Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Before the inevitable happens this evening, we’ll be treated to a trio of musical performances.

And one reminder for voters who might think the Season 3 outcome is a foregone conclusion.

Don’t relax, Cassadee Pope fans.

The most talented and deserving singer doesn’t always win these TV shows.

Especially when that singer is female.

Example A from The Voice: Meet Juliet Simms, who returns tonight to sing “Wild Child,” her first post-Voice single.

About this time last year, Juliet was riding a wave of popularity into the finals, especially after a blistering performance of “Roxanne.”

Formerly lead singer for Automatic Loveletter (situation ring a bell?), she wound up finishing second to former background singer Jermaine Paul, despite a wealth of already released material that showed what a talented singer-songwriter Juliet is.

The message to Cassadee fans: Keep downloading. And keep voting. Like crazy.

Especially after last night’s performance of “Stupid Boy.”

I’m still marveling over how great that was. It’s one of my favorite singing show performances. Ever. And I’ve watched (in some cases endured) an awful lot of them.

Anyway, tonight also marks the return of aspiring teen country singer RaeLynn. She’ll perform her new single, “Boyfriend.”

And Season 2 finalist Chris Mann returns to sing “Roads,” the lead single from his new album of the same name. It features 11 tracks, including too many covers for my taste (“My Way?” “Need You Now?” Really?).

But Chris sounds great. The album is number five on Billboard’s classical albums chart and number 175 on the Billboard 200.

Anyway, I’ve embedded all three of the new tunes below in case you want to check them out before the show. All are now available on iTunes as well.

Oh, I mentioned the inevitable earlier. That would be the elimination of Trevin Hunte.

Now that’s all but a foregone conclusion.

I mean, Cassadee is number one on iTunes. Still. Hours after voting ended.

Terry McDermott is still number two; Nicholas David is still number five.

Trevin? “Wind Beneath My Wings” is number 38.

Before our guests take the stage, Cassadee and Terry will perform “Little Talks” by Of Monsters and Men. Wow, they’re letting them sing a full song. At times, both of them sounded sensational on that. I’m wondering if we were looking at the final two.

And now, it’s Juliet Simms’ time. I like her new song. But I do recall how she once called one of her albums too pop-pish, then went more acoustic. This is very pop-pish. But this girl can rock. And wail. How in the world did she not win Season 2? I mean, what a voice. It still baffles me.

Raelynn’s turn to take the stage. Sorta cute song to match her. But, honestly, I thought Raelynn was a bit over-rated as a contestant on The Voice. Hmm. Interesting. She wrote the song with Nicolle Galyon and Hailey Steele, both of whom were fellow contestants on Season 2 of The Voice, Hailey as part of a duo known as The Line.

Chris Mann returns to amaze us with his impeccable vocals. This show certainly has shined the spotlight on some incredible vocal talent, hasn’t it?

Still, I think … OK, I know … my favorite of the three songs we heard tonight “Wild Child.”

Now the music for tonight will end with Trevin and Nicholas singing Mariah Carey’s “Hero.” One more chance for Trevin to remind us how special of a singer he is and how good he’ll be with a little more development and confidence. This song isn’t a very good fit for Nicholas. And I think Trevin is letting nerves affect his performance. He’s better than this.

Making the final three …

* Terry McDermott. We’ll be seeing more of the rocker next week. Well deserved. Clearly he’s connecting with the viewers.
* Cassadee Pope: OK, that had to happen. She, folks, had better win this thing!
* Nicholas David: No surprise there. And he’s certainly a worthy finalist.

By the way, it’s now 9 p.m. EST, 24 hours after voting began last night. Nicholas is number seven on iTunes, Terry is number three. And Cassadee Pope is still parked at number one.

Juliet Simms’ “Wild Child”

Chris Mann’s “Roads”

Raelynn’s “Boyfriend”