Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Voice coaches each have two steals in the battle round.

And just six matches into the battles, three of those steals have already been used.

During the matches that aired Monday, Blake Shelton rescued Dylan Hartigan from the brink of elimination; Kelly Clarkson did the same for Tish Haynes Keys.

As for Jackie Foster, she might not have own her battle round match, but she wasn’t going anywhere. In a rare feat, her performance was so strong every other coach on the show wanted to steal her at the end of Monday’s show.

Here’s a recap of what happened.

BEST OF THE NIGHT

TEAM KELLY CLARKSON

The matchup: D.R. King vs. Jackie Foster
The background: D.R. sang “Believe” and turned two chairs in the blinds; Jackie performed “What About Us” and turned two as well.
The song: “Sign of the Times” by Harry Styles
The performance: One word: Wow! Okay, these two deserve more for that performance — I mean, the range, the vocal prowess and the performance itself were all so great, I’m not sure any other battle round duo this season will be able to top it. And they were both two-chair turns.
The outcome: Kelly declared D.R. the winner. All three other coaches tried to steal Jackie. She went with Team Adam.

WELL-DESERVED STEALS

TEAM KELLY CLARKSON

The matchup: Brynn Cartelli vs. Dylan Hartigan
The background: Brynn, just 14 when she auditioned, turned two chairs with “Beneath Your Beautiful.” Dylan turned one with his performance of “Danny’s Song.”
The song: “Ready for It” by Taylor Swift
The performance: I thought Dylan took this battle. He was in control of the performance from the word “go” and looked incredibly comfortable on stage. Brynn, meanwhile … well, I couldn’t make out much of what she sang on the first verse. That said, she got much better. And I can understand why Kelly would hesitate to cut loose a singer that young who shows that much potential.
The outcome: Kelly declared Brynn the winner. Dylan was stolen by Blake Shelton.

TEAM ADAM LEVINE

The matchup: Rayshun LaMarr vs. Tish Haynes Keys
The background: Tish sang “Chain of Fools” in the blinds and turned two chairs; Rayshun performed “Don’t Stop Believin'” and turned two as well.
The song: “Sweet Thing” by Chaka Khan
The performance: Between his range, his spot-on vocal and his stage presence, I thought Rayshun had this battle locked up. Then at the 1:30 mark, Tish took her vocal to the absolute next level, making me fret that either one would leave the show. I wasn’t thrilled with the song choice, but they sure made it work.
The outcome: Adam declared Rayshun the winner; Tish was stolen by Kelly Clarkson.

THE COACH GOT IT WRONG

TEAM BLAKE SHELTON

The matchup: JessLee vs. Kyla Jade
The background: Kyla, Voice coach JHUD’s background singer, turned two chairs in the blinds singing “See Saw.” JessLee turned two chairs singing “I’m With You” in a performance that was montaged.
The song: “One Last Time” by Ariana Grande
The performance: Sorry, but I didn’t like this pairing, the song choice or the outcome. JessLee’s a country-rocker who offered diversity in a cast that includes an overabundance of pop-soul/R&B. And you have her sing Ariana Grande? Huh? But you know what, she showed lots of vocal firepower and at least stayed true to the song. Kyla has undeniable vocal talent but embellished WAY, way too much for my taste.
The outcome: Blake deemed Kyla the winner; JessLee was eliminated.

THE COACH GOT IT RIGHT

TEAM ALICIA KEYS

The matchup: Christiana Danielle vs. Shana Halligan
The background: Christiana turned three chairs with her performance of “Hotline” bling and was one of just three singers to crack the iTunes Top 200 with her blind audition song. Shana turned one chair with her performance of “Bang, Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).”
The song: “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon
The performance: I love the way these two talented women reworked the hit song. And both turned in impressive vocals. What Shana sings softly, there’s an other-worldly quality to her tone. But Christiana might have shown a bit more vocal versatility, especially that rasp when she really dug into the emotion of the song.
The outcome: Alicia awarded the win to Christiana; Shana was eliminated.

TEAM ALICIA KEYS

The matchup: Jamai vs. Sharane Calister
The background: Jamie turned two chairs with a performance of “U Got It Bad” in the blinds; Sharane also turned two singing “Make It Rain.”
The song: “Mercy” by Shawn Mendes
The performance: Great song choice and a crowd-pleaser of a performance. Jamai’s a great showman — a stylish one at that — and turned in a solid vocal. But he had the misfortune of being pitted against a young woman who I think has one of the best voices of Season 14. She deserved four chair turns in her audition and turned in another stellar vocal on “Mercy.”
The outcome: Alicia declared Sharane the winner; Jamai was eliminated.