Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Joseph Soul nabbed a steal and Julia Cooper was stolen during Tuesday’s battle round episode of The Voice.

DeSz, John Holiday, Jim Ranger, Tanner Gomes and Chloe Hogan also advanced.

Here’s my recap.

THE COACH GOT IT WRONG

TEAM JOHN LEGEND

The matchup: John Holiday, 35, of Appleton, Wisc. vs. Julia Cooper, 21, of Nashville, Tenn.
The song: Summer Soft by Stevie Wonder
The background: Both contestants turned three chairs during the blind auditions.
The feedback: Both singers received high praise from the coaches for their vocals. John called it a PhD level performance.
The results: Calling John Holliday, other-wordly, John Legend advanced him. I have a feeling John Holiday is The Voice’s Chosen One for Season 19. John then saved Julia.
My take: This was performed with way too many frills for my liking. Both singers showed off great range and a unique sound. I would have given Julia the win because I found her voice warmer and more welcome. John seemed more interested in vocal acrobatics than delivering lyrics listeners could comprehend.

THE COACHES GOT IT RIGHT

TEAM KELLY CLARKSON

The matchup: DeSz, 30, of Los Angeles, Calif. vs. Joseph Soul, 34, of Makakilo, Hawaii
The song: If You Don’t Know Me By Now by Patti LaBelle
The background: DeSz is the only Team Kelly singer to turn four chairs in the blinds. Joseph turned two chairs.
The feedback: Blake and Gwen complimented both singers; John said he give the win to DeSz.
The results: Calling DeSz a vocal warrior, Kelly proclaimed her the winner. Remember, she was one of the show’s four-chair turns and the only one on Team Kelly. Joseph, however, was promptly stolen by Gwen.
My take: Normally, I prefer fewer vocal acrobatics and more feeling, but these two executed beautifully. DeSz’s voice is a force of nature, but it was nice to see Joseph survive as well.

TEAM BLAKE SHELTON

The matchup: Jim Ranger, 38, of Bakersfield, Calif. vs. John Sullivan, 32, of Denver, N.C.
The song: Good as You by Kane Brown
The background: Jim turned three chairs in the blind auditions; John turned two.
The feedback: Gwen and John said the win should go to Jim; Kelly seemed divided.
The results:
My take: This battle was a dead heat for the first 1:45. Then Jim delived tons of soul and grit over the last several seconds, convincing me he deserved to advance.
Special Note: No saves and only one steal remained (Blake’s) when this match was filmed.

UGH, THEY WERE MONTAGED!

TEAM GWEN STEFANI

The matchup: Chloe Hogan, 20, of Nashville, Tenn. vs. Lain Roy, 22, of Nashville, Tenn.
The song: Adore You by Harry Styles
The background: Lain turned two chairs during the blinds; Chloe turned just Gwen’s.
The feedback: John told Chloe he thought she outperformed the judges’ expectations.
The results: Chloe was named the winner; Laine was eliminated. Gwen said she chose Chloe because she “was just a little more in touch with her identity.”
Special Note: No saves and only one steal remained (Blake’s) when this match was filmed.

TEAM KELLY CLARKSON

The matchup: Tanner Gomes, 28, of Nashville, Tenn. vs. Skylar Mayton, 15, of Ada, Mich.
The song: Whiskey Lullaby by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss
The background: Tanner turned three chairs in the blinds; Skylar turned just Kelly’s
The feedback: In the snippett we heard, John seemed to lean toward Tanner based on his control and tone.
The results: Tanner was named the winner; Sylar was eliminated.
Special Note: No saves and only one steal remained (Blake’s) when this match was filmed.

My Take: Knowing how much time the artists invest in preparing for these performances, I hate to see anyone montaged, win or lose. I’d also note that The Voice spent 10 minutes talking about the first battle of the night before the perrformance aired, yet couldn’t find five minutes to air these two battle performance.

On top of that, despite cameras running the entire time, they couldn’t be bothered to edit the performances and put them on YouTube in their entirity. That, folks, is The Voice.