Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Jamison Puckett and Shye perform during their battle round match Monday night on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Austyns Stancil and Deon Jones earned steals on The Voice Monday night at the battle round continued.

Deon wound up being stolen by Gwen Stefani after a Team Reba battle with Danny Joseph.

We don’t know which team Austyns will decide to join. As Monday’s show ended, Michael Buble, Reba McEntire and Snoop Dogg were all trying to win him over.

Also advancing to the knockouts Monday, in addition to Danny, were Felsmere, Shye, Jake Tankersley, Jose Luis and Lauren-Michael Sellers.

Jake and Shye delivered especially impressive performances.

Here’s a recap.

THE COACH GOT IT WRONG

TEAM GWEN

The match: Austyns Stancil vs. Jose Luis
The song: “Lay Me Down” by Sam Smith
The background: Jose, 21, turned four chairs in the blinds, singing “Traitor.” Austyns, 34, also turned four with his cover of “Ooo Baby, Baby.”
The feedback: Reba called the performance “fantastic” and “polished and perfect.” Snoop promised to steal the battle round loser. Michael said the performance was great fun and also sounded prone to use a steal. Gwen said they both could win the show.
The outcome: Gwen named Jose the winner based on his dynamics and emotion. All three of the other coaches then tried to steal Austyns. He opted to join Team … well, we’ll find out on Tuesday.
My take: Austyns won that battle. Look, Jose has a great voice and delivered some superb vocal moments in that performance. But Austyns took the stage with so much joy and so much control. He showed off incredible range. And how about that magical glory note he delivered near the end of the song. That said, I can’t argue with a scenario in which both make the knockouts.

THE COACHES GOT IT RIGHT

TEAM REBA

The match: Deon Jones vs. Danny Joseph
The song: “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown
The background: Danny, 37, turned all four chairs with his peformance of “I Put a Spell on You” in the blinds. Deon, who’s blind audition was montaged, got only Reba to turn for his performance of “Little Ghetto Boy.” He’s 32.
The feedback: Gwen said she was “blown away” and loved the performance. She gave Danny a slight edge. Snoop praised the passion in the performance. Reba said they both did a magnificent job.
The outcome: Reba awarded the win to Danny. She said she likes him because he’s so different. Gwen then swooped in and used one of her two steals on Deon.
My take: First off — Hey, Snoop, that’s how you pick a battle round song. You’re not supposed to start a performance on 10. You’re supposed to build to that level. Danny and Deon started at 10 and kept going higher. I wasn’t sure Danny deserved that four-chair turn in the blinds. I am now. And Deon? Just one chair in the blinds. I think he just proved he’s much better than that.

TEAM SNOOP

The match: Brad Sample vs. Jake Tankersley
The song: “Stuck on You” by Lionel Richie
The background: Jake, 31, was the very first contestant we met on Season 26, turning four chairs with his version of “Something in Orange.” Brad, 38, turned two chairs singing “The Letter.”
The feedback: Reba said the difference in voices made for a great duet. Michael loved the performance, but gave Jake the edge. Gwen sounded as though she preferred Brad. Snoop said he regretted pitting two of his best male singers against one another.
The outcome: Snoop awarded the win to Jake, saying he has the potential to win the show. Brad was eliminated.
My take: Wow, Jake’s deep raspy vocals. He could have a hit covering that song. The way Voice fans rally behind male country singers, Jake could win this show. Those two guys sounded pretty darn good together too.

TEAM GWEN

The match: Cozy Len vs. Felsmere
The song: “Summer Breeze by Seals and Croft
The background: Cozy Len, 43, turned two chairs in the blinds, singing “I’ll Make Love to You.” Felsmere competed on Season 1 as Kelsey Rey. The 33-year-old turned two chairs in the blinds, singing “Some Kind of Wonderful.”
The feedback: Michael said both singers are perfect in their own lane. Snoop praised the singers for the way they handle the duet and, for once, expressed an opinion, giving the edge to Felsmere. Reba called it “the perfect duet.” Gwen called the performance amazing.
The outcome: Gwen named Felsmere the winner. Cozy was eliminated.
My take: Not a big fan of that song choice as a battle round sound. Cozy has amazing range, but the impact is muted when he sings that high all the time. Felsmere delivered the more soothing vocals, showed off nice stage presence and I’m hoping we get to see her cut loose on an upbeat pop song.

TEAM MICHAEL

The match: Jamison Puckett vs. Shye
The song: “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber
The background: Jamison, 34, turned two chairs in the blinds, singing “Faithfully.” Shye, 17, turned all four with her performance of “Superman (It’s Not Easy).”
The feedback: Snoop said the song presented a nice showcase for both singers. Reba loved the staging of the performance. Gwen said she wanted to hear more and more. She called it one of her favorite battles so far.
The outcome: Michael named Shye the winner. Jamison was eliminated. Michael said Shye blew him away with her vocals.
My take: Here’s a second wow. Shye’s vocals. Wow. So rich. So pretty. And so powerful. Chalk her up as another potential winner. Jamison turned in a nice performance and showed nice stage presence, but SHye was simply amazing.

TEAM REBA:

The match: Lauren-Michael Sellers vs. Creigh Riepe
The song: “You WIll be Found” by Dear Evan Hansen
The background: Lauren-Michael, 35, earned four chair turns in the blinds, singing “Oceans.” Creigh, 32, turned two chairs with his performance of “Beautiful Things.”
The feedback: Gwen gave Creigh a slight edge. Michael loved both voices. Snoop said he felt he was at a show, not watching a show. Snoop gave Lauren the edge, saying she showed more control. Reba gave high marks to both singers.
The outcome: Reba named Lauren-Michael the winner for the joy she delivers with her vocals. Creigh was eliminated.
My take: Lauren-Michael won me over with her power, her passion and the cry in her voice. Anyone who can sing with that much power and still sound that great during the song’s tender moments has my vote.

Deon Jones reacts to being stolen by Gwen Stefani following his Monday night battle round match on The Voice. (NBC Photo)