Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Chris Kroeze gets a well deserved save on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

That happened Monday night, when the show aired its final six battle rounds, featuring a steal for Colton Smith by Jennifer Hudson.

Chris Kroeze and Sarah Grace were also on the verge of elimination before being saved by their coaches, Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson, respectively.

The leaves each team with six singers heading into the playoffs, which begin Monday night. Three from each team advance to the finals.

here’s how the teams stack up:

Team Adam Levine — DeAndre Nico, Steve Memmolo, Reagan Strange, Tyke James, Radha and Kameron Marlowe.

Team Blake Shelton — Dave Fenley, Kirk Jay, Chris Kroeze, Natasia Greycloud, Funsho, Michael Lee

Team Jennifer Hudson — Kennedy Holmes, Sandy Redd, Patrique Fortson, Colton Smith, Franc West, McKenzie Thomas

Team Kelly Clarkson — Abby Cates, Sarah Grace, Chevel Shepherd, Kymberli Joye, Zaxai, Keith Paluso

Here’s a recap of what happened Monday.

THANKFULLY, THEY WERE SAVED

TEAM BLAKE SHELTON

The matchup: Michael Lee vs. Chris Kroeze
The songs: Michael, “Whipping Post” by The Allman Brother Band; Chris, “Burning House” by Cam
The background: Michael turned three chairs in the blinds; then won a battle with Joey Green. Chris turned two; then won a battle with Mercedes Ferreira-Dias.
The outcome: Blake declared Michael the winner, then saved Chris from elimination.
Voice Views take: Thank God Blake still had a steal. Michael was absolutely fierce on “Whipping Post.” The last shriek, dang. It put the exclamation mark on a great performance. Oh, and Voice producers, I could have figured that out all on my own without all the reaction shots of Kelly and Jennifer. PLEASE, keep the camera on the contestants. All that said, I’d be willing to bet that if Monday’s performances were on iTunes, Chris’ take on “Burning House” would have been the best performing of the night. It was certainly my favorite of the night. Absolutely brilliant!

TEAM KELLY CLARKSON

The matchup: Chevel Shepherd vs. Sarah Grace
The songs: Chevel, “Travelin’ Soldier” by The Dixie Chicks; Sarah, “I’d Rather Go Blind” by Etta James
The background: Chevel, 16, turned three chairs in the blinds; then won her battle with Mikele Buck, 39. Sarah, 15, turned two chairs in the blinds; then won her battle with Erika Zade.
The outcome: Kelly declared Chevel the winner, then saved Sarah to keep her in the competition.
Voice Views take: Anyone who can do the math knew neither of these singers were going home. And after hearing those two performance, I’m mighty glad of it. Chevel’s performance just made me smile, especially when she hit that sweet spot in her voice on the chorus. Note that she’s the only female country singer in the competition, which could bode very well for her moving forward. Then there was Sarah, who I actually thought was a bit more impressive in the knockout thanks to showing up on stage with a surplus of soul and an ending that was oh, so special.

A STEAL? REALLY

TEAM BLAKE SHELTON

The matchup: Kirk Jay vs. Colton Smith
The songs: Kirk, “In Case You Didn’t Know” by Brett Young; Colton, “Lady Marmalade” by Labelle
The background: Kirk Jay turned four chairs in the blinds; then won a battle with Caeland Garner. Colton turned Jennifer Hudson’s chair in the blinds; then was stolen by Blake in the battle round.
The outcome: Blake declared Kirk the winner; Colton was stolen by Jennifer
Voice Views take: Very solid performance by Kirk, and it was nice to see him deliver that heartfelt vocal from behind the keys. It’s going to be very interesting to see how the voting goes on Team Blake next week. As for the Colton steal, I don’t get that at all. The lyric flub aside, I’m struggling to understand how Colton is still on the show while some other singers (Hello, Katrina Cain, Tyshawn Colquitt, Caeland Garner, Joey Green) are watching from home. I still think The Voice could heighten the suspense in the battle and knockout rounds by about 100 percent by saving all the saves and all the steals until after everyone has performed.

THE COACHES GOT IT RIGHT

TEAM ADAM LEVINE

The matchup: Deandre Nico vs. Jake Wells
The songs: Deandre, “Wanted” by Hunter Hayes; Jake, “Yellow” by Coldplay
The background: DeAndre turned four chairs in the blinds; then won his battle round match with Funsho; Jake turned a single chair in the blinds; then won his battle with Natalie Brady.
The outcome: Adam declared Deandre the winner; Jake was eliminated
Voice Views take: Nothing wrong with Jake’s performance, and i really liked his song choice. But DeAndre turned in a superlative vocal to take this match and once again establish himself as a front-runner on Season 13. The note he hit on that first “Wanted” sealed the deal, and he followed it up with plenty more special moments before the performance ended.

TEAM ADAM LEVINE

The matchup: Steve Memmolo vs. Delaney Silvernell
The songs: Steve, “Unaware” by Allen Stone; Delaney, “Praying” by Kesha
The background: Steve turned two chairs in the blinds; then won his battle with Anthony Arya. Delaney turned one chair in the blinds; then was stolen by Adam in the battle round.
The outcome: Adam declared Steve the winner; Delaney was eliminated
Voice Views take: Loved Delaney’s tone on the tender opening, but the song built too quickly, which I blame on a Voice format that encourages as many vocal acrobatics as a single can cram into a two-minute performance. Steve showed off really nice range and control during a solid performance, so it’s tough to argue with Adam’s verdict.

TEAM JENNIFER HUDSON

The matchup: Kennedy Holmes vs. Anthony Arya
The songs: Kennedy, “What About Us” by Pink; Anthony, “Operator” by Jim Croce
The background: Kennedy, just 13, turned four chairs in the blinds; then won her battle with Lela. Anthony, 15, turned Adam Levine’s chair in the blinds; then was stolen by Jennifer in the battle round.
The outcome: Jennifer declared Kennedy the winner; Anthony was eliminated
Voice Views take: Hey, solid performance by Anthony, who stayed true to his musical lane and served up a song choice from 30 years before his birth. But every time I see Kennedy perform, I’m blown away by the fact that she’s only 13. That performance did it again. Let’s just say the season after Brynn’s win, The Voice is loaded with young female talent.