Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Kylee Dayne and Mary Kate Conner listen to coaches’ feedback during the battles on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Five more artists advanced on The Voice Tuesday night at the battle round continued.

And Mary Kate Conner joined Manasseh Samone as artists who have already qualified for the playoffs thanks to the show’s new playoff pass.

She earned the honor for Team Blake after a wonderful battle round match with good friend Kylee Dayne.

Also advancing Tuesday were Marcos Covos, Ross Clayton and Magnus.

Here’s a recap.

BEST OF THE NIGHT

Team Blake

The pairing: Kylee Dayne (3) vs. Mary Kate Conner (2)
Song: “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift
Feedback: Niall gave a slight edge to Mary Kate. Chance loved how well they performed together and gave the edge to Kylee because of her control. Kelly called it evenly matched.
The outcome Blake named Kylee the winner. Then he gave Mary Kate the playoff pass that will allow her to skip the knockout round.
My take: The harmonies between those two were wonderful. Glad to see both of them advance. Mary Kate displayed my favorite voice of the night. That said, I’m not sure how well she’ll be served by a playoff pass that robs her of the knockout round experience.

THE COACHES GOT IT RIGHT

Team Niall

The pairing: Ross Clayton (4) vs. Laura Littleton (3)
Song: “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” by Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks
Feedback: Blake gave the edge to Ross. Chance called the performance awesome. I missed what Kelly said because my Xfinity internet cut out.
Outcome: Niall declared Ross the winner based on his grit and his standout tone.
My Take: My guess is that song choice was a better fit for Ross than for Laura, because he was clearly the singer who did best with it.

Team Chance

The pairing: Magnus (1) vs. Alyssa Lazar (1)
Song: “Your Song” by Elton John
Feedback: Kelly gave a slight edge to Magnus. Niall gave the edge to Alyssa. Blake praised Alyssa’s vibrato.
The outcome: Chance awarded the win to Magnus, saying he had his own great take on the song.
My take: Magnus displayed a deep rich voice, lots of range and made some interesting vocal choices that breathed some new like into an oft heard song. He should have won. That said, it was nice to hear Alyssa perform since she was the only singer montaged during the blinds.
Special note: There were no steals or playoff passes available when this match was filmed.

A MONTAGE: UGH!!!!!

Team Kelly

The pairing: Marcos Covos (2) vs. Sheer Element (3)
Song: “I Could Fall in Love” by Selena
Feedback: Who knows? The Voice montaged this performance.
The outcome: Kelly awarded the win to Marcos. Why? Who knows? Maybe because she missed hearing him sing in Spanish?
My take: The Voice cuts the number of contestants to 40, shortens the live shows to just two and still montages performances. Inexcusable. Shameless. The show is entertaining. The production and format of The Voice sucks and this show should never, ever be considered for an Emmy, let alone win one.