Idol Chatter & Voice Views

 

The Season 9 finals on The Voice begin tonight.

And by Tuesday evening, we’ll have a far better idea which finalists might be capable of challenging Jordan Smith for the Season 9 crown.

The Voice has left little doubt that Jordan is the show’s favorite. He’s gotten the highest praise, not to mention the pimp spot in nearly every performance recap.

My suggestion to The Voice: Tone it down a bit on the Jordan front. Your job is to present the contestants; it’s the fans’ job to select the winner. That’s sorta how these shows work.

And the last thing The Voice should want is a repeat of Season 8, when the outcome was about as suspenseful as watching the New England Patriots play a high school football team. From the first week of the finals on, it was apparent Sawyer Fredericks would win.

As usual, I’ll be live blogging tonight’s show with song by song grades. I’ll also keep you posted post-show on how the singers are doing on iTunes.

Oh, and please remember, the songs being performed tonight are available on iTunes before the show. But a download doesn’t count as a vote until 9:55 p.m. EST.

If you haven’t seen my rankings of the Top 12, head here. And for a look at the social media leaders among the Top 12, check out this blog. The links below take you to a profile of each contestant, complete with video of their Voice performances.

Braiden Sunshine (Team Gwen): Gwen has straightened Braiden’s hair and taken away his glasses in an attempt to make the show’s youngest contestant the Season 9 cutie. You know what, Braiden arrived on the show with lots and lots of musical experience for his age. I’d suggest letting him sing songs he wants to sing and focusing on that.

Tonight: Wow, this is an interesting song choice. With the cast short on rockers, Braiden is going to step into that role, singing “Renegades” by Styx. As Braiden notes, this isn’t that far of a stretch. He’s played in a rock cover band for years, covering the likes of ACDC. In fact, he says he’s always wanted to perform a rock song on a big stage. Like the a cappella opening. Sure enough, Gwen has taken Braiden’s glasses away from him again. Stage presence isn’t Braiden’s problem. I’m just not sure he’s vocally prepared to pull off a song like that. There were several bum notes. Oh, well, like I said, the a cappella part was nice. Grade: C–

Amy Vachal (Team Adam): The singer-songwriter from Brooklyn has made her mark on the show singing really old classics. Will Adam push her in a more contemporary direction now that the finals have started? Despite high praise from the coaches performance after performance, she needed Adam’s save to make the Top 12.

Tonight: Look at that, Amy is indeed going much more current, singing Drake’s “Hotline Bling.” Talk about a leap. Up until now, everything she has performed solo has dated from the 1930s or 1940s. Let’s see if she can deliver this with the necessary edge. Amy tells Adam she never would have considered this song. Interesting. Not sure that totally worked for me. Blake Shelton calls it the world’s classiest and most elegant version of a “booty call song.” Ah, but is taking the edge off that song really a wise musical choice? I’m going to be very interesting to see how that plays on iTunes. Adam says she should be proud of the artistry in her performance. Grade: C+

Mark Hood (Team Pharrell): Is there any doubt Mark Hood is one of the show’s most entertaining performers? I don’t think so. So why isn’t he catching on with fans at home? The very first singer we met in Season 9 needs a big performance tonight or his time in the finals could end this week.

Tonight: Mark will be slowing it down, singing Phil Collins “Against All Odds.” Mark says he’s been running around the stage every week and he thinks it’s time to do something different. Let’s see if the change of pace works. Not sure planting Mr. Charisma behind a mic is the wisest decision. Actually, Mark strayed from the mic early in the performance, weaving his way through the crowd and delivered that with tons of emotion. The crowd loved that. Can’t say I loved it, but it was a solid performance. Adam was impressed with Mark’s passion. Pharrell wants a standing ovation for Mark, who is overcome by the crowd’s reaction. Grade: C

Emily Ann Roberts (Team Blake): Here’s betting Emily Ann fans take voting a little more seriously this week. Last week, they got her into the Top 10 on iTunes with the country/gospel “In the Garden.” Typically, that means the contestant is a sure bet to advance, but Emily Ann needed Blake’s save to make the Top 12.

Tonight: She’s going up-tempo, singing “Blame It On Your Heart” by Patty Loveless. Blake wants to see some attitude from Emily Ann. Emily Ann seems to have the message of the song down pat: “Boys are dumb.” Wow, this song is a mouthful. And Emily Ann looks like a younger Carrie Underwood, doesn’t she? She’s delivering a solid performance and a solid vocal. Actually, that could have used just a touch more attitude. But you know what, it was the best so far tonight. Easily. Emily Ann deserves to advance. Grade: B

Korin Bukowski (Team Gwen): Korin was something of a surprise save on Team Gwen. But let’s not forget that before her forgettable performance of “Adia,” Korin had done very well on iTunes during the battle and knockout rounds. In fact, her version of “All I Want” by Kodaline was the most popular from Night 2 of the knockouts.

Tonight: Korin gets a shot to bounce back with a nice song choice, “Titanium” by David Guetta with Sia. Because of her struggle with acceptance in high school, Korin says this song became an anthem of sorts for her. Oh, look at this, Gwen has been playing with Korin’s hair, too. Wow, that was so much better than last week. And served as a nice reminder of how well Korin can sing. She delivered a number of glory notes toward the end of that. Based on what we’ve heard so far tonight, I’d say Korin deserves to hang around another week, too. Grade: B

Barrett Baber (Team Blake): He’s now the veteran member of the Season 9 cast, seven years older than any of the other finalists. He’s also one of the most polished performers. His live playoff performance of “I Drive Your Truck” hit number 17 on iTunes, making it last week’s third most popular song from the show.

Tonight: He’ll be giving a country spin to Richard Marx’s “Right Here Waiting.” Blake says he’ll be standing in one spot for this performance, delivering the song with his voice and his emotion. That backdrop is beyond hokey. Barrett hit a really nice big, extended note in the middle of that performance. But all in all, I did not especially like the match of his voice and that song. Judging from the crowd’s response, though, I might be in the minority. Adam notes that Barrett just couldn’t stand to stick to his spot behind the mic. Grade: C+

Madi Davis (Team Pharrell): Her performance of “Songbird” was my personal favorite of the live playoffs, partly because the song was rearranged so nicely to become Madi’s own. Add that to a string of impressive performances, and I’ve got her ranked at number one on my list of where I think the contestants should finish. That said, a more current song choice is in order sometime very soon.

Tonight: This is probably my favorite song choice of the night. Madi takes a bit of a step toward the more current, singing Jewel’s “Who Will Save Your Soul.” And it sounds like she’s going to rework it just like she did “Songbird.” Really liked her reworking of that. There were spots where I felt like the song was holding her back, but she found several spots to showcase her superb vocals. Again, I’ll be interested to see how that does on the music charts. Probably my new favorite of the night. Grade: B+

Jeffery Austin (Team Gwen): Perhaps the biggest surprise of Season 9. He walked away from the stage for six years after high school and barely made it onto the show (Gwen was the only coach to turn). Yet he’s coming off his best performance, a version of “Say You Love Me” that hit number 25 on iTunes.

Tonight: Jeffery will sing James Bay’s “Let It Go.” Another chance of him to pour out his emotion on stage. Jeffery says he can connect to this song because he lost his dad when he was 9 years old. Surprise, Gwen has played with Jeffery’s look, too. Sorry, Gwen, not a fan of Korin’s new hair color, Braiden’s new look or Jeffery’s new look. But, hey, let’s focus on the vocals. Because Jeffery is delivering a heck of a vocal. And an impassioned one no less. This young man is on a roll, and that was another very fine performance. Very nicely done. Grade: A–

Shelby Brown (Team Adam): This teen likely surprised some people by making the finals on fan voting even though she’s on the same team as show favorites Jordan and Amy Vachal. This week marks the first time Team Adam’s country singer will go head to head with Blake’s. That should make the country singles chart fun to watch starting late tonight.

Tonight: She’ll tackle “In Color,” which was a country hit for Jamey Johnson. Adam wants her to have a moment. Judging from the iTunes version, this could be that moment. Shelby says her dad loves this song, so she wants to do it well. Dang, dang, dang. Moment delivered. That was probably Shelby’s best vocal to date. Love that growl in her voice. And, wow, does she have a powerful voice. Some of the song choices tonight have been … well, a bit confusing. That one was a really nice match of singer and song. Grade: B+

Evan McKeel (Team Pharrell): He’s perhaps the least heralded of the four-chair-turn recipients still on the show, though he’s been one of the steadiest performers. He performed his favorite Stevie Wonder tune — “Overjoyed” — last week and wound up at number 40 on iTunes, ninth best from the live playoffs.

Tonight: One of my least favorite song choices of the night. He’ll sing “This Is It” by Kenny Loggins. OK, this is off to a bit of a shaky start. Well, you can’t say Evan isn’t into what he’s singing. It looks like he might have learned some moves from teammate Mark Hood. And the high energy performance went over well with the crowd. Gwen thought that song and Evan’s voice were a good match. I’m not sure sure. Grade: C

Jordan Smith (Team Adam): He’s not at the top of my rankings, but he’s clearly the favorite at this point in the competition. His cover of “Halo” zipped straight into the Top 10 on iTunes and stayed there through most of last week. That earned Jordan important bonus points that will carry over to his vote tally for the finale.

Tonight: Last week, the coaches compared his vocals to hearing God. This week, he’ll sing “Great is They Faithfulness,” covered by Chris Rice, Isreal Houghton and many others. Guess The Voice realized they couldn’t get away with giving Jordan the pimp spot again, so they gave him the next-to-last spot on the show. He’s going to sing it a cappella at least to begin. Then he begins playing the piano. He delivers a really nice ending. He has all the coaches on their feet. Adam has to approach the stage to hug Jordan. Let’s just say it wasn’t my favorite vocal of the night. And, again, the coaches’ reaction to Jordan is off the charts ridiculous. He sang a song very well. The end. Grade: B+

Zach Seabaugh (Team Blake): In a matter of a week, Zach went from the only singer montaged in the knockout round to one of the most talked about contestants after his Elvis-like dance moves while performing “Brand New Girlfriend.” He’s well on his way to becoming the Season 9 heartthrob, if he hasn’t already achieved that status.

Tonight: He’ll be singing “My Love” by Lionel Ritchie. There is a country version out there that also features Kenny Chesney. Zach said he used to be considered the weird dude. No more. Blake is shooting for an iTunes moment with this song choice. He says we’ve seen the wild side to Zach; now it’s time to see the romantic side. Rough opening for Zach. He sorta finds his footing on the chorus, but he needs to project more. I’m having trouble hearing parts of this over the backing music. He’s going to make it through on his popularity and the fact that he has the final performance spot, but this isn’t his best vocal. Not by far. Gwen notes that he’s got great stage presence for his age, and he does. She also predicts he’ll be a huge star. Grade: C–

Also see …
iTunes results from the Top 12 show on The Voice
Photo gallery from Monday’s show