Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Gotta say, I’ll not at all fond of Monday night’s schedule on NBC.

Every week since Season 5 began, The Voice has been airing two-hour episodes each Monday night.

The final five on The Voice, Cole Vosbury, Jacquie Lee, Will Champlin, Tessanne Chin and James Wolpert. (NBC Photo)

Not this week. We get one hour of The Voice as a lead-in to the premiere episode of The Sing-Off.

Look, I’m a big fan a Jewel, a new judge on that show.

But I’d rather see the remaining contestants from The Voice sing twice over the course of a two-hour show.

I mean, that’s what happened last week, when just one singer was ousted.

This week, The Voice determines its finalists. Two singers will be eliminated. In the middle of perhaps the most wide-open season of the show yet.

And we only get one song per artist? Seems just a bit backward to me.

That said, let’s rate the singers on a week when a single song choice is going to be oh so important.

Tessanne Chin performs during a group number Tuesday night on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

1. Tessanne Chin (Team Adam): I moved the young woman from Jamaica into the top spot for the first time last week. And nothing that took place on stage Monday night changed my mind. Tessanne turned in the best vocal of round one singing Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.” She turned in the best vocal of round two singing Katie Perry’s “Unconditionally.” One classic song, one current song, both performed exceptionally well. But why do I get the impression that The Voice is more interested in promoting other singers?

2. Jacquie Lee (Team Christina): I cringed when I heard Jacquie Lee was going to sing a Christina Aguilera song last week and, indeed, it wasn’t one of her better vocals. But Jacquie still sailed into the top five based on fan voting. Perhaps that’s because she’s been one of the pleasant surprises of Season 5, not to mention more impressive at age 16 than Season 4 winner Danielle Bradbery. Christina’s strategy this week should be simple: Forget vulnerability and let Jacquie wail to her heart’s content, then flash that million dollar smile as soon as the music fades.

3. Cole Vosbury (Team Blake): When the auditions ended, I thought Blake had one of the thinnest teams in terms of talent. And I certainly didn’t think Cole, stolen from Team Cee Lo, would be the guy to extend his Voice winning streak to four. Now, that’s entirely possible. Whether it’s the Blake factor of not, Cole has quietly put together the most impressive iTunes showing of any contestant still standing. Among the 12 songs performed Monday night, Cole’s wound up as the second (“Rich Girl”) and fourth (“Better Man”) favorite on the singles chart.

4. Will Champlin (Team Adam): Give the guy with the famous dad the perseverance award. He lost in the battle round. He lost in the knockout round. He needed a coach’s save to survive the live round. Now he’s one of the most popular contestants, with both of last week’s songs cracking the top 30 on iTunes. From a purely vocal standpoint — and this show is called The Voice — I think he’s been the most impressive guy on the show over the past three weeks. But I still have trouble envisioning him in the winner’s circle at the end.

5. James Wolpert (Team Adam): James’ mom told Lancaster Online her son “literally had no voice” he was so sick earlier this week, so that probably accounts for his off night on Monday. Given that, I’m surprised The Voice picked him to close the show, but glad he’ll get another chance to proved himself in the semifinals. Of course, now he has to deal with the curse of the instant save. Every contestant who has received it so far has gone home the very next week, with fellow Pa. resident Matthew Schuler being the latest victim.