Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Pharrell Williams makes a point on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Before we start tonight’s knockouts, a huge thank you to all the great artists who have graced The Voice stage over nine seasons.

What brings that up, you might ask.

That phony boxing ring The Voice uses for the battle and knockout rounds.

The first time I saw it, I just shook my head. I mean, it’s beyond hokey.

But you know what? Eight seasons later, I really don’t even see it. I’m just grateful to watch one very talented singer after another put on a great show for viewers at home.

Though I am sometimes disappointed with the outcome. I already miss Andi & Alex and Ellie Lawrence.

Ladies, you can’t deliver new music quickly enough.

Also check out …
Where the Night 1 knockout round songs landed on iTunes.
Amy Vachal explains why she decided to be swept away by Adam Levine
Brainden Sunshine talks about his knockout round makeover
Madi Davis, Ivonne Acero credit coaching and confidence with their success

On to tonight’s live blog. We’ve been promised one steal. I have a hunch I might have predicted it in my preview to the knockout round.

Summer Schappell-

Korin Bukowski

Korin Bukowski vs. Summer Schappell

Korin, 20, of Miami, Fla., has been one of the pleasant surprises of Season 9. Inexperienced as a performer, she earned a spot on Team Gwen when she performed “Cecilia and the Satellite” in the blind auditions. She followed that up with an even more impressive performance of “Samson” in the battle round that earned her a win over Chase Kerby. For the knockout round, she’ll tackle “All I Want” by Kodaline.

Summer, 21, of Redding, Calif., is the lone country singer on Team Gwen. She defeated Hanna Ashbrook in a battle round match we didn’t see because it was part of a montage package. She was one of the last singers to earn a spot on Season 9, turning both available chairs when she auditioned with “Strawberry Wine.” She’ll sing “Little White Church.”

The knockout: Gwen says she paired these two because they’re both a little bit “left.” Korin has also struck quite a chord with Voice viewers. Gwen calls her voice “unique.” She wants Korin to lose her glasses for one performance. Summer is getting encouragement to be a little sassier from Rihanna and Gwen. Korin goes first and her voice is just gorgeous. Watch out above, this young lady could catch fire on this show. She just keeps getting better. And the iTunes version of that song is gorgeous. Summer next, and she’s delivering the sassy. Not to mention some Miranda Lambert. That was a really fun performance. But the vocal might have fallen short compared to Korin. I’d give the win to Korin.

Gwen awards the win to Korin. Summer goes home when she doesn’t get stolen.

Keith Semple

Dustin Christensen

Dustin Christensen vs. Keith Semple

Dustin, 35, of Orem, Utah, is a former four-chair turn member of Team Blake. Adam swooped him up after he lost a battle round performance of “Walking in Memphis” against Barrett Baber. Their performance turned out to be the second best performing battle round cover on iTunes. Dustin sang “Downtown Train” to turn four chairs in the blinds. He’s going to sing “Free” by the Zac Brown Band.

Keith, 33 when he auditioned, scored something of a battle round upset when he toppled four-chair-turn winner Manny Cabo. They performed The Who’s “Baba O’Riley,” a song Keith said he had performed hundreds of times with a pre-Voice band. The native of Ireland turned two chairs in the blind auditions when he covered Bon Jovi’s “I’ll Be There for You.” For the knockout round, he’ll sing “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

The knockout: Adam says they’re both rockers, so he felt like this was a natural pairing. Adam thinks Dustin’s picked the perfect song to show off his talent. His rehearsal is getting rave reviews from Adam and Rihanna. As for Keith, Adam says he’s picked “a dragon” of a song. And he’s getting lots of pointers on how to slay that dragon from Rihanna. Dustin goes first and delivers a solid vocal. There’s something really soothing about his voice. His problem might be that Keith has picked a more dynamic song. Keith’s next up, and you could say he slayed the dragon. There were a few too many frills near the end for my taste, but you can hardly blame a guy when he only has 90 seconds to impress. I’d give a narrow win to Keith.

Adam awards the win to Keith. Dustin is going home after he isn’t stolen.

Morgan Frazier

Morgan Frazier vs. Darius Scott

Pharrell finally got the country artist he’d been hoping for when the opportunity arose to steal Morgan, of Nashville, in the battle round. She had just lost a closing fought battle round to Emily Ann Roberts; they sang “That Kind of Girl.” Morgan was 22 when she auditioned with Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me” and turned two chairs. She’ll perform “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” by the Eli Young Band.

If you’ve forgotten all about Darius, you’re forgiven. We haven’t seen or heard him sing in a month thanks to the fact that his battle round victory over Daria Jazmin was part of a montage package. They sang “Lean on Me.” Before that, Darius turned three chairs with a blind audition performance of Usher’s “You Make Me Wanna.” The 23-year-old is from Dallas. He’ll sing “On Broadway” tonight.

The knockout: This is a really odd pairing. But, hey, they don’t have to sing together. Darius says “On Broadway” is perfect for showing off every part of his voice. But Pharrell is pushing for him to get away from the mic and deliver a performance to match his vocal. Morgan says she cried the first time she heard the song she’s singing. And Rihanna is pushing for more personality from Morgan. Darius goes first. The decision to get rid of the mic was a good one. Darius was impressive working the stage. Just wish he had opened his eyes a bit. The vocal was pretty much flawless, right? Morgan’s turn. A bit of a slow start, but she sure delivered on that ending. One glory note after another after another. I didn’t realize Morgan had such a big voice. This is going to be interesting, though The Voice has already managed to spoil the surprise.

Pharrell awards the win to Darius. And Blake steals back Morgan Frazier. Wise move. I won’t be shocked if she winds up being his most popular country singer.