Idol Chatter & Voice Views

I still don’t understand what The Voice is doing tonight.

Oh, I understand what NBC is doing. The network is trying to kick off its fourth season of “The Sing-Off” with a flourish.

And it figures that will be easier following a one-hour episode of The Voice than after we’ve listened to two hours of singing.

The ffinal five on The Voice, Cole Vosbury, Jacquie Lee, Will Champlin, Tessanne Chin, James Wolpert (NBC Photo)

But from The Voice standpoint, this makes no sense.

Last week, the show was cutting just one singer, and we got to hear everyone sing twice.

This week, the show is cutting two singers. It’s setting the stage for next week’s finals.

And we only get one solo per artist. Odd. Very odd. And not the format The Voice used in Season 4.

Tonight, I’ll introduce each artist with a look at their numbers — what the Twitter and Facebook figures are as of 4:30 p.m. today. The iTunes rankings indicate where their song was sitting on the iTunes Top 200 chart at the time voting ended for that week’s show.

So we start off with a group number “Best Day of My Life.” And Blake has donned a fake beard in support of his lone remaining singer. For a look at why Cole Vosbury might have the lead in iTunes voting, head here. If I had to pick, I’d say Will Champlin, Jacquie Lee and Tessanne Chin sounded best on that.

James Wolpert (NBC Photo)

James Wolpert (Team Adam): Some numbers for James:
59,002 Twitter followers;
5,603 Facebook fans.
iTunes finishes:
A Case of You — 8
Mr. Brightside — 58
Without You — 21
Somebody to Love — 18
Fall in Love — 48
I’d Do Anything for Love — 34

James, of course, is battling the curse of the instant save. Every contestant saved has gone home the following week. James will perform U2’s “With or Without You,” a song he says has brought him to tears in the past. Clean-cut James is sporting the unshaven look tonight. His voice got a bit buried in the background music at the opening of tonight’s performance. But there was no burying his voice over the last minute or so of that, was there? Very nice close to the song. A very competent rendition, overall. Adam says he did even better than he thought he could. Blake says he might have dug himself out of last week’s hole it was so good. It was certainly much better than last week. Grade: B

Will Champlin (NBC Photo)

Will Champlin (Team Adam): Some numbers for Will:
59,326 Twitter followers;
13,222 Facebook fans.
iTunes finishes:
Secrets — 34
Demons — 36
Love Me Again — 42
At Last — 8
Change is Gonna Come — 25
Hey Brother — 27

Adam notes that at least one member of his team will be in the finals. Will will perform Fun’s “Carry On.” Nice song choice. Let’s see if he can pull it off. A better choice in my mind than the one for James. Hey, he starts a cappella, and does it very well. This is shaping up to be my favorite performance from Will. Dang, usually we get one or two huge glory notes in a performance. Will just served up about a half dozen, hitting some incredible notes along the way. Heck, that might have been one of the best performances of Season 5. Adam says the fact that Will is smiling means he thinks he turned in a good performance because he’s typically so tough on himself. Grade: A– (and only a minus because something better could come later in the show).

Jacquie Lee (NBC Photo)

Jacquie Lee (Team Christina): Some numbers for Jacquie Lee:
80,064 Twitter followers;
21,236 Facebook fans.
iTunes finishes:
I Put a Spell on You — 20
Love is Blindness — 16
Clarity — 51
Who’s Loving You Now — 21
The Voice Within — 48
Cry Baby — 20

Hmm, interesting song choice because slow songs haven’t been Jacquie Lee’s forte. Her strength has been belting like a tiger. But tonight, she’s going to perform Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel.” Those initial rehearsals sound pretty rough. Well, Jacquie is doing much better than I thought she might. Much, much better. And great for her to show that versatility, because all of Jacquie Lee’s been pretty much a one-trick tiger until now. She might have over-sung a bit when the chorus joined in. Maybe she was trying to make sure she wasn’t drowned out. But that ending was fabulous. Christina calls it her best vocal. Cee Lo calls it “amazing.” And I imagine Jacquie Lee just won herself a well-deserved spot in the final three. Grade: A–

Cole Vosbury (NBC Photo)

Cole Vosbury (Team Blake): Some numbers for Cole:
47,335 Twitter followers;
5,027 Facebook fans.
iTunes finishes:
Maggie May — 38
Adorn — 28
To Be With You — 15
I Still Believe in You — 13
Better Man — 23
Rich Girl — 18

Cole is going to sing Garth Brooks’ “Shameless.” Yep, another country song choice from the country judge. Really don’t care for this song, but let’s see what Cole can do with it. He’s starting off at the piano, which is a chance of pace for him. I mean, of all the country songs out there, this is the one Blake picks. And about halfway through the performance, Cole leaves the piano and starts roaming the stage. Freed from the piano, his voice soars with the song. Blake calls it “an incredible job.” And he says he thinks Cole has now figured out who he is as an artist. Cee Lo calls it “another great job.” I’m sure fans of Cole’s beard and rasp will love it. But it didn’t quite match the vocal fireworks we just heard from Will and Jacquie Lee. Grade: B

Tessanne Chin (NBC Photo)

Tessanne Chin (Team Adam): Some numbers for Tessanne:
119,118 Twitter followers
386,657 Facebook fans. In both cases, most of those numbers were pre-Voice.
iTunes finishes:
Many Rivers to Cross — 27
My Kind of Love — 57
If I Were Your Woman — 33
Underneath It All — 25
Unconditionally — 33
Redemption Song — 15

And Tessanne gets to close the show. An honor she has earned, in my mind, with a series of excellent performances. She’ll sing Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge over Troubled Water.” I expect this to be nothing short of brilliant. Hey, guys, turn down the piano, please. I want to hear Tessanne. And Tessanne is midway through a pitch-perfect performance, once again showing off her big voice and brilliant range. Dang, how long did she just hold that final note? Seemed like forever, didn’t it? Vocally, that was the best performance of the night. Will’s pitch strayed slightly; Jacquie Lee oversang in spots. Tessanne was spot on throughout. Adam says Tessanne’s talent leaves him nearly “speechless.” He calls it one of the most flawless and graceful performances he’s seen on the show. Blake calls it “beautiful” as well. Grade: A

After watching tonight’s performances, I’d give the spots in the finals to Tessanne, Jacquie Lee and Will.