Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The battle rounds start tonight on “The Voice,” where team members go head to head for a chance to advance on the show.

And, get this, the judge of each team has to decide which contestant to send home.

Wow, can you imagine Steven Tyler or Jennifer Lopez put in that position. It might take the entire hour for Steven to decide whom to eliminate.

The impression last week was that the field would be narrowed from 32 to 16 tonight. Half the contestants shed in one night?

That would be very Idol-like. So are the mentors we’re meeting right now, like Reba McEntire.

Christina Aguilera announces the first battle round pairing, two R&B divas: Frenchie Davis of American Idol infamy against gospel singer Tarralyn Ramsey. They’ll be singing “Put a Ring on It.” Sorry, Frenchie, but Tarralyn has the better voice. But Christina declares Frenchie the winner of round one.

Not surprised. Keeping Frenchie in the competition is a plot line The Voice probably can’t resist. Her response: “America finally gets a chance to vote for me.” Oh, yeah, this means she advances to the live show.

The second battle round matchup pits Tyler Robinson, who came out to his dad on the show last week, against Patrick Thomas, a good-looking country singer. They’ll be singing Elvis Presley’s “Burning Love.” It’s a song Tyler doesn’t know; Patrick says he does.

OK, this time I liked Patrick better. Let’s see what Blake has to say. Cee Lo and Adam both preferred Tyler. And Blake picks Patrick to advance.

Interesting third pairing from the Adam Levine team. He pits 18-year-old Casey Weston against 38-year-old Tim Mahoney to perform “Leather and Lace,” a great Stevie Nicks-Don Henley tune. I’m anxious to see how this works out.

Casey’s got a little blue dress working in her favor and a very Stevie-like take on that first verse. Tim’s got a surprisingly high voice, one that fooled Adam into thinking he might be a female singer during the blind audition. Well, I prefer the tone of Casey’s voice, but this will be a close call. Cee Lo prefers Tim; Blake prefers Casey. And Adam picks Casey. Wise choice, Adam.

Cee Lo Green is going to pit soul singer Vicci Martinez against top pop singer Niki Dawson on Pink’s “Freakin’ Perfect.” Niki’s a teen; Vicci’s among the most seasoned singers on The Voice.

I can tell you right now, I love the rasp in Vicci’s voice. But there’s no questioning the passion these two are pouring into this performance. And Cee Lo picks Vicci to advance.

Unless they improve quickly, Vicci is going to perform loops around the other three winners we saw tonight.

So, four contestants have been eliminated, four contestants have advanced.

The battle rounds continue next week on The Voice.