Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Rizzi Myers and Presley Tennant prepare for their battle round match on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Kelly Clarkson pitted experience against youth in the battle round on The Voice Monday night when she paired Rizzi Myers with Presley Tennant.

Rizzi, 29, moved to Nashville about 10 years ago and has an impressive list of collaborations on her resume. She auditioned for The Voice with “Breathing” by Ariana Grande and turned three chairs.

Presley is just 16 and turned just Kelly Clarkson’s chair when she auditioned with her blind audition performance of “Stone Cold.” But she’s already released music and Kelly was shocked she didn’t have to fight to land Presley for her team.

The song: “Whataya You Want from Me” by Adam Lambert
The feedback: John Legend called them “outstanding,” but gave a slight edge to Presley. So did Blake Shelton. Adam Levine favored Rizzi, saying she appeared more ready. Kelly Clarkson said she couldn’t have made a poorer decision putting two female together because they’re both incredible.
The outcome: Kelly declared Presley the winner. No one stole Rizzi, so she was eliminated.
My take: The last 30 seconds of that performance was pure fire as the gals took turns belting out glory notes. I’ve had an eye on Presley as a potential Season 16 front-runner ever since I started researching rumored cast members. Kelly’s right, it’s insane that she was a one-chair turn in the blinds, and she proved that with this performance. But Adam also had a point, there was something slightly more nuanced about Rizzi’s vocal. I probably would have gone with Presley too. She seemed plenty ready for this competition to me, especially for a 16-year old. Rizzi should have been stolen.