Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Joshua Vacanti performs in the knockout round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Seven singers and a trio earned spots in the live playoffs at the knockout round began on Season 21 of The Voice Monday night.

Wendy Moten, Gymnani, Libianca, Raquel Trinidad, Joshua Vacanti and the sibling group Girl Named Tom won their knockouts, in which each artist got to chose a song to perform.

Holly Forbes and Katie Rae earned the night’s steals, becoming the latest members of Team Ariana Grande and Team Kelly Clarkson, respectively.

Here’s a recap.

THE COACHES GOT IT WRONG

Team Blake

The match: Hailey Green vs. Libianca.
The songs: “God’s Country” by Blake Shelton for Hailey; “Everything I Wanted” by Billie Eilish
The feedback: Ariana and John both gave the edge to Libianca. Kelly said she would award the win to Hailey.
The outcome: Blake named Libianca the winner. Hailey was eliminated.
My take: Blake called the decision soul-crushing. Yep, because he got it dead wrong. As Kelly said, there’s no one else on the show in Hailey’s rocker girl lane. And she delivered a vocal that was oh-so-powerful and full of attitude. There was absolutely nothing wrong with Libianca’s performance, but the show is overloaded with female R&B artists. That makes this a poor strategic move as well, especially considering the way Voice fans have embraced young artists. Hailey was 15 when she auditioned.

Team Ariana

The match: Raquel Trinidad vs. Katie Rae
The songs: “Hold On to Me” by Lauren Daigle for Katie Rae; “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse
The feedback: Kelly gave the edge to Katie Rae. Blake and John said they would award the win to Raquel.
The outcome: Ariana named Raquel the winner. Kelly swooped in and stole Katie Rae.
My take: My ears told me that Katie Rae delivered by far the better vocal. If there was a failing, it was that her song choice didn’t provide lots of dramatics. But she made up for it with emotion. She deserved the win. That said, at least I understand Ariana’s reasoning. Season 21 is full of females who can belt. It isn’t chock full of pop-soul artists with Raquel’s charisma.

KNOCKOUT OF THE NIGHT

Team Kelly

The match: Girl Named Tom vs. Holly Forbes
The songs: “Superstar” by the Carpenters for Holly; “Wichita Lineman” by Glenn Campbell for Girl Names Tom
The feedback: Ariana gave the edge to Holly. The other coaches refused to declare a favorite.
The outcome: Kelly awarded the win to Girl Named Tom. But John and Ariana immediately pressed their steal buttons for Holly. Ariana had used a block to try to land Holly in the blinds. This time, she succeeded. Holly, in a wise strategic decision, chose to join Team Ariana.
My take: Holly was every bit as impressive in her own way as Wendy Moten was for Team Blake. They’re two of the premiere soloists on Season 21. But that Girl Named Tom performance was absolutely heavenly. And made me mad all over again that The Voice no longer offers downloadable/streaming versions of songs in the early rounds. Bekah, Caleb and Joshua Liechty earned that victory and deserve to be among the Season 21 favorites too.

SURPRISE OF THE NIGHT

Team Legend

The match: Sabrina Dias vs. Joshua Vicanti
The songs: “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran for Sabrina; “Falling” by Harry Styles for Joshua
The feedback: Both received praise from the coaches for their cool performances. Blake and Kelly said they though Joshua should win the battle; Ariana favored Sabrina.
The outcome: John awarded the win to Joshua. Sabrina was eliminated.
My take: Wow, both of these singers deserved to advance. Sabrina’s acoustic cover of “Photograph” began with guitar and ended with her playing drums. But for me, Joshua was the surprise of the night. He delivered a superb vocal on “Falling.” More importantly, he delivered it with emotion.

THE COACHES GOT IT RIGHT

Team Blake

The match: Wendy Moten vs. Jonathan Mouton
The songs: “Ain’t No Way” by Aretha Franklin for Wendy; “I Can See Clearly Now” by Jimmy Cliff for Jonathan
The feedback: Everyone agreed Wendy won the match.
The outcome: Blake named Wendy the winner. Jonathan, stolen by Blake during the battles, was eliminated.
My take: Jonathan opened a very strong performance a cappella, which did an excellent job of drawing listeners in. But it was forgotten by the time Wendy finished her vocal gymnastics. Blake said he expects to see her in the finale. If she keeps performing like that, it will be a well-deserved spot in the finale.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g–RH8QPkWw

Team Kelly

The match: Gymani vs. Kinsey Rose
The songs: “Pollowtalk” by Zane for Gymani; “Strawberry Wine” by Deana Carter for Kinsey
The feedback: Blake gave Gymani the edge. John seemed to as well.
The outcome: Kelly named Gymani the winner, saying she thinks she might be the better competitor.
My take: These two performances left me feeling lukewarm. Kinsey’s vocal was fine, but there are countless better country songs for a singing competition. Gymani’s performance struck me as over the top, but was definitely the more impassioned of the two.