Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Eight contestants per team remain on The Voice.

And over the course of the next couple of nights, each will engage in another round of battles.

By the time it all ends, only five contestants per team will remain, including a newly stolen singer.

Chris Martin, mentor for the second round of battles on The Voice, with Blake Shelton. (NBC Photo)

We’re told in tonight’s intro that these battle rounds are designed to bring out the most in the contestants before the playoffs.

TEAM BLAKE

Megan Ruger

Audra McLaughlin

Audra McLaughlin vs. Megan Ruger: Audra McLaughlin, 21, of Philadelphia, Pa., sang “Angel from Montgomery” in the blind audition, prompting all four coaches to turn. She defeated the duo of Alaska and Madi in the battle round. Megan Ruger, 26, of Twin Lakes, Wis., is the gal who finds herself singing classic rock in Nashville. She turned two chairs in the blinds, then defeated Ria Eaton in the battle round.

Megan doesn’t sound thrilled to be paired with a country singer; she’s been trying to get away from singing country. But Blake says he paired them up because they’re both powerful, young singers. Blake gives them a list of three songs; they pick Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb.” Yuk. This is one of my least favorite songs of all time. Megan says she’s been struggling, playing for tips in Nashville. Audra says if this doesn’t work out, it’s back to nursing school. Audra has the more unique tone, and delivered some excellent glory notes. Megan seemed absolutely assured on stage, hit a couple of killer notes, and added a nice little wrinkle at the end. Tough call. My pick: Audra, by a whisker. Blake’s decision: Audra advances.

The steal?And Megan does not get stolen.

TEAM USHER

T.J. Wilkins

Cierra Mickens

T.J. Wikins vs. Cierra Mickens: T.J. Wilkins, 23, of Los Angeles, turned three chairs in the blind audition, then scored a mild upset in the battle round, defeating Biff Gore when they sang “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.” Biff was stolen by Blake Shelton. Cierra Mickens, 23, of Eagle River, Alaska, sang “Crazy” and turned three chairs in the blind audition. She lost her Team Shakira battle round match to Emily B., but Usher saved her.

They’ve decided to do a ballad, “Get Here.” Cierra starts off very strong. T.J. has a great falsetto, though, doesn’t he? And he gets to show if off on that first verse. Dang, these two are turning in one heck of a performance. Every time I think Usher has to pick T.J. because of his range, Cierra hits another of those big notes that show off how much power there is in her voice. That, folks, was a great battle. Not only a superb vocal from both singers, but lots of emotion at the end. And both of them showed splendid control while trying to showcase their best. Shakira bows to their performance. Adam and Blake both give them well-deserved praise. Usher says he likes the way T.J. adjusted to singing a song recorded by a female. My pick: T.J., again by a narrow margin. Usher’s decision: He advances T.J.

The steal? Despite that excellent performance, Cierra does not get stolen.

TEAM BLAKE

Tess Boyer

Jake Worthington

Jake Worthington vs. Tess Boyer: Jake Worthington, 17, of LaPorte, Texas, is one of the contestants who enjoyed success on his second try at the show, turning three chairs in his blind audition. He defeated Lexi Luca in the battle round. Tess Boyer of St. Louis got just Usher to turn for her blind audition. But she was impressive enough in her battle round with Bria Kelly that Blake used one of his two saves on her.

Jake is a country singer; Tess is a former country singer who now prefers pop. And they’re singing “Have a Little Faith in Me.” Judging from the rehearsals, this will turn out to be another excellent battle. OK, I hadn’t been that impressed by Jake in his previous two performances, but that opening was very, very strong. Speaking of strong, Tess’ vocals are equally impressive. And once again, they’re doing a great job of selling the song. Wow, once again, a really, really strong performance from both singers. Man, those vocals soared. Jake performed better than I thought he was capable of. Adam compliments them on an “A level performance.” Everyone is impressed with Tess. Remember, just one coach turned for her audition. And I think she’s the most charismatic of the two. My pick: Jake, just because he surprised me with his confidence and his stage presence and because I can’t think Blake will turn his back on a strong country singer. Blake’s decision: He picks Jake.

The steal? Oh, yeah, every remaining coach wants to steal Tess. Usher wants Tess back, vowing to fight for the singer he let go. Shakira calls Tess the best female voice on the show. Adam says he’s become a believer in Tess “to a very large degree.” And Tess joins Team Shakira.

TEAM ADAM

Sam Behymer

Christina Grimmie

Christina Grimmie vs. Sam Behymer: Sam Behymer, 25, of Morgan Mill, Texas, turned two chairs in the blind audition. She then scored a battle round upset, toppling Cary Laine, who turned four chairs in the auditions. They sang Ed Sheeran’s “Give Me Love.” Christina Grimmie, 19, of Marelton, N.J., turned four chairs in the blind auditions with a fine version of “Wrecking Ball;” then defeated Joshua Howard in the battle round.

The alternative singer (Sam) goes up against the pop singer (Christina). They’ve picked “Counting Stars,” a song performed by a guy. In rehearsal, their first run-through was rough, but they’d improved measurably by the time they’re finished running the song through with Chris Martin and Adam. Honestly, I figure Sam has to score a decisive victory to win because Christina entered the show with an already substantial fan base. Fantastic opening by these two young ladies. Sam certainly has a unique tone to her voice. I’m not sure rapid tempo pop songs are her forte, but she’s holding her own. As for Christina, she seems entirely in control. If she was having trouble over-singing the song in rehearsals, it certainly isn’t coming out here. Blake calls her a “stick of dynamite” and that might be a great way to sum up her on-stage persona. Usher compliments how comfortable she is on stage. My pick: Christina. She’s a heck of a singer and ready for the big time. Adam’s decision: Christina advances. Wise choice. She is a potential winner of this show.

The steal? Sam does not get stolen.

TEAM SHAKIRA

Patrick Thompson

Josh Murley

Josh Murley vs. Patrick Thompson: Josh Murley of Kerryville, Texas, landed on Team Adam after only Adam Levine turned for his audition song. Josh lost in the battle round to Dawn and Hawkes, but Shakira used one of her steals to keep him in the competition. Patrick Thompson, 35, of Festus, Missouri, turned two chairs with his blind audition. He lost to Kat Perkins in a Team Adam battle round, but was stolen by Shakira, who said she couldn’t resist his voice.

Not surprised to see these two guys going up against one another. They’re similar singers, and keeping them both wouldn’t make sense from a strategic standpoint for Shakira. They’re singing “Run to You” by Bryan Adams. Shakira is encouraging them to perform like rock stars. If you’re waiting for a bad battle on The Voice tonight, it obviously is not going to happen. To the singers’ and the show’s credit, we’ve got another fine battle brewing between these two guys. But on this one, two things stood out — Patrick’s rasp and his confidence on stage. He just seemed a little more invested in the performance. My pick: Patrick. Shakira’s decision: She says the guys delivered the rock star moment she was looking for. She calls it evenly matched but she picks Patrick.

The steal? Josh does not get stolen.

TEAM ADAM

Josh Kaufman

Delvin Choice

Delvin Choice vs. Josh Kaufman: Delvin Choice, 24, of Greenville, S.C., turned four chairs in his blind audition after failing to land a spot on the show in a previous season. He defeated Caleb Elder in the battle round.
Josh Kaufman, 38, of Indianapolis turned all four chairs in the blind auditions when he sang George Michael’s “One More Try.” In the battle round, he defeated Austin Ellis.

They’re both soul singers, and neither seems surprised to be matched against one another. If there’s a surprise, it’s this — they both turned four chairs in the blind auditions, meaning Adam will have to cut one of them loose. They’ll sing “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours.” And after they run through the song, Adam proclaims himself “stupid” for just that reason — they’re both great singers. A style note, Delvin has substituted the hair style he called “the lobster” with an orange streak down the middle of his head. From the first note, Delvin shows off his vocal power. Josh is holding his own though, with a few nice little wrinkles and a slightly more unique tone. He’s squeezing in big notes every chance he gets. Delvin is battling back with a couple of well-place shrieks. And, appropriately, they come together in perfect sync for a wonderful ending. And that performance got the coaches on their feet with a standing ovation. Usher calls it the performance of the day. My choice: Delvin. There’s just no denying the power in that voice. Adam’s decision: He called the performance “flawless” and says he loses a potential winner of the show regardless of his choice. He picks Delvin.

The steal? Yep. Usher steals Josh.