Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Voice is on the verge of something special.

With just four spots left to fill, and at least one original blind audition episode remaining, the show has not montaged a single singer in Season 15.

Of course, that’s the way it should be. No singer should invest the amount of time in a show that The Voice requires, succeed in making the show, then see their participation cut down to a few seconds and be unable to share their blind audition experience with family and friends.

And I was really wary of what would happen when The Voice announced the Comeback Stage. Because that pretty much guaranteed that several singers who didn’t turn chairs would be featured.

More montages I feared?

Nope. The Voice avoided that. And deserves kudos for doing so.

Meanwhile, here’s the new singers we met Tuesday night.

And, please, do yourself a favor and follow the links. You’ll find more on each singer and information on some very good music some of these artists have already released.

Caeland Garner, 31, Coleridge, N.C.: Growing up, he and his family would play music for hours. He plays a dobro, played instruments for several musicians and eventually met former Voice finalist Red Marlow. Red convinced him to move to Nashville to do music. And he’s done so, with the support of his family. He’ll audition with “Dancing in the Moonlight.” Red is backstage to cheer Caeland on. Caeland shows off nice range and gets chair turns from Blake Shelton and Jennifer Hudson midway through that performance. Blake says Caeland’s voice is unique and he sounds like a singer-songwriter from the 1970s. Jennifer says she’s a fan of his voice as well. Caeland joins Team Blake.

Madison Cain, 24, Sonoma, Calif.: Her dad is the keyboardist for Journey and wrote some of the band’sr biggest hits. She traveled on tour with him. She recalls being invited up on stage to sing with him at age 8, and says that planted the seed for her interest in music. Madison says she doesn’t want to ride his coattails, so she’s glad the coaches will meet her via a blind audition. “It’s not about being Jonathan Cain’s daughter. It’s about my voice on its own,” she says. She admires Kelly for her success in multiple genres. She’s auditioning with “You Oughta Know.” Unfortunately, she can’t entice a chair to turn. Kelly says she wanted Madison to be a little more reckless with her vocal. Of course, Madison winds up being the final singer to be part of the Comeback Stage.

Lela, 15, Miami, Fla.: Well, this young lady is a bundle of energy. Her family is Colombian. She says she was raised on Shakira, but got introduced to Drake and Beyonce when she got into school. She’s hoping to combine the two to create something new. She’s auditioning with “Havana.” And Lela unleashes a bit of Spanish, prompting a chair turn from Kelly Clarkson. This young lady needs to fine tune her vocals, but she’s got stage presence for days, which is saying something for someone who’s just 15. A couple of big notes at the end earn Lela a chair turn from Jennifer as well. Lela says she started performing at age 7. Kelly said she was especially impressed when Lela broke out the Spanish. Jennifer says the show needs more artists like Lela. Lela opts to join Team Jennifer.

Cody Ray Raymond, 26, Seattle, Wash: Out of school, he joined the military and wound up being based near the North Pole. His guitar kept him company and occupied, and he decided he wanted music to remain part of his life. He eventually moved to Seattle. He’s into martial arts and calls himself a more laid-back person. He’s auditioning with “Born Under a Bad Sign.” Cody Ray is turning in an impressive audition, and the show could use a male rocker, but the coaches stay put until late in the performance. Then Kelly Clarkson turns around. A big ending note gets Jennifer to spin her chair as well. Jennifer calls him “so soulful” and praises his ability to share his story with his music. Cody joins Team Kelly.

Jake Wells, 23, Kansas City, Miss.: He’s been performing with his family since he was a child. They traveled around the country — Jake says he’s been to 48 states — as part of a gospel group. But he’s taking The Voice stage solo and admits “that’s terrifying.” He’s auditioning with “When the Stars Go Blue.” And he’s got a really nice voice and look, and someone should turn for this guy. And at the very last second, Adam Levine does. Hooray, Adam. Adam says he loves the fact that Jake is different and wanted to award that. Adam also says Jake has the “most unique tone” he’s heard this season.

Abby Cates, 17, Cincinnati: She’s a character actress for little girls’ birthday parties. She feels lucky to be on The Voice stage because she was thrown while horse-riding and broke three bones in her back. She says music helped her get through that experience; she couldn’t walk for a while. Now that she has recovered, Abby says she’s eager to get on with her music career and says The Voice is the biggest thing she’s done to date. She’ll audition with “Scars to Your Beautiful.” Abby said she was hoping Kelly would turn, and sure enough, she does. And Abby shows off a really big voice. And you can tell Kelly’s surprised no one else turned. So am I. Kelly says Abby reminded her a bit of Tori Kelly.

Funsho, 28, Lagos, Nigeria: He’s from Nigeria and says he still has memories of the country. He said life there was hard, but he was young and oblivious to that. It sounds as though he moved to the U.S. around 7 or 8. Growing up, he says he auditioned for several talent shows and that encouraged him to keep going. He worked for the government, but recently quit that job to move to L.A. and pursue music. He’s going to sing “Finesse.” He gets a quick chair turn from Adam and another from Jennifer. Kelly eventually turns as well. Funsho shows off his range, but can’t quite entice that fourth chair to spin. Adam calls him a complete vocalist and notes that he turned first. Kelly liked the way Funsho made the song his own. Jennifer liked the fact that Funsho stayed on point vocally in spite of picking an up-tempo tune. Funsho decides to join Team Adam.