, this time by Kelly Clarkson.

Thunderstorm Artis escape elimination as well, taking his four-chair-turn talent to Team Nick Jonas.

And six other artists — Mandi Castillo, Allegra Miles, Toneisha Harris, Micah Iverson, Arei Moon and Mandi Thomas advanced on The Voice Monday night.

Those eight artist now advance to the next phase of competition, which would typically be the live playoffs, though live tapings are on hold because of the coronavirus.

BEST BATTLE OF THE NIGHT

TEAM BLAKE

The match: Toneisha Harris, 44, of Roswell, Ga., vs. Cedrice, 28, of San Diego
The songs: Toneisha — “Diamonds” by Rihanna; Cedrice — “Love on the Brain” by Rihanna.
The background: Toneisha turned four chairs in the blinds with her cover of Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is,” then won her battle round match with Jacob Daniel Murphy. Cedrice landed the very last spot on Season 18, joining Team Legend. She was stolen by Blake after her battle round performance of “Stay” with Thunderstorm Artis.
The feedback: John praised both, saying Toneisha belongs in the finale. Nick said Toneisha could win The Voice.
The outcome: Blake named Toneisha the winner; Cedrice was then saved for the second time, landing on Team Kelly.
My take: Whoa! Thankfully, there was a save left when they performed. Cedrice should have been a 4-chair turn if she didn’t perform so late in the blinds. And she was flawless — and oh, so invested — in that performance. I probably would have given her a slight edge just based on the dynamics of her performance. But Toneisha delivered too, especially over the last 30 seconds of so.

THE COACH GOT IT WRONG

TEAM KELLY

The match: Tayler Green, 27, of Franklin, N.J. vs. Micah Iverson, 25, of Atlanta, Ga.
The songs: Tayler — “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper; Michael — “Graveyard” by Halsey
The background: Tayler turned two chairs with her blind audition performance of Julia Michaels’ “Issues;” then won a battle round match with Jules that didn’t air. Micah turned three chairs in the blinds, covering “All I Want” by Kodaline. He won a battle round match with Gigi Hess.
The feedback: John called Tayler’s performance mesmerizing. Nick and Blake both favored Tayler as well.
The outcome: Kelly named Micah the winner; Tayler was eliminated.
My take: Bold song choice by Micah, who showed off great range and delivered a great glory note miday through. He occasionally seemed to run out of breath though. Meanwhile, Tayler took an oft-performed song, delivered a superb vocal that exceeded my expectations.

THE COACH GOT IT RIGHT

TEAM NICK

The match: Arei Moon, 28, of Boston, Mass. vs. Jon Mullins, 32, of Nashville, Tenn.
The songs: Arei — “You Don’t Know My Name” by Alicia Keys; Jon — “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran
The background: Arei turned two chairs in the blinds singing Kelly’s “Miss Independent;” then won a battle round match with Samuel Wilco. Jon earned a spot on Team Blake in the blinds; then was stolen by Kelly after his battle round match with Todd Tilghman.
The feedback: Kelly gave the edge to Arei; Blake to Jon. John said both gave excellent performances and brough lots of energy to the stage.
The outcome: Nick named Arei the winner. Jon was eliminated.
My take: Dang, Arei Moon sparkles when she performs. Talk about stage presence. And she presented a passionate, yet occasionally playful version of that song. Great job. Loved Jon’s opening, but somewhere along the line, the performance became a bit overdone, albeit heartfelt.

TEAM LEGEND

The match: Mandi Castillo, 23, of San Antonio, Texas, vs. Thunderstorm Artis, 24, of Haleiwa, Hawaii
The songs: Thunderstorm — “Preach” by John Legend; Mandi — “Stand Be Me” by Ben E. King.
The background: Both turned four chairs in the blinds; Mandi with “Así Fue,” done entirely in Spanish, Thunderstorm with “Blackbird.” Thunderstorm won his battle round match with Cedrice; Mandi won hers with CammWess.
The feedback: Kelly gave the edge to Mandi, saying she came to win a little more. Blake would too. Nick gave the edge to Thunderstorm.
The outcome: John said Thunderstorm has one of the “coolest tones” he’s heard. He praised Mandi’s tone as well, and opted to advance her. Thunderstorm was then stolen by Nick.
My take: Lovely performance by Mandi. John said it best: Her voice is like honey and she’s one of my favorite female singers on Season 18. Taking “Preach” acoustic worked well for Thunderstorm, but he still kept his eyes closed through most of the performance. As a result, I found Mandi’s performance just a little more powerful.

TEAM NICK

The match: Jacob Miller, 29, of Eden, Wisc. vs. Allegra Miles, 17, from the U.S. Virgin Islands
The songs: Jacob — “Better Now” by Post Malone; Allegra — “Chandelier” by Sia
The background: Jacob turned three chairs in the blind audition with a performance of “The Times They Are a Changin’” by Bob Dylan; then won a battle round match with Kevin Farris that didn’t air. Allegra turned two chairs in the blinds, singing “Use Somebody;” then won her battle round match with Michael Williams.
The feedback: Kelly said they were even. Blake said he thinks Allegra is “Nick’s chance” to win The Voice. John said he’d have a hard time picking.
The outcome: Nick named Allegra the winner. Jacob was eliminated.
My take: On a night of strong vocal performances, Allegra’s was my favorite. That’s a just-turned-17-year-old, folks, delivering a very mature, controlled version of that song. That glory note and ending were simply glorious. Jacob’s performance was impressive because of the way he made a popular song his own. Still, I would have given the win to Allegra.

WHO KNOWS?

TEAM KELLY

The match: Mandi Thomas, 33, of Memphis, Tenn. vs. Anaya Cheyenne, 16, of Atlanta, Ga.
The songs: Mandi — My Church” by Maren Morris; Anaya — “Praying” by Kesha
The background: Mandi turned Kelly’s chair with the classical “Time to Say Goodbye” in the blinds; then won her country battle round showdown with Sara Collins. Anaya turned two chairs in the blinds; then won a battle round match with Chelle.
The feedback: The Voice montaged the performance, so we didn’t get to hear it.
The outcome: Kelly named Mandi the winner; Anaya was eliminated.
My take: For a montage, The Voice showed a good deal of Mandi’s performance; not a second of Anaya’s. But Mandi absolutely crushed “My Church,” so I’m pretty sure I would have agreed with Kelly’s verdict.