Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Eight more singers advanced to the live playoffs on The Voice Monday night.

And Alex Guthrie earned a steal from John Legend, meaning Blake Shelton holds the only steal heading into Tuesday’s final night of the knockout round.

Also advancing Monday were Rose Short, Shane Q, Hello Sunday, Kat Hammock, Will Breman and Jake Haldenvang.

Here’s my recap.

THE COACH GOT IT WRONG

TEAM KELLY CLARKSON

The match: Hello Sunday vs. Alex Guthrie
The songs: “I’m Not the Only One” by Sam Smith for Alex; “Almost Is Never Enough” by Ariana Grande
The background: Hello Sunday turned just one chair in the blind auditions; then won their battle round match against Lauren Hall. Alex turned two chairs in the blinds, then won his battle round match with Injoy Fountain.
The feedback: John called Alex’s performance thoroughly great. Blake gave the edge to Hello Sunday. Gwen did too.
The outcome: Kelly chose to advance Hello Sunday. John swooped in and stole Alex.
My take: I wasn’t convinced Alex was the real winner of his battle round match, but he made a believer out of me with that emotional, pitch-perfect performance, complete with an impressive glory note. Hello Sunday has come a very long way since their blind audition, but that was not the better of tonight’s two performances and meant the use of a save that could have been better used.

THE COACHES GOT IT RIGHT

TEAM GWEN STEFANI

The match: Destiny Rayne vs. Rose Short
The songs: “Tell Me You Love Me” by Demi Lovato for Destiny; “Big White Room” by Jesse J for Rose.
The background: Destiny turned two chairs in the blinds; then was stolen by Gwen after losing to Katie Kadan in the battle round. Rose also turned two chairs, then won a battle round match with Jessie Lawrence.
The feedback: Blake called Rose’s performance his favorite of the knockouts so far. But all three coaches believe Rose took the battle.
The outcome: Gwen advances Rose. Destiny is eliminated.
My take: Dang, I know Katie Kadan was a four-chair turn, but when it comes to big female voices on The Voice, I swear Rose might be tops. She also delivered emotion at the start of that performance. I expect to see Christian music from Destiny in the not-to-distant future.

TEAM KELLY CLARKSON

The match: Shane Q vs. Kiara Brown
The songs: “The Bones” by Maren Morris; “In Case You Didn’t Know” by Brett Young
The background: Kiara turned two chairs in her blind audition; then was stolen by Kelly after her battle round match with Royce Lovett. Shane also went country in his audition, singing “Tennessee Whiskey” and turning four chairs. He won his battle round match with Melinda Rodriguez.
The feedback: Blake and John said Shane had the edge. Gwen called his performance “effortless.” Kelly is encouraging Shane to connect more with the audience.
The outcome: Kelly names Shane the winner; Kiara is eliminated.
My take: Shane Q sounded fabulous on the chorus and I liked the vulnerability in his performance. Interesting that he doesn’t consider himself a country singer, but has “gone country” twice already. He showed more control among those two performances.

TEAM BLAKE SHELTON

The match: Kat Hammock vs. Lauren Hall
The songs: “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None The Richer for Kat. “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson for Lauren.
The background: Kat turned two chairs in the blinds and was the very first artist to pick Team Blake in Season 17. Lauren made The Voice on her seventh try, but needed a Blake steal to survive after losing (she really didn’t) a battle round match with Hello Sunday.
The feedback: John said he thought Kat won the battle. Gwen and John didn’t pick, but it sounded like they leaned toward Kat a bit too. Blake said he’s “blown away” by Kat’s originality.
The outcome: Blake advanced Kat; Lauren was eliminated.
My take: Like Blake, I love Kat’s unique tone, but it was almost a bit too sweet on that song. Still, I’m more drawn to unique singer-songwriter voices than any others. Her blind audition performance was one of my favorites. Lauren’s performance got a bit shouty in spots.

TEAM JOHN LEGEND

The match: Zoe Upkins vs. Will Breman
The songs: “I Don’t Care” by Ed Sheeran for Will; “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” by Meghan Trainor and John Legend for Zoe.
The background: Will turned two chairs in the blind audition; then won his battle round match with Jared Herzog. Zoe turned three chairs with her blind audition, snagging one of the very last spots on the show. John then saved her after a battle round match with Khalea Lynee.
The feedback: Gwen gave the edge to Will. Kelly said she wishes she still had a steal. John praised Will’s “fire and energy” and Zoe’s composure for her age.
The outcome: John declares Will the winner; Zoe is eliminated.
My take: Zoe has star power and potential, but seemed more focused on delivering big notes than the emotional in her performance. Meanwhile, a really fun performance from Will, who maintained vocal control throughout despite dancing all over the stage. He showed off impressive range too. A well-deserved knockout victory.

TEAM GWEN STEFANI

The match: Royce Lovett vs. Jake HaldenVang
The songs: “Powerful” by Major Lazer for Jake; “Wake Me Up” by Avicii
The background: Jake turned three chairs in the blind audition, then won his battle round match with Caroline Reilly. Royce turned two chairs in the blinds, then won a battle round match with Kiara Brown.
The feedback: Kelly and John said they’d give Jake a narrow edge based on those performances. Gwen said she was blown away by Jake’s vocals. She also praised Royce’s versatility.
The outcome: Gwen declared Jake the winner; Royce is eliminated.
My take: Wow, I really liked Jake’s take on that song. And he certainly delivered the intensity Gwen and Taylor Swift were looking too. Really nice range, too. I loved Royce song choice. I wasn’t as impressed with his take on the song, though he’d been really impressive in earlier rounds.