Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Renzo performs for Team John Legend during The Voice semifinals Monday night. (NBC Photo)

The Voice semifinals, which typically feature eight singers, featured 12 Monday night.

That’s thanks to the Super Save, which allowed each coach to bring back on eliminated contestant.

Those brought back included Jaelen Johnston of Team Kelsea, Kaiya Hamilton of Team Michael, Conor James of Team Adam and Olivia Kuper Harris of Team Legend.

And, folks, please don’t believe what The Voice is telling you. The Voice coaches knew this twist was coming.

Five of the 12 artists performing tonight advance to next week’s season finale, including the top four vote-getters.

Voting continues until 7 a.m. via The Voice website and app.

The final spot in the finals will be determined via an instant save at the end of tomorrow night’s 9 p.m. results show.

Kolby Cordell (Team Adam), “Drink You Away” by Justin Timberlake — Nice upbeat performance to start the night. Kolby showed off nice rasp. But with the addition of four more semifinalists, I think his odds of making the Top 4 in tonight’s voting are very slim. He certainly performed with passion though. Grade: B

Alanna Lynise (Team Kelsea), “I’m Not That Girl” by Idina Menzel — Alanna shows off the lovely tone that got her this far. That said, this is an awfully sleepy performance considering there’s a spot in the finals on the line. It needed more dynamics or more emotion. It offered neither. Grade: C+

Jadyn Cree (Team Michael), “I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tiffany — Jadyn’s the first true contender we’re hearing from. And look at this, she’s pulled out another unexpected song choice after her playoff performance of “99 Red Balloons.” Not a brilliant vocal, but a fun performance for sure. I really think she’s Michael’s only chance at getting a singer into the finale. Grade: B+

Olivia Kuper-Harris (Team Legend) “Someone to Watch Over Me” by Ella Fitzgerald — This is being broadcast in specia tones. Olivia’s delivering a lovely, sultry vocal. But is a song that dates back to the 1920s going to inspire fans to vote? Olivia needed another performance like “Last Dance.” This wasn’t it, in spite of a very good vocal. Grade: B

Iris Herrera (Team Kelsea) “Messy” by Lola Young — Iris’s unique tone cuts through on the opening line. This was a really nice song choice for her, with a performance that built in intensity. There was no doubt she was connected to what she was singing. I keep being surprised by the fact that she was only 19 when she auditioned. Grade: A–

Lucia Flores-Wiseman (Team Adam), “Black Hole Sun” — Lucia, the other female with a really unique tone, starts this a cappella. I’m a little baffled by the song choice. This is a young woman who usually takes the stage with guitar in hand and a singer-songwriter vibe. Her vocal build at the end was impressive. But I have a feeling she’ll be singingfor that instant save tomorrow night. Grade: B

Bryson Battle (Team Legend), “Without You” by Harry Nilsson — For better or worse, this is much more of a singing show style song choice. And Bryson has no problem hitting the big high notes. He gets a backing choir for a big ending. I would have liked more emotion, but the vocal said, ‘I belong in the finals.’ Grade: A–

Jaelen Johnston (Team Kelsea), “I Drive Your Truck” by Lee Brice — Jaelen needs to enuciate a bit better. I had trouble understanding the lyrics on the first verse. He found his groove on the chorus. Not sure the song was the perfect match for his voice. He hit a nice glory note in the middle of the song, but we didn’t get to hear much of his rasp. Still, here’s betting he makes the finals. Grade: B

Adam David (Team Legend), “Bring It Home to Me” by Sam Cooke — This performance served up a big backing choir, an extended guitar solo (by Voice standards) and lots of soulful verbal sauce from Adam. It was all a little much for me, but Adam poured an admirable amount of passion into a performance that had coach Michael Buble on his feet for most of it. Grade: B–

Kaiya Hamilton (Team Buble), “Ain’t Nobody” by Chake Khan — This performance started slow. Kaiya salvaged it by delivering a succession of glory notes around the two-minute mark. Didn’t love the song choice, and I thin she’s be another contestant singing for that save tomorrow night. Grade: B–

Conor James (Team Adam) “Chasing Pavements” by Adele — No doubt Adam brought Conor James back because he’s an entertaining performer. His opening on this was superb. So was his emotional connection to the song. But after his “Pink Pony Club” performance in the playoffs, this was a bit of a letdown. Grade: B

Renzo (Team Legend), “Dream On” by Aerosmith — Now that’s how you pick a song when a spot in the finale is up for grabs. Not sure it was the perfect match for Renzo’s voice. Didn’t matter. Because it was a wildly fun performance the will solidy his status as the show’s clear front-runner. Grade: A

So who should make the finals.

Based on tonight’s performances, I’d advance Renzo, Bryson Battle, Iris Herrera and Jadyn Cree.