Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Voice Top 4 of Kirk Jay, Kennedy Holmes, Chris Kroeze and Chevel Shepherd will square off Monday night. (NBC Photo)

Each finalist on The Voice took the stage three times Monday night.

And by the end of the evening, the competition seemed even more wide open than when it began.

Kirk Jay performed a couple of his trademark ballads, convincing Blake Shelton that he’s headed for big things in country music.

Chris Kroeze turned in a trio of performances that straddled the line between country and rock and are sure to have his Wisconsin fan base voting and streaming like crazy.

But it was the two young ladies who shined the brightest on the Season 15 performance finale.

Young country singer Chevel Shepherd turned in the night’s best trio of performances before 14-year-old Kennedy Holmes brought down the house with her show-closing number.

On with the song by song grades:

Chris Kroeze, “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd — While The voice is a competition, Chris says he likes this pick because it’s a fun song to perform. It’s also right up Chris’ country-rock wheelhouse. Predictably, he turns in a solid performance and a fine vocal. But, wow, The Voice title is on the line. I would have liked to have seen Chris really cut loose on that fun song. This isn’t the time to hold back. Grade: B

Chevel Shepherd, “It’s a Little Too Late” by Tanya Tucker — Kelly’s 4-foot-10 country tinkerbell just turned in one of her most vibrant performances to date. Love the way she waded out into the crowd to meet her fans. Stage presence hasn’t always been Chevel’s forte. Oh, and that was a fine vocal on the classic country song, too. In fact, one of Chevel’s best. Grade: A–

Kirk Jay, “Defenseless” — Kirk delivered the first of the originals on the final performance show. His was co-written by former Voice contestant Nicolle Galyon, who happens to be Grammy nominated. It’s a slow country ballad, right in Kirk’s sweet spot. And he delivers the type of earnest vocal we’ve come to expect from him. He sounded much better than his final performance last week, but I’m not sure that had as much of an emotional impact as some of his past performances. Grade: B+

Kennedy Holmes, “Love is Free” — Kennedy says her original made her want to dance the first time she heard it. Jennifer says she just needs to tap into the song’s uplifting message. Hmm, don’t know if it’s just me, but I’m not loving this song. They couldn’t come up with anything to rhyme with Love is Free, so Kennedy just winds up singing the same line over and over. She doesn’t even get to show off any snazzy dance moves like in her “Me Too” performance from a couple of weeks ago. Glad she got that song out of the way first. Grade: B–

Kirk Jay and Blake Shelton, “You Look So Good in Love” by George Strait — Kirk and Blake had fun with that. And while Blake sang the entire first verse, he allowed Kirk to handle the big vocal moments, including that impressive ending. And Kirk was up to the task. Would have been nice to see them go upbeat, especially if Kirk’s closing with another ballad. But that certainly didn’t hurt Kirk’s chances of winning. Grade: B+

Kennedy Holmes and Jennifer Hudson, “Home” from The Wiz — Loved the way Blake was content to let Kirk shine on their duet. Jennifer could have taken notes. You’re not the contestant, Jennifer. Your job is to put the spotlight on Kennedy. And while Kennedy sounded very good on that, I’m not sure it accomplished what it should have. Grade: B.

Chris Kroeze, “Human” — Well, the original Chris was given has the best hook of the originals we’ve heard so far. And it was nice to see him get the choir to accompany him on stage. I’d been hoping to see him recreate another song the way he did “Burning House,” but with just the duet left, that won’t happen. You can see that once again, Chris isn’t getting the best placement tonight. That continues a Season 15 trend, but I have a feeling Chris’ fan base won’t be detered. Grade: B+

Chevel Shepherd and Kelly Clarkson, “Rockin’ with the Rhythm of the Rain” by The Judds — They’ve dubbed themselves Chevelly, and they seemed prepared to have fun with this. After all, they’re the new Judds. Say what you want about Kelly, it’s great to see the way she’s taken Brynn Cartelli under her wing. Hopefully, she can do sorta the same for Chevel. Not sure they have a future as a duet, but Chevel just sounded very, very good again. Grade: B+

Chris Kroeze and Blake Shelton, “Two More Bottles of Wine” by Emmylou Harris — Blake says this song choice is perfect because it straddles the line between rock and country. I was about to yell at The Voice for giving the guitar solo to a member of the band, but then they allowed Chris to take part as well. That’s when he seems his most animated. Blake was having lots of fun on that. Chris might have been too, but it didn’t show. He sounded fine again. And he’s already done singing tonight, so that Wisconsin fan base will have to do the rest. Grade B.

Kirk Jay, ” I Won’t Let Go” by Rascal Flatts — What? The Voice isn’t giving Kirk the pimp spot? I’m almost shocked, because he seems to be the show favorite. That said, Blake’s convinced coming back to another Rascal Flatts song is the winning boost Kirk needs. He might have been right. Because that might have been my favorite Kirk performance. He sounds so much better this week. And the staging was nice too, with Kirk beginning the number surrounded by a piano and a string section. Very nice job. There were some minor pitch problems, but this song put Kirk back in his element. Grade: B

Chevel Shepherd, “Broken Hearts” — This will be Chevel’s first time recording an original song. Sounds like Kelly wanted to record the song, but it didn’t quite fit with her plans, so she’s turning it over to Chevel. That was my favorite among the originals. A great country song and Chevel did a great job with it. Is it my imagination, or is Chevel the contestant lighting up the stage tonight. She might never have had her heart broken, but she sold that performance. Okay, she let a bit of a smile cross her face right at the end. But, hey, she’s so young. I wasn’t sure of Chevel as a finalist. She convinced me tonight. Dang. Grade: A–

Kennedy Holmes, “Confident” by Demi Lovato — At the start of the performance, I was wondering why Kennedy wasn’t ending with another power ballad. By the end of the performance, I was thrilled she didn’t. That was easily the best performance of the night. And the title of the song perfectly suited the 14-year-old’s attitude on stage. Those vocals. Those dance moves. Young Kennedy looked and acted like a star. Wow. Wow. Wow. The only question, was it too little too late? Her first two performance weren’t quite up to that standard. Grade: A+

See also …
Ranking the Top 4
Simple rule change could make big difference
A look back at Chevel Shepherd’s performances
A look back at Chris Kroeze’s performances
A look back at Kennedy Holmes’ performances
A look back at Kirk Jay’s performances