Idol Chatter & Voice Views

If you’re keeping count, nine singers have earned four-chair turns so far on Season 6 of The Voice.

Three have landed on Team Blake, three on Team Adam, two on Team Usher and one on Team Shakira.

Sixteen spots remain on The Voice with two nights of blind auditions remaining in Season 6. (NBC Photo)

So Adam and Blake are favorites to continue their strangle-hold on The Voice title, right?

Well, don’t count out the other Season 6 contestants too quickly.

Jacquie Lee turned just two chairs in the Season 5 blind auditions and came within a whisker of The Voice crown.

And the best received blind audition song so far this season came from Dawn and Hawkes, who turned just two chairs.

If you want to learn more about any of the 32 artists who have landed spots on teams so far, head here. I’ve posted bio blogs on all 32, complete with samples of their pre-Voice music in nearly every case.

Heading into tonight, Blake and Adam each had five spots left on their teams; Shakira and Usher each have three.

And here with go with tonight’s singers …

Kat Perkins landed a spot on Team Adam on The Voice.

Kat Perkins, 33, Minneapolis, Minn.: She was born in a North Dakota town of 300 and says she never remembers not singing. As a senior in high school, she became part of a country music revue. But she eventually decided to sing rock music and formed a band called Scarlet Haze with her husband. But, oops, she and the drummer got divorced and the band eventually broke up. So Kat became a nanny, which makes her the second nanny we’ve met this season. Now she’s trying to get back into music as a solo artist. And, hey, Kat is going to sing a Fleetwood Mac classic, “Gold Dust Woman.” And she’s turning in a convincing performance of the song, going a bit crazy at the end, just like Stevie Nicks. Adam Levine and Shakira had already turned around by that point. Usher joined them on that ending. Usher called it incredible. Shakira calls her amazing. Adam says her note at the end “seared” the entire audience. And Kat picks Team Adam. Grade: B+

Gabi Ramirez, 25, Fresno, Calif.: After college, Gabi moved to Pasadena to pursue music. He’s now working in a kitchen supply store, which he calls a great job that allows him to perform in his off hours. But music wasn’t always his first love. He grew up around soccer. His dad is a coach; his brother is an assistant coach. But he fell in love with music while in college. He’s looking to prove that his family can be known for more than soccer. He’s going to audition with “The A Team.” Hey, like the guy’s voice. But the performance lacked what Shakira called dynamics, or spots where Gabi grabbed the coaches’ attention. Grade: B–

Paula Deanda

Paula Deanda, 24, San Antonio, Texas: She says music has always been a part of her life. At 16, she wrote a song called “Doing Too Much” and personally visited radio stations to encourage them to play it. Eventually, it landed on the radio and she was signed by Clive Davis. She even opened for Rihanna at one point. She made two albums in English and Spanish, but says only one was released because she was dropped by the label. She’s been working on her own for five years now, and says she’s a huge fan of Shakira. Paula will audition with “The Way.” Not sure if it’s nerves or not, but the beginning is a bit off. Wow, then Paula shows off remarkable range midway through the song and that prompts Shakira and Blake Shelton to spin their chairs. Shakira says Paula has remarkable potential. Blake says she could potentially win the show. And Paula pulls a bit of a shocker. She joins Team Blake. Grade: B

Jake Barker, 28, St. Petersburg, Fla. In school, Jake says he never did anything with music. He focused on sports, saying stage fright kept him off the stage. He’s only been interested in music for the past five years. He started putting up a YouTube video five years ago and eventually landed a manager and traveled to New York. But the music he wound up performing wasn’t really his style, Jake says. Now, he’s tending bar and preparing for his first-ever live performance in front of The Voice judges. He’s singing “When I Was Your Man.” Dang, this guy can hit the stratosphere vocally. And a series of those high notes prompts Usher to spin his chair. Jake veered off course in the middle of the performance a wee bit, but regrouped and just hit another killer glory note. This ending is roping in more coaches. Adam Levine and Shakira just joined Usher in facing the stage, giving Jack a three-chair turn. Usher says he sees Jake as potentially one of the greatest voices on his team. Shakira’s pitch: You can allow yourself to be vulnerable with me. Jake decides to join Team Usher. Grade: B

Also landing spots on the show: Tess Boyer singing “Wings” and winds up on Team Usher; Josh Murley sings “The Freshmen” and lands on Team Adam; Austin Ellis sings “Drift Away” and also lands on Team Adam; Cali Tucker sang “Black Velvet and wound up on Team Blake. Wow, Tanya Tucker is her aunt.

Luke Cooper, 27, Dequincy, La.: He says he got into music at age 19, joining a local band and touring. But he also says he got swept away with the rock and roll life and got caught up with drugs. At the same time, he became a dad, helping Luke change his life. He left the band, now has full custody of his son and works in a psychiatric unit at a hospital. But “a tiger can’t change its stripes,” Luke says, and he still wants to play music. He calls The Voice his one last hurrah with music. He’s singing “Radioactive.” Interesting tone. Luke is doing his best to inject the song with some moments, and his voice soars near the end of the audition, but the judges are slow to react. Even a huge glory note at the end can’t entice a judge. Really surprised someone didn’t turn around for that performance. Grade: B–

Ria Eaton landed a spot on Team Blake on The Voice.

Ria Eaton, 19, Billerica, Mass. She says her mother was a dancer, but dancing wasn’t what she wanted to do. She got into musical theater instead, at one point performing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at age 9. But her dad lost his job and financial troubles followed. Ria works as an ear piercer at the mall, writes songs, but says she doesn’t have the money for studio time. She’ll audition with “Cups.” A bit of a rough opening to her performance, as she strayed badly off pitch at one spot. But she looks like a star and pulled everything together near the end of that performance. At the very last moment, Shakira and Blake Shelton turned around. Blake says it seemed like Ria opened up when she thought she might not make the show. Shakira says Ria had a few issues early in the performance, but compared her to a pearl in an oyster. And despite having Usher and Adam lobby on Shakira’s behalf, Ria joins Team Blake. Grade: C+

Cierra Mickens, 23, Eagle River, Alaska.: She says her parents divorced when she was 3, but her dad was a chaplain in the Air Force and introduced her to music as a gospel singer. But in college, she studied criminal justice and political science with the intention of going to law school. After graduating from college, she returned to Alaska and works with her dad as an administrative assistant. But she says there’s nowhere in Alaska to perform music on the scale she’d like. She calls The Voice her crossroads, to help determine whether she pursues law school or music. She’ll sing “Crazy.” She does fine early in the song, but it isn’t until the chorus when her big voice soars. The prompts Shakira to spin her chair, followed by Blake. And a continuing string of impressive glory notes has Usher turning around at the last moment. Shakira approaches the stage to hug Cierra and do a little lobbying. Blake says her voice got stronger and stronger over the course of the performance. She joins Team Shakira. Grade: B+

Tyler Montgomery, 24, Dexter, Mo. He says he started playing music because his mom loved Elvis. She’d dress him up as Elvis and send him out to perform. He says he has a high, raspy voice that he says surprises people. His father died in a fire, and Tyler says he locked himself in a room and learned guitar and starting singing. “It was such incredible therapy for me,” he says. He works at a used car dealership, doing mechanical work and detailing, but would obviously prefer a career in music. He’s singing “I Wish.” Sure enough, he has a very high voice. He’s turning in a solid performance, but the coaches seemed unmoved. Tyler ends strong, but the chairs are still turned in the other direction. The judges encourage him to come back, saying a better song choice might bring a different result. Grade: B–

Alaska & Madi, Tulsa, Okla. They met when they were 12 in a singing group called American Kids, designed to help young singers get rid of stage fright. They wound up winning a national competition. The duo say they’re like sisters, but Madi’s dad has moved to Texas, a move which has put the duo in jeopardy. They call The Voice their one chance to keep the duo together. They’ll sing “Barton Hollow.” Really nice opening. Dang, Madi sounds great on those opening lines. And you can tell these two have been singing together forever. Alaska has a really nice tone to her voice, too. Adam Levine and Blake Shelton recognize what they’re hearing. They’ve both turned their chairs. Really, really nice performance from those two young ladies. Individually, they are Madi Metcalf and Alaska Holloway. Adam says he loves their confidence. Blake compares them to the Pistol Annies. The gals pow-wow. It seems like Madi is the one doing most of the talking. And they chose Team Blake. Grade: A–

Ddendyl landed a spot on Team Shakira on The Voice.

Ddendyl, 25, Washington, D.C.: She hails from a small town in New York where the cows outnumber the people by … well, lots. Her dad plays a lot of instruments, including the bagpipe. When Ddendyl was 5, they realized how talented Ddendyl was. She studied opera, but says she eventually moved toward more blues and jazz and folk. She’s a lounge singer five to six days a week in D.C., but says “it’s not what I want to do forever. When you’re a lounge singer, you only sing for a few people at a time. They say you’re great, then the leave and forget who you are.” She’ll audition with “Stand By Me” and immediately displays a really unique tone. Shakira turns her chair in a heartbeat — one of the fastest turns we’ve seen tonight. And that vocal kept getting better as the audition continued. Why Shakira is the only coach to turn is beyond me. Grade: B

Josh Kaufman, 38, Indianapolis, Ind. He says he’s a father and husband first and foremost. He was a working musician, who returned to grad school to become a teacher. But instead he wound up continuing to play music and tutoring students as they prepare for SAT exams. He’s going to sing “One More Try” by George Michael, saying the song is fitting to his situation as an artist considering whether he has to give up music for a more lucrative full-time job. His deep tone and rasp gets Adam to turn around in a flash, followed quickly by Blake. And a brilliant high note gets Shakira to follow. This guy is a heck of a singer, which shouldn’t be surprising, because they picked him to close the show. Usher joins the other three coaches, making Josh a recipient of a four-chair turn. Adam calls that performance “goosebumps.” Blake calls him “amazing, awesome and incredible.” Josh says he sees himself as a soul artist. Shakira thinks he’s “the real deal.” And Josh opts to join Team Adam. That gives Adam four singers who turned four chairs. Grade: A