Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Three more battle round contestants — Josh Halverson, Sa’Rayah and Karlee Metzger — earned steals during Monday’s episode of The Voice.

Josh landed on Team Miley Cyrus, Karlee wound up on Team Blake Shelton and Sa’Rayah landed on the already stacked Team Alicia Keys.

And for those keeping track, Alicia has now sent five duos into battle. Among her 10 artists who have performed so far, only Halle Tomlinson has been eliminated. Four of the seven steals have gone to members of Team Alicia.

Blake has the only steal left heading into Tuesday’s final battle round episode. It will feature battles between Brendan Fletcher and Bindi Liebowitz of Team Adam; Whitney & Shannon and Gabriel Violett of Team Alicia; and Austin Allsup and Preston James of Team Blake.

Meanwhile, I’m bummed that two of my favorite contestants based on pre-show music were eliminated during Monday’s show. That would be Blaine Long and Tarra Layne, who we never did get to hear on The Voice because she was montaged in both the battle round and blind auditions.

Folks do yourselves a favor and check out Tarra’s “Once You Go Red” EP and Blaine’s “Can’t Change the Sun” album. You won’t be disappointed.

Now, my recap of Monday’s show … Remember, following the links will take you to a profile of each singer. The number in parenthesis indicates the number of chairs the singer turned with his or her blind audition.

BEST OF THE NIGHT

Team Miley

The match: Aaron Gibson (3) vs. Sa’Rayah (2)

The song: “I’ll Take Care of You” by Beth Hart

The verdict: Adam said he’s give the win to Aaron. Blake gives the edge to Sa’Rayah. Miley awarded the win to Aaron. But Sa’Rayah advanced too. Alicia and Blake tried to steal her. She went with Team Alicia. My take: Dang, what a performance. Aaron displayed an amazing tone and rasp. Sa’Rayah did just about everything you could ask for with that big voice of hers. Both definitely deserved to stay on the show.

RUNNER-UP

Team Alicia

The match: Josh Halverson (3) vs. Kylie Rothfield (2)

The song: “House of the Rising Sun”

The verdict: Miley said she’d pick Josh because he’s so unique. Adam and Blake said they’d go with Kylie. Alicia awarded the to Kylie. No problem for Josh. Miley stole him. My take: Adam’s right, the expressions on Josh’s face were downright scary. But what impressed me most about that performance was the vocal from Kylie. Wow. Wow. Wow.

ONLY FAIR

Team Miley

The match: Darby Walker (3) vs. Karlee Metzger (2)

The song: “Brand New Key” by Melanie

The verdict: Adam and Blake said they’d give the vocal edge to Karlee, though they both complimented Darby on her on-stage pizzazz. Miley awarded the win to Darby, saying performance matters too. Blake Shelton swooped in and stole Karlee, saying he heard a little country in her voice. My take: That was probably the fairest outcome. Considering they’d never heard the song before, both singers did quite well.

THE COACH GOT IT WRONG!

Team Blake

The match: Blaine Long (3*) vs. Josh Gallagher (2)

The song: “Stranger in My House” by Ronnie Milsap

The verdict: Alicia thought Blaine’s voice stood out. Adam and Miley said they’d go with Josh because they think there’s a lot more he can do on the show and he’s a good fit for Team Blake. Blake declared Josh the winner. My take: Blake got it oh, so wrong. Not to take anything away from Josh, who turned in a fine performance, but Blaine displayed the most distinctive voice of the two.

THE COACH GOT IT RIGHT

Team Adam

The match: Nolan Neal (4) vs. Johnny Rez (2)

The song: “Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel

The verdict: Hated the song choice. Blake and Miley would have given the edge to Johnny; Alicia said Nolan’s voice stood out. Adam declared Nolan the winner. My take: The song was a better match for Nolan’s unique gravelly tone and he showed he could work the stage a bit, too.

Team Blake

The match: Gabe Broussard (2) vs. Christian Fermin (1)

The song: “The Reason” by Hoobastank

The verdict: Alicia and Adam said they’d lean toward Gabe because he’s so young, yet sounds so mature. Blake awarded the win to Gabe, the youngest singer on the show.

A BIG THUMBS DOWN TO THE VOICE

Team Blake

The match: Dana Harper (2) vs. Tarra Layne (1)

The song: “Alive” by Sia.

The verdict: Dana won a montaged battle; Tarra was eliminated.

Team Adam

The match: Simon Gundy (2) vs. JSOUL (1)

The song: “You’re All I Need to Get By” by Marvin Gaye.

The verdict: Simone won a montaged battle; JSOUL was eliminated.

That means Tarra and JSoul performed twice on the show and we never got to hear them sing. Same thing happened to Charity Bowden last week. Again, that should never happen to singers who invest so much time in being on The Voice.

MAYBE WE’LL HEAR HER SOMEDAY

Team Alicia

The match: Halle Tomlinson (2) vs. Belle Jewel (1)

The song: “Bennie and the Jets” by Elton John.

The verdict: Belle was declared the winner in a montaged battle; Halle was eliminated.

Which means Belle has been montaged twice as well. Will we get to hear her sing in the knockouts? Don’t count on it. Sadly, there have been singers before who have made it to three rounds on The Voice without ever having a performance air in full. Sad but true.