Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Manny Cabo and Keith Semple prepare for their battle round on The Voice with coaches John Fogerty and Adam Levine. (NBC Photo)

Two male rockers squared off on The Voice Tuesday in what turned out to be one of the better battle round performances we’ve seen so far.

Keith Semple, 33, of Chicago, Ill., advanced to the show’s knockout round. Manny Cabo, 45, of Elizabeth, N.J., headed home after he didn’t get a steal.

But their version of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” cracked the Top 10 on iTunes’ rock singles chart.

The next day, Keith said he had something of an “unfair advantage” heading into the performance.

“I have sung that song inside one of the medleys that I do with my old band,” he explained. “And we literally had done that medley about a thousand times — no joke.”

But Keith says he also had to remember that he’d been singing “Baba O’Riley” from a performer’s standpoint. And The Voice … well, it’s supposed to be all about the voice.

“Anybody that’s seen me play, they know I jump about like a crazy person on the stage,” he said. “And I always sacrifice about 20 percent of my vocal ability for it because you’re trying to entertain a crowd.

“So I was trying to think, ‘Oh, well wait. I actually have to think about each line here. What would I like to do on each line?’ And so it was quite nice to, you know, get to dissect something that I’ve done so many times.”

Keith also credits his vocal coach on The Voice for helping make him a stronger singer.

“I’m pleasantly surprised to find out that I still have plenty to learn, and that’s really nice because I thought after 17 years I pretty much had learned most of what I needed to learn,” he said in a conference call with the media.

“But I definitely think my voice is a lot stronger. And a few people have been commenting at my shows here in Chicago that my range has improved and that my just overall sort of technique has improved and sounds better. And so I’m happy about that.”

To learn more about Keith, who has lots of music on iTunes, head here. To learn more about Manny, head here.

Keith Semple performs during his battle round match on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Manny Cabo and Keith Semple perform during the battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)