Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Adam Levine managed to get three singers into the Season 7 finals on The Voice.

And he still couldn’t win the title, thanks to Team Blake’s Craig Wayne Boyd.

This time around, his hopes hinge largely on two contestants stolen from Team Blake — Brian Johnson and Joshua Davis — and a returning contestant named DeAnna Johnson, who went from turning no chairs in Season 5 to turning them all this year.

Team Adam and Team Christina perform tonight on The Voice, and I’ll be providing song by song grades throughout the show.

Meanwhile, if you missed how Monday’s contestants did on iTunes, head here.

Tonya Boyd-Cannon

How she got here: She’s the director of a prison choir in New Orleans, but says she’s been doing plenty of singing on her own around that city since she was 16. Tonya, 35, sang Pharrell’s own “Happy” in the blind auditions. Three coaches turned around, including Pharrell, but she joined Team Adam. Tonya was pitted against James McNeiese in the battle round. They sang Michael Jackson’s “Pretty Young Thing.” Adam declared Tonya the winner; James was eliminated. In the knockout round, she was matched up against Barry Minniefield. She sang “I Wish” by Stevie Wonder and was again declared the winner.

Tonight: Adam wants her to sing Elton John’s “Take Me to Your Pilot,” calling the song “crazy church” and saying it perfectly fits Tonya. I love the way Carson promises stripped down versions of the song, then the backing musicians are so loud you can barely hear the singer, even one with a big voice like Tonya. Nevertheless, the last minute or so of that did give Tonya plenty of opportunities to show off that big voice, with a hefty dose of attitude thrown in. Very nice end to that performance. That said, I wasn’t crazy about the first half of the performance. Christina says she thoroughly enjoyed it. Pharrell says Tonya took the audience to church. Adam appreciates the way she embraces the moment. Grade: B

Joshua Davis

How he got here: He’s now the oldest contestant remaining on the show and has been making a living playing music for about 15 years, releasing three solo albums in the process. Joshua, 37, of Traverse City, Mich., performed Bob Dylan’s “I Shall be Released” in the blind auditions, turned two chairs and joined Team Blake. He was pitted against Brian Johnson in the battle round. They sang “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” Blake declared Brian the winner; Joshua was stolen by Adam. In the knockout round, he went up against Lexi Davila. He sang “In the Arms of the Woman” and was declared the winner. Joshua’s cover of the Amos Lee tune wound up being the only single from the third night of the knockout round to crack the Top 200 on iTunes’ singles chart.

Tonight: Adam has Joshua singing “Budapest” by George Ezra. Adam likes the song for Joshua because it’s rooted in folk, yet it’s a current song. Nice song choice, Adam. This is going to do very well on iTunes tomorrow. I can tell already. Josh is doing a wonderful job with it, too. Not a ton of flair. Not a ton of vocal gymnastics. Just a really good song, performed very, very well. Blake calls it a great job. Christina calls his voice “so soothing.” Adam says he did “an amazing job.” No way Joshua shouldn’t make the Top 12 after that performance. Grade: A–

Brian Johnson

How he got here: He’s the guy who said he was bullied in school for his weight and his singing and had little confidence. Later, in college, he formed a group called The Rescued and has been performing ever since. Brian, 24, of Cleveland, Ohio, sang Rod Stewart’s “Reason to Believe” in the blind audition, turned two chairs and joined Team Blake. Brian was pitted against Joshua Davis in the battle round. They sang “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” Blake declared Brian the winner; Joshua was stolen by Adam. In the knockout round, he was matched against four-chair turn recipient Sarah Potenza. Brian performed James Morrison’s “Nothing Ever Hurt Like You.” Sarah was declared the winner, but Brian escaped elimination when he was stolen by Adam Levine.

Tonight: Adam wants him to sing “At This Moment,” and he’s encouraging Brian to pour emotion into his performance. Right off the bat, Brian displays a really, really nice tone. And he’s delivering it with passion, too. Another really strong performance from a singer stolen from Team Blake. Blake calls him “a perfect vocalist.” Christina liked how he “left his heart on the floor.” Pharrell calls it “masterful.” Yep, Brian should be in the Top 12, too. Grade: A–

Nathan Hermida

How he got here: He’s an R&B, pop and soul singer who attends the prestigious Boston Latin School, where he’s a member of the choir and an a cappella group. Nathan, 17, of Boston, Mass., auditioned with Miquel’s “Sure Thing.” He turned two chairs and joined Team Adam. We saw just a snippet of his battle round victory over Josh Batstone; they sang “Thinking Out Loud.” In the knockout round, he was pitted against Clinton Washington. Nathan performed Sam Smith’s “Leave Your Lover” and made the live playoffs when Adam declared him the winner.

Tonight: Adam wants Nathan to sing Nick Jonas’ “Chains.” He wants him to deliver an R&B version of the song but, at the same time, says there’s a pop star locked inside Nathan and predicts it will come out on this song. That opening wasn’t exactly spot on. Nathan, however, finds his stride midway through the performance. He finishes strong. Hmm, I’d give the first half of the song a C and the second half a B+. Pharrell calls it a “great performance.” Adam loves the fearlessness he showed on stage. Grade: B–

DeAnna Johnson

How she got here: She’s The Voice’s comeback kid of Season 8. She failed to turn a chair when she tried out in Season 5. This year, the 18-year-old from Hazlehurst, Ga., auditioned with Kodaline’s “All I Want” and got all four coaches to turn around. She was pitted against Nicolette Mare in the battle round. They sang “Love Me Like You Do” in a performance that was part of a montage. Adam declared DeAnna the winner; Nicolette was eliminated. In the knockout round, she was matched against Blaze Johnson. DeAnna performed a slowed-down, acoustic version of Roxette’s “Listen to My Heart.” She was declared the winner again, earning a spot in the live playoffs.

Tonight: Realizing DeAnna struggles with her nerves, but feels comfortable in church, he’s giving her an old gospel song to sing. She’ll be performing “Down to the River to Pray.” Adam’s right, DeAnna’s got one of the most distinctive voices on the show. And she just delivered a very nice and very lovely rendition of that song. Blake called the performance outstanding. Pharrell says she did a wonderful job. Adam calls her performance flawless. That might be going a bit too far, but it was finals worthy. Grade: B+