Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Claudia B. and Mara Justine listen to the coaches’ feedback following their battle round match on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Five more singers advanced to the knockouts on The Voice Tuesday night.

Mara Justine, Tom Nittia, Jason Arcilla and Olivia Monigue won their battle round matches.

And Claudia B. earned the night’s only steal, courtesy of coach Niall Horan.

In the process, the show said farewell to a pair of four-chair turns, Laura Williams of Team Niall, Eli Ward of Team Gwen and Dylan Carter of Team Reba.

Here’s the Voice Views recap.

BEST OF THE NIGHT

TEAM JOHN

The match: Mara Justine vs. Claudia B.
The song: “Son of a Preacher Man” by Dusty Springfield
The background: Mara, 21, of Galloway, N.J., turned four chairs during the blinds. Claudia B., 24, of Washington, D.C., turned three.
The feedback: Reba loved the performance and gave the edge to Claudia. Niall leaned toward Mara. Gwen applauded Mara’s star quality and gave her a slight edge. John said both singers delivered. Mara just delivered a bit more edge.
The decision: John named Mara the winner. Niall immediately stole Claudia B, saying she’ll fit right in on Team Niall.
My take: That, folks, was Mara Justine shouting, “Hey, don’t forget about me” with an absolutely stellar performance. We hadn’t seen her since the season premiere. But, damn, did she rock The Voice stage in impressive fashion. That’s what a Season 24 front-runner looks and sounds like. Claudia B was quite impressive herself. And both ladies looked like stars, leaving me to wonder why the wardrobe department has some of the singers looking so stylish and others looking like cartoon characters.

THE COACHES GOT IT RIGHT

TEAM REBA

The match: Tom Nitti vs. Dylan Carter
The song: “‘Til You Can’t” by Cody Johnson
The background: Dylan, 20, of St. George, S.C., turned four chairs during the blinds. Tom, 31, of New Hartford, N.Y., turned one.
The feedback: Niall complimented both singers. Gwen loved Dylan’s voice and the way Tom built the performance. Reba thought the duet was “absolutely marvelous” and “magical.”
The decision: Reba named Tom the winner; Dylan was eliminated.
My take: Having listened to Tom’s original music, I thought he was better than his one-chair turn blind audition would lead one to believe. And he certainly showed it in this performance, especially when the music swelled.
Special Note: No steals remained when this battle was filmed

TEAM GWEN

The match: Jason Arcilla vs. Eli Ward
The song: “Make It With You” by Bread
The background: Jason, 34, of Kahului, Hawaii, turned two chairs in the blinds. Eli, 21, of Waterloo, Ill., was a four-chair turn.
The feedback: John Legend gave Eli the edge because of his on-stage confidence. Reba said the two guys sounded great together. She also gave the edge to Eli. Niall gave the edge to Jason. Gwen applauded the hard work they did in preparing for the performance
The decision: Gwen advanced Jason to the knockouts; Eli was eliminated.
My take: Jason was wonderful from the opening line. I would have believed that was his song, he seemed so natural performing it. And John Legend was right: There’s something very appealing about the gentleness of his vocals.

THE MONTAGED

TEAM NIALL

The match: Olivia Minogue vs. Laura Williams
The song: “Ghost” by Ella Henderson
The background: Olivia, 19, of Lockport, Ill., turned three chairs during the blinds. Laura, 20, of Quakerstown, Pa., turned four.
The feedback: Well, since The Voice took a full minute to summarize the battle, we didn’t hear much. Niall called Olivia a solid, solid singer and later said she showed amazing growth between the blinds and the battle.
The decision: Oliva was named the winner. Laura was eliminated.
My take: The Voice airs a one-hour recap of last night’s battles at 8 p.m., then gives us a 20-second clip of this battle, featuring singers who had turned a combined seven chairs in the blinds. Make sense? Not in the least. Welcome to La La Land, The Voice style, where producers can be counted on to play village imbeciles in every episode.