Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Girl Named Tom reacts to coaches’ feedback during the battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Kinsey Rose earned four button pushes following her performance during the battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Why? Let me count the reasons.

1. When you’re searching for the voice, it seems illogical to have contestants sing duets in the first elimination round. We’re supposed to be picking the voice, not the best duet partner.

2. The ratio of music to filler on these episodes is ridiculous. In a two-hour show, we get six 2-minute performances. That’s 12 minutes of music in 120 minutes of viewing.

3. You wind up with some pairings (see Tommy Edwards vs. Libianca on Team Blake) that make no damn sense. And some songs that wind up favoring one singer over the other.

4. And as we’ve learned in the past two seasons of filming battles with virtual audiences — who were willing to provide very detailed spoilers — the coaches use all their saves and steals early. The means when you perform has as much to do with whether you advance or not as how well you perform.

5. The Voice shows no imagination in how these episodes are presented. You can almost guarantee the first and last battle of the night will result in a save or a steal, sapping suspense from the word go.

Again, I think The Voice should replace the battle round with another knockout round, allowing the contestants to perform solo songs of their choice.

And I think every save and steal should be held until after everyone performs, forcing the coaches to witness every performance before deciding who to use them on.

All that said, Monday’s show was a fine reminder of the talent The Voice has rounded up for Season 21.

Katie Rae, Girl Named Tom, Samuel Harkness, Peedy Chavis, David Vogel and Jeremy Rosado won their battles.

Bella DeNapoli and Kinsey Rose were saved by their coaches, Ariana Grande and Kelly Clarkson, respectively. And Jershika Maple earned a steal.

THE COACHES GOT IT WRONG

Team Kelly

The match: Jeremy Rosado and Jershika Maple
The song: “Hold On” by Justin Bieber
The feedback: Ariana and John gave the edge to Jershika; Blake gave the edge to Jeremy.
The outcome: Kelly awarded the win to Jeremy. Jershika and Ariana both tried to steal Jershika. And the show ended on a cliffhanger because we’ll find out who Jershika picked Tuesday night.
My take: Jershike won the battle. She delivered a fabulous vocal and her joyful energy and spirit on stage is undeniable. But I understand Kelly’s decision because Jeremy is a superb singer and male talent seems a bit thinner on Season 21 than female.

Team Blake:

The match: The Joy Reunion vs. Peedy Chavis
The song: “Joy to the World” by Three Dog Night
The feedback: Ariana called it a joyous performance. Kelly complimented the confidence Peedy showed on stage.
The outcome: Blake named Peedy the winner of the battle, saying he’s special and could wind up having some sort of crazy career. The Joy Reunion was eliminated.
My take: I honestly found Peedy’s Elvis imitation and ad libs more detracting than anything during that performance. And I’m pretty sure The Joy Reunion will produce post-Voice music I’ll enjoy.

A MUCH NEEDED SAVE

Team Kelly

The match: Kinsey Rose vs. Girl Named Tom
The song: “Seven Bridges Road” by The Ealges
The feedback: Blake said the four of them need to be singing together all the time. Ariana gave a slight edge to Girl Named Tom. John said Kinsey sounded like the best individual soloist.
The outcome: Kelly awarded the win to Girl Named Tom, which turned four chairs in the blinds. John and Blake both pushed their steal buttons; Kelly pushed her save button. And after all the coaches had made their pitches Ariana pushed her steal button too. Kinsey decided to stay with Team Kelly. According to Carson, that’s the first time there’s been four button pushes following a battle, quite a tribute to Kinsey.
My take: Totally agree with that outcome. Girl Named Tom needed to advance. They’ll seem more special outside the duet format of the battles. But that song choice seemed perfect for Kinsey, who sounded fabulous.

THE COACHES GOT IT RIGHT

Team Ariana

The match: Bella DeNapoli vs. Katie Rae
The song: “No More Tears (Enough is Enough)” by Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand
The feedback: John loved the powerhouse performance. He gave Katie Rae the edge. Kelly seemed to, as well, complimenting Katie’s sultry vocals. Blake gave Bella the edge. Ariana is in tears she loved the performance so much.
The outcome: Ariana named Katie Rae the winning, saying every time she opened her voice she got goose bumps. Ariana then saved Bella.
My take: That was a very evenly matched performance, but I too would have given Katie Rae a slight edge based on her unique tone.

Team Legend

The match: Samuel Harkness vs. KJ Jennings
The song: “I Know What You Did Last Summer” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello
The feedback: Kelly and Blake give the edge to Samuel due to his unique tone. Ariana gave the edge to KJ.
The outcome: John awarded the win to Samuel. No one saved KJ.
My take: Great performance. I loved KJ’s opening and the attitude she brought to the stage. That said, Samuel is one of my favorite male vocalists on Season 21. So I would have given him the edge. The arrangement also favored Samuel. There was a stretch where it made KJ seem like his background singer.

Team Ariana

The match: Chavon Rodgers and David Vogel
The song: “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” by Fall Out Boy
The feedback: John gave the edge to David; Blake and Kelly gave eh edge to Chavon, though Kelly said her choice was only to contradict John.
The outcome: Ariana award the win to David. Chavon was eliminated.
My take: Loved the high-energy ending. And I would have given the win to David because I really liked his rock tone.