Idol Chatter & Voice Views

We’re just six matches into the knockout round on The Voice, and two of the four coaches’ steals have already been used.

Adam Levine stole country singer Josh Gallagher from Team Blake during Monday night’s knockout round premiere.

Then Blake returned the favor by stealing Jason Warrior from Team Adam. It makes the second time Jason’s been stolen. He started Season 11 on Team Alicia.

Here’s a recap of Monday’s show. Follow the links and you’ll find profiles of the artists. The number in parenthesis is the number of chairs the artist turned with his or her blind audition.

BEST OF THE NIGHT

Team Alicia

The match: We McDonald (4) vs. Courtnie Ramirez (2)

The songs: We — “No More Drama” by Mary J. Blige; Courtnie — “If I Were a Boy” by Beyonce

The verdict: Alicia awarded the win to We; Courtnie was eliminated. My take: Wow, wow, wow. We gets my vote for performance of the night. That was impressive! She certainly deserved to advance. That said, Courtnie showed tons of potential with her performance. Her ending was particularly impressive.

SHE DESERVED A STEAL

Team Miley

The match: Ali Caldwell (4) vs. Lauren Diaz (3)

The songs: Ali — “No Ordinary Love” by Sade; Lauren — “Rise Up” by Andre Day

The verdict: Miley picked Ali as the winner; Lauren was eliminated. My take: Ali slayed her performance, making a difficult vocal look easy while showing off her range and power. But, wow, did anyone draw a tougher sets of pairings in the last two rounds than Lauren, who went up against We McDonald in the battles and was stolen. She seemed a bit nervous at the beginning of her song, but found her footing quickly and wound up turning in an emotional performance worthy of another steal. A comeback pick, perhaps?

THE COACH GOT IT OH, SO WRONG

Team Adam

The match: Jason Warrior (2) vs. Riley Elmore (1)

The songs: Jason — “I Want You” by Luke James; Riley — “Haven’t Met You Yet” by Michael Buble

The verdict: Adam awards the win to Riley; Jason is stolen by Blake. My take: Huh? Was Adam listening. I mean, at all. Even a tiny little bit. Jason turned in an impressive vocals, showing great range. Riley showed nice potential. But, honestly, that performance was rough in spots and not live playoff worthy when you consider the performances turned in by other singers eliminated during Monday’s show, like Lauren Diaz and Courtnie Ramirez. Especially Lauren.

NOT THAT SONG AGAIN!

Team Blake

The match: Josh Gallagher (2) vs. Sundance Head (2)

The songs: Josh — “My Maria” by Brooks and Dunn; Sundance — “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus

The verdict: Blake awarded the win to Sundance; Josh was stolen by Adam Levine. My take: I absolutely hate “The Climb” so it’s tough for me to fairy access Sundance’s performance because I’ve never heard a version of that song I liked. He did end with a really nice glory note. Personally, I probably would have given the win to Josh because I did like his song choice and he delivered a solid performance. Glad to see he was stolen.

THE COACHES GOT IT RIGHT

Team Alicia

The match: Whitney & Shannon (4) vs. Kylie Rothfield (2)

The songs: Whitney and Shannon — “I Won’t Give Up” by Jason Mraz; Kylie — Hound Dog by Big Mama Thornton

The verdict: Alicia awarded the upset win to Kylie. Whitney and Shannon were eliminated. My take: Tough to argue with that decision. Kylie decided to sing a less familiar version of a classic hit and got stronger and stronger. Definitely one of my favorite performances of the night. And while the sisters sound great together, their solos early in that performance were a bit shaky.

Team Adam

The match: Dave Moisan (4) vs. Simon Gundy (2)

The songs: Dave — “Like I Can” by Sam Smith; Simone — “Midnight Train from Georgia” by Gladys Knight

The verdict: Adam awards the win to Simone; Dave is eliminated. My take: Simone turned in a solid peformance from beginning to end, though it would have been nice to hear her sing something less predictable. Dave’s performance, unfortunately, never really clicked. Based on those two performance, Adam absolutely made the right choice.