Idol Chatter & Voice Views

And, apparently, the show will squeeze all seven into tonight’s show and broadcast a Tuesday episode featuring Season 9 highlights to date.

The show has also released a sneak peek of one of tonight’s knockouts — Team Gwen’s Regina Love versus Riley Biederer. We all know Regina has a big voice; she displayed it in both earlier rounds. The surprise here is Riley, who does very, very well with Beyonce’s “XO.”

Could this be the match that results in the last knockout round steal? It’s possible, since the only steal left is in the hands of Pharrell Williams.

But there’s also one sure-fire match-up between four-chair turn singers tonight, since the only members of Team Adam not to compete yet in this round are his two country singers, James Dupre versus Shelby Brown. That will be a match of experience versus youth. I’ve gotta say, this season, the coaches seem to be leaning toward youth. But that’s another performance pairing that could lead to a steal.

Other four-chair turns singers we’ll hear from tonight include Evan McKeel and Mark Hood of Team Pharrell, who apparently will not square off against one another, and Chris Crump of Team Blake.

TEAM ADAM

James Dupre

Shelby Brown

James, 30 when he auditioned, is the country singer who opted to join Team Adam in the blinds in order to push himself. Adam did that by having him sing “Fortunate Son” in the battle round, when James defeated Dustin Monk. James turned four chairs with his blind audition performance of “Let Her Cry” by Hootie and the Blowfish. He’s going to sing “Sure Be Cool if You Did,” a Blake Shelton song.

Shelby, one of the young country singers on The Voice, was 16 when she auditioned and turned four chairs singing “Stars” by Grace Potter. She defeated Amanda Ayala in the battle round when they performed “Edge of Seventeen.” Tonight, she’ll be going true country for the first time, singing “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” the smash hit from Carrie Underwood.

The knockout: And we’ll start out with the pairing of Team Adam country singers. Shelby says she sang this during her third-grade talent show and lost. This, she says, will be a chance to redeem herself. Adam is trying to help Shelby boost her confidence, saying her biggest opponent on The Voice is her self-doubt. As for James, Adam says his rehearsal is fantastic. But Adam and Rihanna are both encouraging James to put a little more spark into the performance. Shelby goes first and her voice absolutely soars when she hits that oh-so-popular chorus. Not flawless, but a very nice performance. James seemed pretty animated on stage. But his voice got a little lost on the chorus. I’d give the win to Shelby.

The verdict: Adam awards the win to Shelby.

TEAM PHARRELL

Mark Hood

Siahna Im

Siahna, just 15 when she auditioned, will hopefully get a knockout song that’s more age appropriate. She sang “Fever” in the blinds and turned three chairs. She sang the classic “You Keep Me Hanging On” in the battle round and defeated Ivonne Acero. Ivonne was stolen by Blake. She’ll sing “Back to Black” by Amy Winehouse.

Mark Hood, 24 when he auditioned, was the very first contestant we met in Season 9. He turned four chairs singing Bill Withers’ “Use Me.” He won a battle round match against Celeste; they sang “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Charisma is part of his recipe for success. Tonight, he’ll tackle another old classic, “Stand by Me.”

The knockout: This is an odd pairing, but Pharrell says they both like singing classic songs and he wants to see who delivers the most soul. Rihanna thinks he’s unique as a contestant on The Voice, but wants him to scale back some of the on-stage antics until the end of the song. Pharrell calls Siahna’s song choice a real challenge. Rihanna calls her rehearsal performance “bonkers,” but has some pointers to improve it. Mark sings first. He’s going to be very, very hard to beat. At first, I wasn’t crazy about all the dynamics early in the performance. But he did a wonderful job of making that song his own. Siahna follows. Honestly, that was not one of her best vocals. But I’m a little mad at Pharrell for matching these two against one another. My pick: Mark Hood.

The verdict: Pharrell declares Mark Hood with winner. That means Siahna is going home, because no one else has a steal.

Tim Atlas

Evan McKeel

Evan, 20, of Richmond, Va., has been impressive both times he’s graced The Voice stage. He turned four chairs with his blind audition performance of “Typical,” then treated us to a bit of Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” at Pharrell’s request. He won his battle round match with Riley Biederer. They sang “Higher Ground,” and the performance was so good, both advanced. This time, he’ll sing Switchfoot’s “Dare You to Move.”

Tim, 26, of San Jose, Calif., was a surprise survivor of the battle round because he only turned one chair with his blind audition performance of “Give Me Love.” Credit the save to his strong showing on “Sweater Weather,” when he was pitted against Ellie Lawrence in the battles. The song was one of nine from the battles that cracked the Top 200 on iTunes. He’ll sing “Torn” in the knockouts.

The knockout: Pharrell notes that he’s matched his two alternative artists against one another. Evan says he loves the message of the song he’s singing. And he’ll be playing guitar for the first time. Well, maybe not. Rihanna is suggesting that the guitar hides his emotion. The coaches are pushing Tim to believe in his artistry and his stage presence. Evan goes first and delivers a great performance, full of passion. Here’s betting he’s going to the live playoffs based on that. Tim got off to a rough start, but seemed to find his footing on the chorus. Still, that wasn’t as assured as Evan’s performance. My pick: I’d give the win to Evan.

The verdict: Pharrell awards the win to Evan.

TEAM GWEN

Jeffery Austin

Kota Wade

Kota is the young music club owner / steamfaerie / alternative rocker, but we haven’t had a chance to see her rock The Voice stage yet. That’s because the young lady from Hollywood decided to audition with “Bring it on Home to Me” by Sam Cooke (turning three chairs though she went off genre). When she rocked to a battle round victory over Alex Kandel singing “It’s My Life,” The Voice made it part of a montage package. Kota is going to sing Heart’s “Barracuda.”

Jeffery, 24 when he auditioned, had made it this far even though he pretty much took a six-year break from the stage after high school. He defeated Noah Jackson in a battle round match that was part of a montage package. In the blind audition, only Gwen turned around for his cover of Sam Smith’s “Lay Me Down.” He’ll perform Adele’s “Turning Tables.”

The knockout: Jeffery says he’s selected a song he can relate to because of a past relationship. Both coaches note that he’s picked a really challenging song. Rihanna likes Kota’s knack for performance, but wants her to stay in vocal control. Jeffery turns in a solid vocal, the last 15 seconds or so were particularly good. Kota takes the stage and turns in an absolutely rocking performance. You can see what Rihanna means about her stage presence. But she lost control of that vocal. My pick: Jeffery.

The verdict: Gwen moves Jeffery on to the live playoffs.

Regina Love

Riley Biederer

Riley, 19 when she auditioned, is one of Gwen’s two steals. She earned the right to continue on the show when she went toe-to-toe with four-chair turn winner Evan McKeel in the battle round. They sang “Higher Ground.” We didn’t get to see Riley’s blind audition, when she landed a spot on Team Pharrell, singing Kelly Clarkson’s “Invincible.” For the knockouts, she’ll sing Beyonce’s “XO.”

Regina, 51 when she auditioned, was oh, so impressive during the battle round when she went up against Jordan Smith and sang “Like I Can.” Jordan advanced for Team Adam, but the performance earned Regina a steal from Gwen. Regina turned two chairs in the blind auditions, singing “Rock Steady.” She’ll go with another classic — “Midnight Train to Georgia” — this round.

The knockout: Rihanna gives Regina an ultimate compliment, saying she’d never want to battle the Team Gwen powerhouse. Riley knows she’s picked a challenging song, but said she’s trying to make the song her own so it doesn’t seem like she’s trying to be Beyonce. Riley will go first, and I’ve already heard this, so I know I’m going to be very impressed. Nice job of adding some wrinkles to the song without doing too much. And very nice to know she’s not going to be going home, even though she’s pitted against one of the biggest voices on the show. Regina takes the stage and certainly isn’t bashful about showing off her vocal power. The first 45 seconds of that were sensational. The last 30 seconds or so were a bit much. My pick: Riley.

The verdict: Gwen names Regina the winner. And Pharrell steals Riley back for his team. That’s the second time she’s been stolen.

TEAM BLAKE

Nadjah Nicole

Nadjah, 23 when she auditioned, of New Castle, Del., won a battle round match we didn’t get to see against Cole Criske. They did the Ed Sheeran version of the Britney Spears’ hit “Baby One More Time.” In the blinds, she turned two chairs with her cover of “Tightrope” by Janelle Monae. Nadjah is singing “A Woman’s Worth.”

Emily Ann Roberts, 16 when she auditioned, is coming off a narrow battle round win over Morgan Frazier when they performed “That Kind of Girl.” Blake reacquired Morgan with his steal earlier in the knockout round. In her blind audition, Emily Ann sang “I Hope You Dance” and turned two chairs. She’ll sing the Dixie Chicks’ “Cowboy Take My Away.”

The knockout: Again, a pairing that surprises me. I thought Emily Ann and Zach would wind up going against one another as young country singers. Emily Ann says this song will let her show off her bluegrass side and says it’s a song she’s been listening to since she was really young. Nadjah is “the full package,” according to Rihanna. But Blake wants her to get over her shyness as a performer. Emily Ann goes first, and she’s sounding much better than she did in rehearsals. And she delivers a very nice glory note at the end of that performance. Nadjah turns in a nice vocal too, though I wasn’t crazy about that arrangement. Nadjah showed off an awful lot of range, and that might sway me to pick her. Not to mention the competition is loaded with country singers. My pick: Nadjah.

The verdict: Blake advances Emily Ann. Not really surprised.

Chris Crump

Zach Seabaugh

Chris, 31 when he auditioned, turned all four chairs in a flash with his blind audition performance of Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud.” He was matched up with another four-chair-turn winner in the battle round and defeated Krista Hughes when they performed “When I Get Where I’m Going.” Chris, you’ll recall, is the guy who left his wedding reception early — at the urging of his new wife — to attend The Voice auditions.

Just 16 when he auditioned, Zach is from Marietta, Ga., and turned three chairs in the blind auditions when he performed Sam Hunt’s “Take Your Time.” A country singer, he square off against the more experienced Tyler Dickerson in the battle round and prevailed when they performed “I’m Gonna Be Somebody.” He’ll sing Hunter Hayes “Somebody’s Heartbreak.”

The knockout: The Voice shows us only a short snippet. But Zach wins, giving Blake four country singers in the live playoffs. The only exception is Ivonne Acero.