Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The knockout round continues tonight on The Voice.

And with nine matchups remaining, the singers who aren’t selected to advance by their coach will be competing for one of two saves.

Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton haven’t used their saves yet, meaning they’ll each have a chance to scoop up another talented performer for their teams.

But the big question might be whether anyone can keep Season 8 from becoming the Sawyer Frederick’s show?

The 15-year-old Team Pharrell singer scored the biggest iTunes hit from last night’s show; his version of “Collide” was sitting at number 57 at the iTunes singles chart when I checked at 7:45 p.m.

And his two prior performances from the show were also sitting in the Top 200.

Meanwhile, only two other performers from Monday had one song in the Top 200 — Sarah Potenza with “Wasted Love” at 106 and Meghan Linsey with “A Natural Woman” at 191.

TEAM BLAKE

Cody Wickline vs. Corey Kent White: Cody Wickline, 20, of Beckley, W.Va., auditioned with a tender and spot-on performance of George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” He turned four chairs. Cody was matched with fellow country singer Matt Snook in a Team Blake battle round. They sang Randy Houser’s “How Country Feels.” Blake declared Cody the winner; Matt was eliminated. Corey Kent White, 20, of Bixby, Oakla., performed the Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried” and turned two chairs in the blind audition. In the battle round, he was matched with Jacob Rummell. They sang Hunter Hayes’ “I Want Crazy.” Blake declared Corey the winner; Jacob was stolen by Pharrell.

Blake has matched up his two young male country singers and says he wants to advance the one he thinks can win the show. Corey is singing “Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw. He says the song hits home because one of his grandfathers is fighting for his life. Cody dumps the cowboy hat for his rehearsal and announces that he’ll be singing “Til My Last Day” by Justin Moore because he wants to show he can be a modern country singer. After the rehearsals, Blake predicts this will be one of his toughest decisions. Cody will sing first. Well, the cowboy hat is back. And his voice is in fine form. Not too many frills until right at the end, but Cody delivers another solid country vocal. Now it’s Corey’s turn. He’s picked the more emotional song. And he doing a fine job with it. While, this will be a tough decision for Blake. Cody might have the slightly better voice, but Corey just delivered a better performance. I’d give the win to Cody based on potential to do well later in the competition. Blake gives the win to Corey. Interesting. I certainly can’t complain about that decision. But given his success — and the success of country singers on The Voice — I’m a little surprised no one picked up Cody.

TEAM ADAM

Blaze Johnson vs. DeAnna Johnson: Blaze Johnson, 23, of Columbus, Ohio, auditioned with The Fray’s “How to Save a Life.” He turned two chairs. He was matched with Michael Leier in the Team Adam battle round. They sang “Rude” by Magic. Adam declared Blaze the winner; Michael was eliminated. DeAnna Johnson, 18, of Hazlehurst, Ga., auditioned with Kodaline’s “All I Want.” She turned all four chairs after failing to turn one during a Season 5 tryout. She was pitted against Nicolette Mare in the battle round. They sang “Love Me Like You Do” in a performance that was part of a montage. Adam declared DeAnna the winner; Nicolette was eliminated.

Interesting pairing. Well, they have a last name in common. We didn’t get to see DeAnna’s battle round. Blaze is going to sing “You Found Me” by the Fray. DeAnna is going to sing “Listen to My Heart,” an acoustic, slowed-down version of the Roxette hit. The coaches love her potential, but fear nerves will hold her back. Blaze goes first and that first verse was a touch rough. He’s also hitting some bum notes on the chorus, though he’s certainly showing off a big voice and singing with tons of emotion. Give Blaze an A+ for an impassioned performance, but that wasn’t a spot-on vocal. DeAnna’s next. This young woman has a lovely voice, but you can still hear a touch of nerves. That said, what a voice. She nailed one heck of a glory note near the end and held it forever. I’ve give the win to DeAnna. Blake would give the win to Blaze. Christina calls it a toss-up. Pharrell would give it to Blaze, too. Adam gives the win to DeAnna.

TEAM PHARRELL

Caitlin Caporale vs. Hannah Kirby: Caitlin Caporale, 23, of Newburgh, N.Y., sang Christina Aguilera’s “Impossible” and turned in the best performance on the final night of the blind auditions. She turned two chairs. She was matched against Briar Jonnee in the battle round. They sang “Falling” by Alicia Keys. Pharrell declared Caitlin the winner; Briar was eliminated from the show. Hannah Kirby, 20, of Sulphur Springs, Texas, sang “The Letter” in her blind audition, nailing down the final spot on a team in Season 8 by getting Blake Shelton to turn around. In the battle round, she was matched with Sarah Potenza. They turned in one of the best performances of the battles, singing “Gimme Shelter.” Blake declared Sarah the winner, but both Adam and Pharrell tried to steal Hannah. She decided to join Team Pharrell.

Pharrell says he paired these two because they’re both powerhouse singers. He wants to see who delivers emotion in the knockout round. Hannah will sing “Higher Love.” She says it’s more of a pop song, but she wants to show Pharrell her versatility. Caitlin will sing “Warrior” by Demi Lovato. She says she can relate to the lyrics because of her experience trying to make it as a singer. Hannah goes first and she’s working the stage, just like Pharrell wanted her to. Not sure this was the best song choice. But Hannah pours it on at the end and finishes by showing off the power in her voice. Of course, The Voice has again spoiled the suspense. We know they both survive; it’s just a question of who gets stolen. Caitlin immediately impresses when she takes the stage. She made a better song choice. She’s showing off great range. Splendid performance. I’d give the win to Caitlin. Pharrell declares Caitlin the winner.

And Blake steals Hannah back. Just like he stole Craig Wayne Boyd back last year.