Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Ayanna Jaynee and Joe Maye rehearse for the battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

When Joe Maye auditioned for Season 9 of The Voice, he didn’t turn a single chair.

Now he’s bound for the knockout round as a member of Team Christina in Season 10.

Joe won his matchup against Ayanna Jaynee in a battle round match we didn’t get to see.

But Joe filled in the blanks during a conference call with the media this week.

He and Ayanna were asked to perform “I Knew You Were Waiting,” a 1990s hit for Aretha Franklin and George Michaels.

“We struggled with it a lot during rehearsals,” Joe said. “And (Christina’s adviser) Patti Labelle said herself that the song itself was boring, so like it was like a really big challenge for us to take the song and make it exciting and turn it into a really exciting battle for people to watch. And I think we definitely did that.

“Ayanna has like a really big theater background, and I myself more of a pop/rock,” he added. “And the song was like neither one of those. So we brought those aspects. And I mean, if you listen to it on iTunes you will see that it’s nothing like the way the original song is sang. We just brought a lot of like soul and passion to it.”

Because they went through so much together building the song into a solid performance, Joe said it was difficult to see “somebody who I felt like was really talented go home. And I don’t even feel like we actually got like a super-fair shot to really shine the best we could, because the song wasn’t like necessarily what either one of us would’ve done.”

Joe of Baltimore, Md., was 24 when he auditioned for Season 10 and turned two chairs with his performance of “I Put a Spell on You.” You can read more about him here.

Ayanna, from Nashville, nabbed the very last spot on Season 10 of The Voice when she got Christina to turn for her cover of “Skyfall.” You can learn more and hear more from her here.

Ayanna Jaynee and Joe Maye perform during the battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Joe Maye listens to the coaches’ feedback during the battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Ayanna Jaynee performs during the battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)