Idol Chatter & Voice Views

I wish I could provide hints on what the Top 4 on The Voice will sing tonight.

But Christina Milian didn’t do individual interviews with the artists the way she has two of the past three weeks.

What you will find on The Voice website is a video of the Top 4 — St. Nick, Little T, Dr. McDermott and Momma Cass — portraying gangsters preparing to “make their stand” and “make it loud.”

It’s entertaining, but not as entertaining as I expect Nicholas David, Trevin Hunte, Terry McDermott and Cassadee Pope to be when the real singing starts tonight.

We’ll also be treated to a couple of Christmas group numbers, one featuring Blake Shelton, the other featuring Michael Buble.

Hang around. I’ll be grading each performance as it occurs. Well, maybe not the group numbers. In the meantime, you can check out the latest Voice rankings here.

The first news flash from tonight: Three contestants will advance to next week, meaning only one singer will be eliminated tomorrow night.

But before we get to any of the songs that matter, Michael Buble takes the stage.

OK, I’m pretty sure I didn’t read the press release wrong. That was supposed to be a group performance with some of The Voice artists, we were told.

It wound up being a big advertisement for Buble’s Christmas special. Come on, Voice, you’re better than that. Don’t play crappy X Factor games with our time.

1. Trevin Hunte: First, we get a homecoming snippet. Hold it. I thought Trevin lived on the mean streets of the Bronx, not in the Atlanta suburbs. I think I need to go back and watch that blind audition. He’ll sing “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Yep.Trevin goes big ballad for his first song. Pretty predictable. This opening is surprising shaky for him in a couple of spots. Of these types of performances — and there have been a lot from Trevin — this is probably my least favorite. It was like he was singing the whole song in the wrong key. Even the blow-your-socks-off finish he’s known for seemed a little flat. Grade: C-

2. Nicholas David: This is a good start. At least Nicholas landed in the correct city. During his visit home, Nicholas performs at the Mall of America and the Happy Gnome, one of his old haunts. He’s going to sing “You Are So Beautiful,” dedicating the song to his family. Wow, the transformation is complete. Trimmed mustache. Trimmed beard. Clothes that match. Of course, none of that matters as much as his spot-on vocals. Though honestly, the first 90 seconds of that performance were pretty sleepy. He, however, did a very nice job of bringing it home for the closing. And there’s no doubt he was feeling it. Grade: B-

OK, they’re only going to sing once tonight. What the heck? Instead, we get Howie Mandel and some stupid new game show.

3. Cassadee Pope: She heads back to West Palm Beach, Fla. And she sings her blind audition song, “Torn,” for her fans at a site where her Hey Monday band used to play. She’s singing “Stupid Boy,” a Keith Urban song picked by Blake. Fantastic. A ballad. Cassadee has a wonderfully tender voice when she decides to use it. And on this song, we’re getting to see both sides of Cassadee. Wow. That was amazing. The best performance of the night by a country mile. And absolutely no pun intended. Her voice was tender and heartfelt when it needed to be. Her voice soared when it needed to. Wow. Enough said. Except very nice song choice, Blake. Grade: A

4. Terry McDermott: After watching his trip home to New Orleans, Terry launches into “Let It Be.” So far, Cassadee gets a second A for being the only artist to tackle something we wouldn’t have expected to hear. Terry’s going to deliver a very straightforward version of “Let It Be.” And it will be vocally fine. But there’s no element of surprise in this. The bright spot was that a cappella line near the end. Decent job. Nice glory note near the end as well. But, Blake, I’ve heard other, better performances of that song. On shows like this even. Let’s see, I’m thinking Brooke White, barefoot, behind a piano in Season 7 of Idol. Check YouTube. Grade: B

Cassadee was by far the night’s best. I just listened to the download of the song. Gotta tell you, I have a new favorite Cassadee Pope performance from The Voice. She did that well.

Oh, and one hour after the show ended, Cassadee’s “Stupid Boy” is already number four on the iTunes singles chart!

Nicholas and Terry should also advance, though, honestly, with only one performance tonight, I’m surprised how few risks anyone but Cassadee took tonight.

Trevin should be the artist to leave based on tonight’s show. His was the only truly off performance of the night.