Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Rayshun LaMarr leaves his feet in joy upon learning he’d been voted into the Top 12 on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Four singers have already earned spots in the Top 12 on The Voice.

They include Sharane Calister of Team Adam, Britton Buchanan of Team Alicia, Kyla Jade of Team Blake and Brynn Cartelli of Team Kelly.

Now we learn the identity of the other eight singers who will advance, four via fan voting, four via saves by their coaches.

Team Adam Levine: Fans voted through Rayshun LaMarr. Interesting. I didn’t expect that to happen, but that was certainly a high-energy performance. Adam advanced Jackie Verna. Wow, that’s a surprise. Both Drew Cole and Reid Umstattd head home!?!?!?!

My take: I have to think that’s a strategic move on Adam’s part. This year’s cast is short on country singers, but Jackie’s going to have to pick songs wisely and deliver better vocals than she did in the live playoffs to go deep into the competition. Reid Umstattd and Drew Cole seemed much more ready-for-prime-time in terms of the pressure of The Voice finals.

Team Alicia Keys: Fans voted through Jackie Foster. She should breathe a sigh of relief, because as a new member of Team Alicia, I’m not sure she would have gotten the save. Alicia saves Christiana Danielle. That means the elimination of Terrence Cunningham.

My take: The most pleasantly on point coach’s save of the night. Christiana might not have been vocally perfect Tuesday night, but she was fierce. And if Alicia was peeking at iTunes results and YouTube views, she knew fans are embracing her saved contestant. I’m a little shocked she didn’t go with Terrence.

Team Blake Shelton: Fans voted through Pryor Baird. Then Blake saved Spensha Baker, in spite of two pretty shaky performances in the live playoffs and in spite of a really impressive performance by Wilkes last night.

My take: Cutting Spensha would have left Blake without a country artist and a season of The Voice wouldn’t be complete, I suppose, if Blake didn’t have a country artist. Spensha is better than she showed last night, but Monday her song barely made a ripple on the iTunes country chart. I would have gone with Wilkes, especially after that great performance Tuesday night.

Team Kelly Clarkson: Fans voted through Kaleb Lee. Not surprising. Kelly saves D.R. King. Wow. Okay, D.R. has been very impressive, and scored a big battle round hit with Jackie Foster. But that means the elimination of Tish Haynes Keys, who I think has been one of the best vocalists on the show.

My take: In my song-by-song grade blog, I noted that I keep forgetting how talented D.R. is. Then he steps on stage each round and reminds me all over again. That said, I don’t know how you could listen to Tish all this time and not conclude that she shouldn’t be in the Top 12. I hope this wasn’t an attempt to clear a path for Kyla Jade. I hate to think that way. But The Voice is to blame for allowing Jennifer Hudson’s background singer to compete just a season after Jennifer coached the show. Producers should have immediately spotted that as a huge perception issue.