Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Kyla Jade performs during the live playoffs on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Kyla Jade became the first member of Team Blake Shelton to earn a spot in The Voice Season 14 Top 12 Monday night.

She wowed the live playoff crowd with a soaring version of “How Great Thou Art” and was the team’s top vote-getter.

The remaining five members of Team Blake — Austin Giorgio, Gary Edwards, Spensha Baker, Pryor Baird and Wilkes — return to the stage tonight.

Two more spots in the Top 12 are available.

One will be determined by fan voting. Then Blake will chose one artist from his team to save and advance to the Top 12.

Check back tomorrow night. I’ll be live blogging The Voice with song by song grades.

Austin Giorgio, “Ain’t That a Kick In the Head” by Dean Martin: You have to admire Austin’s commitment to the type of music he loves. Even if it’s not likely to reel in tons of votes, he delivers it with confidence and consistently solid vocals. But with a spot in the finals on the line Tuesday, I’d recommend something with a little more emotional punch. Grade: B–

Gary Edwards, “Finesse” by Bruno Mars: Look at Gary having fun on stage as he channels Bruno. He sounded very good too. And showed off nice range. I still think he’s going to have to be voted into the finals to advance, but that performance should have won over more than a few fans. Grade: B

Kyla Jade, “How Great Thou Art”: I was a little surprised to see Kyla pulling out the gospel card this early in the competition. But, hey, it worked. I was worried it would be too frill-filled. It wasn’t. It was simply powerful. And you have to love the restraint Kyla showed the first time she sang the chorus. Because you knew she was going to blow the roof off the place the next time she sang it. She did. Grade: A–

Pryor Baird, “I Was Wrong” by Chris Stapleton: Yep, and that’s why Pryor turned four chairs in the blind audition. I actually liked this performance just a smidgen more than Kyla’s, partly because I knew she’s slay her song choice and wasn’t so sure how Pryor would do with the Chris Stapleton tune. Heck, he made it sound like his own, didn’t he. That performance convinced me Pryor belongs in the Top 12. Grade: A

Spensha Baker, “I Still Believe In You” by Vince Gill: Flipping a song by a male artist was a nice idea, but this song was not a good match for Spensha’s voice. She needs to bounce back big time Tuesday night to earn a spot in the Top 12. Grade: C–

Wilkes, “Brother” by NeedToBreath: Hey, don’t forget about Wilkes. That’s what this former Christian artist seemed to be saying with this performance. It was cruising along just fine, then he ramped it up several notches for a big finish that had to have Blake thinking Wilkes just might be worth saving if the public doesn’t vote him into the Top 12. At least that was my take-away. Grade: B+

See also …
Predictions on who will make the Top 12
How the live voting will work
Social media leaders for Team Bake