Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Twelve contestants still need to participate in the battle round competition on The Voice.

And at least five are going home.

As The Voice heads into what might be the final night of battle rounds, only Cee Lo Green has a save left to use.

Adam Levine picked up Juhi and Lina Gaudenzi in Monday’s episode while Christina used her last steal on Will Champlin.

They joined Anthony Paul (Team Christina), Briana Cuoco (Team Blake), Nic Hawk (Team Blake) and Monika Leigh (Team Cee Lo) as contestants who survived the battle round despite losing their matches.

Among the contestants still to compete are Holly Henry (Team Blake) and Preston Pohl (Team Adam), two of the show’s most popular based on downloads of their blind audition songs.

As for whether tonight is the final night of the battle rounds … well, The Voice has scheduled a special hour-long show on Thursday (8 p.m.), but I haven’t gotten a clear indication of whether that will be a new show, a repeat of an earlier battle round episode or a “best of” the battle round episode.

BATTLE ONE — TEAM CEE LO

Shawn Smith

Jonny Gray

Jonny Gray, 29, of Austin, Texas, got two chairs to turn when he performed “All These Things That I’ve Done” by The Killers for his blind audition. He served several years in the Air Force and has a 2011 EP in his musical past. Shawn Smith, 32, of Utica, N.Y., was the very last singer to audition for Season 5, getting Cee Lo to turn for his version of Zac Brown’s “Chicken Fried.” Known as Big Sexy, he plays in a band called Showtime and a two-man acoustic group called Poor Tim back home.

For the pair of ex-military men, Cee Lo has selected Tom Petty’s “Refugee,” saying it’s the perfect song for them because it’s part rock, part country. Shawn has the bigger voice; Cee Lo tells Jonny it will be important for him to capture the emotion of the song. I remember being really impressed with Jonny’s voice during the blind auditions. The battle begins. Shawn’s got a nice rough, gravel to his voice. But Jonny is adding some nice vocal twists to his performance. Nice battle. Shawn might not be able to dance, but he certainly stalked the stage.

My pick: Jonny, just because I prefer his voice.

Cee Lo’s pick: Jonny. Shawn goes home because no one else has a save.

BATTLE 2 — TEAM ADAM

Barry Black

Preston Pohl

Preston Pohl, 26, of Halletsville, Texas, turned three chairs when he performed “Electric Feel” by MGMT in the blinds. Preston is the former member of a popular Christian rock band called StorySide: B. He’ll be matched against Barry Black, of Las Vegas, Nev., who got two judges to turn when he sang “What You Won’t Do for Love.” Barry’s family moved to the U.S. from American Samoa when he was 5. He eventually joined his dad in the hotel business before deciding to pursue music instead.

Adam says he paired them because they’re both soulful singers. He’ll have them singing “I Wish It Would Rain.” In rehearsal, Preston is encouraged to go all out when he performs. Barry impresses Adam and Ryan Tedder with his falsetto. The big question is whether he should make the horn noises he showed off at the beginning of his blind audition. The battle begins. Preston sings with a nice rasp. And Barry shows off that falsetto in his first turn to do a solo. Really nice. And he indeed chooses to do the horn. Both guys end strong. Honestly, it seemed to me that was cut a little short. We didn’t get to hear enough of either guy.

My choice: Preston, based on the uniqueness of his voice.

Adam’s choice: Preston; Barry does not get stolen.

BATTLE 4 — TEAM BLAKE

Cilla Chan

Holly Henry

Holly Henry, 19, of Minneapolis, Minn., turned four chairs when she performed Coldplay’s “The Scientist” in the blinds. On iTunes the studio version turned out to be perhaps the most popular performance so far from Season 5 of the Voice. That from a young woman who says she’s not used to playing music for anyone. Cilla Chan, 25, is a Stanford grad who is originally from Singapore, where she attracted a big following with her YouTube videos. She sang “Come and Get It” in the blind auditions, prompting Blake to turn his chair.

Holly Henry wins, singing “Torn.”

BATTLE 5 — TEAM BLAKE

Brandon Chase

Emily Randolph

This battle will match up a pair of two-turn recipients — Emily Randolph, 15 of Eatonville, Wash., who sang Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” in the blind audition, against Brandon Chase, 20, of Arlington, Texas, who performed Hunter Hayes’ “Wanted.” Brandon is the young man who had health problems as an infant and feels he’s lucky to have survived. We only saw a tiny snippet of Emily’s audition, but she already has a four-track EP in her musical resume.

Brandon Chase wins, singing “Tiny Dancer.”

Tamara Chauniece

Keaira LaShae

We only saw a tiny snippet of Keaira LaShae’s blind audition. The 26-year-old singer, dancer and fitness instructor from Tampa, Fla., performed “Killing Me Softly.” She’s released a string of four singles to iTunes over the past couple years. Tamara Chauniece, 23, of Wharton, Texas, turned a pair of chairs when she performed Beyonce’s “1 + 1.” She’s the young lady who released a pair of gospel EPs by age 18, but stepped away from music to become a leasing agent at an apartment complex because she hadn’t gotten the big break she was looking for in music. The battle begins.

Tamara wins, singing “Big Girls Don’t Cry”

BATTLE 6 — TEAM CHRISTINA

Stephanie Anne Johnson

Olivia Henken

Interesting pairing as Christina pits country singer Olivia Henken, 25, of Louisville, Ky., against cruise ship performer Stephanie Anne Johnson, 29, of Tacoma, Wash. Stephanie Anne turned two chairs singing “Black Horse and a Cherry Tree” for her blind audition; she has also released some impressive original material — three albums’ worth, in fact. Olivia also turned two when she performed Carrie Underwood’s “Two Black Cadillacs.” The first runner-up in the 2012 Miss Kentucky pageant, she wants to prove she’s not just another blond country singer.

Christina says these are two sassy female singers, so she’ll have them sing The Band Perry’s “Done.” Olivia loves the pick, saying she’s already familiar with the song. But Stephanie sounds really good, even if she’s not quite as familiar with it. And Christina tells them attitude, as much as vocals, is important on this song. Olivia says they’ve mastered sass. Well, let’s see. The song clearly falls right into Olivia’s vocal pocket, and she’s a firecracker on stage. But Stephanie is showing lots of attitude, just as promised. Olivia is shredding this song. And Stephanie got much stronger as the performance progressed. They harmonized wonderfully, too. Very nice battle. Adam liked the grit in Stephanie’s voice.

My pick: Olivia, though she clearly has the edge because of the song choice.

Christina’s pick: Olivia

And Cee Lo steals Stephanie Anne Johnson