Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Team Blake in the live playoffs will include Ricky Braddy, Gracee Shriver, Kat Hammock, Will Breman and Cali Wilson. (NBC Photo)

Twenty artists are performing in the live playoffs for The Voice in Season 17.

Thirteen will advance to next week’s competition.

That will include the top two vote-getters from Team Blake and one singer Blake saves tomorrow night.

Here are song by song grades for the members of Team Blake.

Ricky Duran: He’ll sing “Small Town” by John Mellencamp. Another solid performance from Ricky, who showed lots of stage presence too. Not a particularly imaginative take on the song, but it was a nice song choice, one that will be familiar to lots of Voice fans. Gwen compliments his smoky, raspy voice. Blake compliments his cool, unique sound and his consistency. Grade: B+

Cali Wilson: She’ll sing “Toxic” by Britney Spears. This is the song Melanie Martinez auditioned with back in Season 3. Cali is turning it into a dark, pop jam. She’s also ditched her guitar for this performance. She’s showing off a powerful voice, but this version of the song isn’t really working for me. John called it “unexpected.” Blake said the jazzy arrangement was all Cali’s own. Grade: C

Gracee Shriver: She’s singing “American Honey” by Lady Antebellum. Gracee certainly looks like a star tonight. I’m predicting right now that she’ll advance. After all, she’s the only country singer on Blake’s team. Besides that, she’s turning in a very solid performance. Remember, this young lady was just 16 when she auditioned. Being from a small town won’t hurt at all. Kelly says Gracee planned to perform with a guitar, but something went wrong, and Gracee adjusted quite well. Grade: B

Kat Hammock: She returns to another classic, “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys. And she immediately show off those distinctive vocals that Blake says will make her “deadly” in this competition. Kat comes off as so young and sweet, I think I would have used a different word. That performance, however, was a little too sleepy for this occasion. The coaches, however, reward her with a standing ovation. Blake calls her “one of the most unique human beings I’ve ever worked with.” Grade: C+

Ricky Braddy: He performs “Roll With It Baby” by Steve Winwood. He immediately shows tons of stage presence and certainly looks the part. But he’s struggling to stay in tune, or at least it seems that way to me. He does deliver a flourish at the end with a nice glory note. Blake praises the energy and vocal firepower he brings to the stage. Grade: B–