Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Okay, I can state this quite confidently.

Never has a coach on The Voice landed so much talent without a fight as Kelly Clarkson did Monday night when the show’s Season 16 blind auditions concluded.

I have no idea what the other coaches were thinking when they didn’t turn for that fine vocal from David Owens. Or for mature-beyond-her-years pop hopeful Presley Tennant.

Kelly landed them both without uttering a word. And we all know she can utter plenty.

The other one-chair turn artist came to her by default. That would be Jackson Marlow, nephew of former Voice finalist Red Marlow.

By the time he took the stage, Kelly was the only coach with a spot left on her team.

And Jackson was just what she was waiting for: a male country artist.

“I’m so excited that you’re on my team,” Kelly gushed. “If you do not want to be, that’s alright, because I’m still happy for us both.”

Jackson’s gentlemanly response: “I’m more than happy to be here.”

The recap:

Celia Babini, 17, New York
The song: Billie Eilish’s “idontwannabeyouanymore”
The chair turns: Celia immediately displayed a unique tone. Blake, Adam and Kelly turned almost instantaneously. John later joined them, making Celia the seventh Season 16 artist to turn four chairs. John praised her range, power and story-telling. Blake said she was captivating. Adam said it’s time for someone like Celia to win The Voice.
The outcome: Celia joined Team Adam. I was going to make a bathrobe joke here, but decided to refrain.

Cecily Hennigan, 16, Conway, S.C.
The song: Jewel’s “Foolish Games”
The chair turns: A personal note: Jewel’s version of this is probably my all-time favorite pop vocal. Cecily certainly didn’t reach that standard, but did quite well for her age and there was a nice little break in her voice near the end. Blake Shelton turned, but no one else did, meaning Cecily wins a spot on his team on The Voice.
The outcome: Cecily automatically became a member of Team Blake.

Kalvin Jarvis, 28, Tucson
The song: “A Good Night” by John Legend
The chair turns: A smooth, unbeat pop performance prompted a quick chair turn from Adam, followed closely by Kelly. Ms. Clarkson loved his runs. John said he did a “fantastic” job on his song. Adam called Kalvin “ridiculous” and complimented him on a bold song choice.
The outcome: Kalvin decided to join Team Adam.

David Owens, 24, Indianapolis, Ind.
The song: “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt
The chair turns: Flipping a song by an artist of the opposite sex has become commonplace on The Voice, but David did an especially fine job of it. A big glory note enticed a chair turn from Kelly. David showed off a nice tone and lots of vocal power, but no one else turned, in spite of an even bigger glory note near the end. That seems to baffle even Kelly. “They’re all nuts,” Kelly said and predicted David will stand out in the competition.
The outcome: Since only Kelly turned, David automatically wound up on Team Kelly.

Presley Tennant, 16, Norco, Calif.
The song: “Stone COld” by Demi Lovato
The chair turns: There’s a nice smoky quality and lilting tone to Presley’s voice. She sings with power too, and performs with a heck of a lot of confidence for 16. Kelly turned quickly. Again, Kelly can’t believe no one else turned. “They’re insane,” she screams. Kelly compliments Presley on a mighty range and says she should have been a 4-chair turn.
The outcome: With only Kelly turning, Presley automatically joined Team Clarkson.

Rod Stokes, 34, Grand Bay, Al.
The song: “To Love Somebody” by Janis Joplin
The chair turns: Rod delivered this with power and conviction and deserved the early chair turn from Adam Levine. And, if anything, Rod seemed emboldened to deliver an even better performance at that point, eventually earning chart turns from John and Blake as well. Adam calls him special with his soulfulness and rasp. Blake called his voice shockingly good.
The outcome: Rod joined Team Blake, making him the first coach with a full team.

Andrew Jannakos
The song: “Beautiful Crazy” by Luke Combs
The chair turns: A male country singer showed up on stage right after Blake filled his team and showed off nice range on this song. Andrew earned chair turns from Adam and Kelly. Adam complimented him on a genuinely rich country voice.
The outcome: Andrew decided o join Team Adam. And that completed Adam’s team.

Kayslin Victoria, 16, Claremont, Fla.
The song: “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man
The chair turns: Kayslin immediately impressed with a youthful vibe, a nice growl to her voice and her range. That enticed chair turns from John and Kelly. John called her incredible. Kelly liked the confidence she showed.
The outcome: Kayslin said she’s been a fan of Kelly all her life, but opted for John, completing Team Legend.

Jackson Marlow, 18, Rogersville, Ala
The song: “Troubadour” by George Strait
The chair turns: Jackson shows off a nice deep country voice. And Kelly, who’s been wanting to land a male country singer, celebrates from the first note and spins her chair. Kelly calls Jackson worth the wait. Jackson is the nephew of Season 13 finalist Red Marlow, who pretty soon should get a casting bonus from the show. His good friend Caeland Garner was on Season 15.
The outcome: Jackson nabs and final spot on Season 16 and joins Team Kelly Clarkson.

Failed to land a spot

Ava August, 13, Laguna Beach
The song: “The House of the Rising Sun”
The chair turns: There were none, though I thought Ava sounded dang good for 13. That was a heck of a glory note at the end. Ava went home with lots of great and complimentary feedback from the judges.

Calista Garcia, 17, Arlington, Va.
The song: “Wishing Well”
The chair turns: Calista has a nice little rasp to her voice and seemed very composed on stage for her age, but she couldn’t entice a chair turn.

Maddi Fraser, 24, La Canada, Calif.
The song: “Get It While You Can” by Janis Joplin
The chair turns: There weren’t any, which I don’t understand. Maddi cut loose on a stage that can be intimidating, provided plenty of big vocal moments and adopted a take-no-prisoners approach. Of course, when she auditioned only Kelly had a spot left.