Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Voice saved one of the best knockout round matches for last as Damali and Gracee Shriver, both 16, took the stage for Team Kelly Clarkson and delivered very different performances.

Both wound up advancing, completing the 20-singer lineup for next week’s live playoffs.

Also advancing from the knockouts aired Tuesday were Myracle Holloway, Ricky Braddy and Marybeth Byrd.

The surprise elimination of the night was Preston C. Howell, but I imagine we haven’t heard the last from the talented Miami teenager.

GREAT BATTLE, BUT NO SUSPENSE!

TEAM KELLY CLARKSON

The match: Damali vs. Gracee Shriver
The songs: “Sober” by Demi Lovato for Damali; “Leave the Pieces” by The Wreckers for Gracee
The background: Gracee, 16, of Owasso, Okla., turned the only two chairs available when she auditioned, snagging one of the final spots on Season 17. She defeated four-chair-turn recipient Brennan Lassiter in a montaged battle. 16, of Norwalk, Calif., turned just Kelly’s chair in the blinds, then won a montaged battle against Brooke Stephenson.
The feedback: John gave a slight edge to Gracee; Gwen to Damali. Kelly asks for 10 minutes with the Lord to make her decision, which prompts one of Carson’s funniest moment ever as he imitates the Lord.
The outcome: Kelly awards the win to Damali. Blake swoops in and steals Gracee.
My take: Damali just delivered a lesson in selecting a song you can relate to. That was a really emotional performance from the teen and showed lots of vocal potential too. Gracee hit the sweet spot in her voice when she reached the chorus and also shows tons of potential at just 16. I preferred Damali’s performance by just a bit, but won’t be surprised if Gracee winds up in the Top 13 two weeks from now.
My take 2: Once again, there was absolutely no suspense here because this was the last knockout aired and Blake still had a steal. How much better would it be if The Voice brought all of the at-risk artists back to the stage at the end of the battles and knockout rounds and then had the coaches make their steals and their saves?

A FOUR-CHAIR SHOWDOWN

TEAM JOHN LEGEND

The match: Marybeth Byrd vs. Preston C. Howell
The songs: “All I Ask” by Adele; “The Way You Look Tonight” for Preston
The background: Marybeth, 18, of Armorel, Ark., turned four chairs in the blinds with “Angel from Montgomery.” She defeated the duo of Dane and Stephanie in the battle round. Preston, 14, of Miami, Fla., turned four chairs in the blinds, singing “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” He was declared winner of a four-chair-turn showdown with Mendeleyev in the battle round.
The feedback: Both singers got praise from the coaches, but not a single coach picked a winner. John complimented Preston on a “smooth” performance. He compliments Marybeth’s vocal prowess.
The outcome: John declares Marybeth the winner; Preston is eliminated.
My take: Preston said he felt a little uncomfortable with his battle round song (“Fire and Rain”), so he returned to singing a classic tonight. He turned in a solid performance and showed off great stage presence for his age. After a rehearsal that wasn’t all that impressive, Marybeth pulled it together for her on-stage performance and turned in what I thought was the more impressive of the two vocals, complete with a very emotional ending. Why did John pair them?

NO COUNTRY GUYS ON TEAM BLAKE

TEAM BLAKE SHELTON

The match: Ricky Braddy vs. Zach Bridges
The songs: “So High” by John Legend for Ricky; “The Dance” by Garth Brooks for Zach.
The background: Ricky, 36, of Nashville, Tenn., turned three chairs in the blind audition, then won a montaged battle round match with Jordan Chase. Zach, 28, of Pearl, Mississippi, turned two chairs in the blinds with his performance of Blake’s “Ol’ Red.” He then won a battle round match with Cory Jackson.
The feedback: John compliments Ricky for singing his song “beautifully.” He gave the edge to Ricky. The ladies don’t pick. Blake praised both guys for swinging for the fence with their song choices.
The outcome: Blake named Ricky the winner. That leaves him without a male country artist. Zach is eliminated.
My take: Dedicating the song to his boyfriend, Ricky brought the coaches to the feet with his soaring vocal on the John Legend song. Yep, he might have a future in soulful music. Zach did a solid job, but his song choice didn’t allow for nearly as many vocal highlights and I was hoping for just a bit more emotion.

THE FORGOTTEN TWO

TEAM GWEN STEFANI

The match: Myracle Holloway vs. Calvin Lockett
The songs: “Can We Talk” by Tevin Campbell, who knows for Calvin
The background: Calvin, 25, of Nashville, Tenn., turned three chairs with his blind audition. His battle round victory over Brennen Henson was montaged, meaning we saw just a couple of seconds of it. Myracle, 44, of Los Angeles, was a two-chair turn in the blinds; then won one of the first battle round matches that aired against Elise Azkoul.
The outcome: Gwen declared Myracle the winner; Calvin was eliminated.
My take: If The Voice cut all the ‘oh, my, it’s Taylor’ bits, they might not have had to montage a knockout. Instead, we didn’t even find out what Calvin sang; that’s the second time he’d been montaged. And with voting starting next week, The Voice did Myracle no favor. She was one of the first battles aired, meaning we haven’t heard a full performance from her in weeks.