Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Hunter Plake performs during the knockout round on The Voice while Johnny Gates looks on. (NBC Photo)

During the battle round, he did it in tandem with Jack Cassidy. Their cover of “Dancing on My Own” hit was sitting at number 25 on the iTunes overall singles chart at noon the day after it aired.

In the knockout round, Hunter accomplished the feat on his own, drawing high praise from the coaches for his creativity as he reworked the classic Foreigner power ballad “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

That earned the singer from Baton Rouge, La., a spot in the live playoffs as a member of Team Gwen Stefani. And another Top 50 hit on the iTunes overall singles chart.

Hunter told Voice Views that charting so well gives him added confidence heading into the live playoffs, which will air Monday and Tuesday on NBC, beginning at 8 p.m. each night.

As for his original version of the Foreigner hit, Hunter said he wanted to show that he has “a unique sound.”

“Going into this round, I knew that I needed to show who I was as an artist,” he said. “And I also wanted to appeal to a wide range of audience and this song I felt did that.”

Hunter was 20 when he auditioned for the show, turned two chairs and landed a spot on Team Alicia Keys. Gwen stole him following that aforementioned battle round match with Jack Cassidy.

You might remember him as the guy who got married, moved into his home with his wife, then lost his home and car to the flooding that hit Baton Rouge last year.

Or as the guy who had never performed on stage outside a church setting before his blind audition.

What we didn’t hear about on the show was the fact that he plays in a band called P.L.A.K.E. with his brother Dakota. In fact, they were preparing to release an EP last year, then decided to hold off when The Voice opportunity came up.

“We’re still going to be releasing music this year and this huge opportunity at The Voice has definitely opened a lot of doors for us, not only fan wise but industry wise as well,” he said.

“We have been writing and producing music for about two years now and I believe we’re ready to release music that is original and new to the industry.”

Here’s a look at how all the songs from the knockout round on The Voice charted. All rankings were taken at noon the day after the performance aired because that’s when voting typically ends following a live show.

And, once again, keep it mind that it’s pretty much impossible to compare performances between charts. The country and pop charts, in particular, are much more difficult to scale that the other genre charts.

See also …
Top performing songs from blind auditions
Top performing songs from the battle round

Overall Singles Chart

#37 — Hunter Plake (Team Gwen), “I Want to Know What Love Is”

#65 — Brennley Brown (Team Blake), “Up to the Mountain”

#79 — Stephanie Rice (Team Alicia), “Safe and Sound”

#134 — Lauren Duski (Team Bake), “When You Say Nothing At All”

#152 — Vanessa Ferguson (Team Alicia), “If I Were Your Woman”

County Singles Chart

#22 — Brennley Brown (Team Blake), “Up to the Mountain”

#34 — Lauren Duski (Team Blake), “When You Say Nothing At All”

#84 — Casi Joy (Team Blake), “My Church”

Pop Singles Chart

#11 — Hunter Plake, “I Want to Know What Love Is”

#21 — Stephanie Rice (Team Alicia), “Safe and Sound”

#85 — Lilli Passero (Team Adam), “Tears Dry on Their Own”

#87 — Hanna Eyre (Team Adam), “Bleeding Love”

#140 — Aliyah Moulden (Team Blake), “Before He Cheats”

#197 — Mark Isaiah (Team Adam), “Love Yourself”

R&B Soul Singles Chart

#7 — Vanessa Ferguson (Team Alicia), “If I Were Your Woman”

#9 — TSoul (Team Blake), “These Arms of Mine”

#11 — Chris Blue (Team Alicia), “Superstition”

#14 — JChosen (Team Gwen), “Without You”

Rock Singles Chart

#8 — Troy Ramey (Team Gwen), “Chandelier”

#10 — Josh West (Team Adam), “Carry On My Wayward Son”

#18 — Jesse Larson (Team Adam), “The Letter”

Did not chart — Anatalia Villaranda (Team Alicia), Aaliyah Rose (Team Blake), Ashley Levin (Team Alicia), Quizz Swanigan (Team Gwen)