Idol Chatter & Voice Views

On night one of the battle rounds, only three singers went home.

That’s because Blake came to the rescue of Taylor Beckham while Shakira snagged Sasha Allen and Karina Iglesias after they lost battle rounds.

Here’s betting tonight’s battle vanquished aren’t quite so fortunate.

After all, each judge only has two saves, and Shakira has already used both of hers.

Michael Austin

Warren Stone

Battle 1:

Michael Austin vs. Warren Stone (Team Adam):

Michael is known as “Big Country” and performs with a band called Austin Law. Warren is also a country singer, who picked Adam over Blake. Oh, and he’s a firefighter. So this is cop against firefighter, not just country against country. Adam has them singing “My Kinda Party” by Jason Aldean. Adam seems to have paired them up because he says there’s only room for one country male singer on his team. Warren brings the smoother tone; Michael brings more grit. Warren started very strong, but doesn’t seem to have quite as big a voice as Michael. Michael also looks like the more polished performer. You know what? They sound pretty good when they sing together. That ending was really sharp. Blake prefers Michael; Usher prefers Warren. I’d pick Michael because he’s the guy who showed the most energy.

Adam picks Warren to advance.

And Michael does not get stolen.

Josiah Hawley

Jeff Lewis

Battle 2:

Jeff Lewis vs. Josiah Hawley (Team Usher):

Jeff Lewis is the L.A. guy whose record deal went bad. He was signed as J. Lewis and you can listen to some of that music here. Josiah is the former male model who paid his bills that way for two years, but says his heart is in music. Head here for a listen. Usher has them performing “Roxanne.” The rehearsals leave Usher wondering if Jeff is that familiar with the song and scolding him for not taking it seriously enough. He seems more pleased with Josiah’s vocals. Josiah opens very strong. The song didn’t seem as good a fit for Jeff. Adam thinks the two guys were over-singing a bit; Shakira thought it fell flat. Blake seemed more impressed. I’d give the win to Josiah.

Usher selects Josiah to advance.

Mark Andrew and Tawyna Reynolds prepare for their battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Battle 3:

Grace Askew vs. Trevor Davis (Team Blake):

We see just a snippet, but Grace advances. She has already released a pair of albums. Find out more about Grace here. Trevor released music to iTunes before the show, too. Check it out here.

Battle 4:

Audrey Karrasch vs. Jamila Thompson (Team Usher):

We see just a snippet, but Audrey advances. Audrey is the gal who gave Adam some sass in her audition. Jamila has already released a couple of catchy tunes.

Battle 5:

Mark Andrew vs. Tawnya Roberts (Team Shakira):

We see just a snippet, but Tawnya advances. Shame to see Mark head home. He’s got some great pre-show music. Check it out here. I’ll be posting a profile of Tawnya soon.

Caroline Glaser

Danielle Bradbery

Battle 6:

Caroline Glaser vs. Danielle Bradbery (Team Blake):

Hmm, Blake pairs off a pair of teens. Caroline is a coffee house singer with a really unique sound. Danielle is a country singer, who says The Voice represents her first shot at the spotlight. Caroline says she’s a little intimidated by Danielle’s ability to belt. The coaches seem to be impressed with Caroline’s distinctive tone. They’re going to sing “Put Your Records On.” Because they’re so young and inexperienced, Blake says he feels more like a coach than a mentor, trying to pump them up for their performance. Danielle starts out pitch perfect. But Blake picked a good song for Caroline to show off what’s special about her voice. Danielle definitely has the bigger voice, but if Blake’s looking for someone who sounds different that most of the other singers on the show … I’d give the win to Caroline.

Blake selects Danielle, the country gal to advance.

And both Usher and Adam want to steal Caroline. And both of the guys are lobbying hard for Caroline’s services. And Caroline heads to Team Adam.

For more about Danielle, including pre-show music, head here. For the same from Caroline, head here.