Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Season 9 cast on The Voice is one of the youngest ever.

And three of this season’s teens advanced to the live playoffs with knockout round wins during Monday’s episode.

Madi Davis and Ivonne Acero credited a large part of their success to their coaches and the confidence they’ve gained since their auditions.

Both were challenged in the knockout round. Madi was pitted against highly-touted singer-songwriter Amy Vachal, yet prevailed for Team Pharrell.

Singing for her new Team Blake after a battle round steal, Ivonne was matched with fellow teen Chance Pena. He had created an iTunes’ hit of “Wherever You Will Go” while singing with Andi & Alex in the battle round.

And Ivonne probably surprised some people with her knockout round song choice — Katy Perry’s “Part of Me.” But she said it was a song she knew she could connect to with her own message.

“I feel like when Katy Perry wrote this song, she was going through a tough time in her life and this was kind of like her anthem,” Ivonne said during a Tuesday conference call with the media.

“It was really cool for me to go on that stage and sing this song, saying, ‘Music is a part of me, no matter what anyone says. No matter what comments I get on anything, music is a part of me and something that no one is going to be able to take away from me ever.”

As for her growth on the show, the young woman from Aguila, Ariz., said she compares her blind audition to her knockout round performance and “feels like a completely different person.” The credit for that, she said, goes to her two coaches — Pharrell and Blake.

She said Blake was particularly helpful in making her feel more confident heading into the knockout round since confidence is something she’s “always struggled with as a performer.”

Madi, just 16 when she auditioned, also found a song she could relate to — Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You.” She says it’s perhaps her favorite song from one of her favorite artists.

“Joni Mitchell is an amazing artist and an amazing songwriter, and she’s helped me realize what it means to be an artist and what it means to be a woman in music,” Madi said during the conference call.

“I just felt like for my knockout, I had to do something that would show my true colors, and there was nothing I could think of that would do the job better than that song.”

It clearly worked. It wound up being one of the night’s most popular on iTunes.

She credits much of her success to Pharrell, saying everyone he works with winds up being touched by “how calm and peaceful and amazing he is.

“The biggest thing I feel like he’s helped me with is my confidence,” added Madi, of McKinney, Texas. “And that’s opened up so many doors vocally that I feel like a completely different singer and artist.”

For more on Madi and her pre-show music, head here. For more on Ivonne, head here.

Also check out …
Where the Night 1 knockout round songs landed on iTunes.
Amy Vachal explains why she decided to be swept away by Adam Levine
Braiden Sunshine talks about his knockout round makeover