Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Top 9 on Season of The Voice include (back row, from left) Bryan Bautista, Nick Hagelin and Adam Wakefield; (front row, from left) Laith Al-Saadi, Hannah Huston, Mary Sarah, Alisan Porter, Paxton Ingram and Shalyah Fearing. (NBC Photo)

There’s just three weeks left on The Voice.

And in addition to the Top 9 tonight, we’ll get performances from Florida Georgia Line and a new duet from Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani.

Paxton Ingram

Until now: Blinds: Sang “Dancing on My Own.” Turned three chairs. Battle round: Sang “I Know What You Did Last Summer” with Brittney Lawrence and prevailed. Knockout round: Performed “Hometown Glory” in matchup with Angie Keilhauer and advanced. Live playoffs: Sang “How Deep is Your Love.” Failed to crack Top 200 on iTunes. Advanced to finals via Blake’s save. Top 12: He sang “Hands to Myself,” landing at 164 on the iTunes Top 200, worst of the night. But he was voted into the Top 11. Top 11: Performed “Break Every Chain,” a Christian/gospel song and went from last on iTunes among Voice contestants to first, hitting number 18 on iTunes. Was voted into the Top 10. Top 10: He performed “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” and landed at number 37 on iTunes, seventh best of the night.

Tonight: He’ll sing “I Want to Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston. By flipping female singers like Whitney, Celine and Adele, Paxton says he gets to show off his artistry. And he’s promising more of an acoustic version of tonight’s song. Well, it might have been acoustic, but Paxton sure tried to deliver a boatload of glory notes over the course of that performance. Some landed better than others. The end result: A pleasant, but not especially memorable performance. Christina calls it the most joyous version of the song she’s heard. Adam calls him one of the show’s most infectious performers. Blake likes the growth Paxton continues to show. Grade: B–

Mary Sarah

Until now: Blind audition: Performed “Where the Boys Are” and turned all four chairs. Battle round: Performed “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” with Justin Whisnant and prevailed. Knockout round: Performed “You Ain’t Woman Enough” in a matchup with Brittany Kennell and advanced. Live playoffs: Sang “Rose Garden.” Landed at number 67 on iTunes. Voted into finals. Top 12: Sang Carrie Underwood’s “So Small.” Landed at 86 on iTunes, 11th best from the night but was voted into the Top 11. Top 11: Sang “Johnny and June” and scored her biggest iTunes success to date, hitting number 26, second best among contestants. Was voted into the Top 10. Top 10: She performed “Stand by Your Man” by Tammy Wynette. The song ranked fourth from the show on the iTunes singles chart at number 18.

Tonight: She’ll sing “My Church” by Maren Morris. Mary Sarah says she likes this song because its current, but has a traditional country sound. Mary Sarah started rehearsals for this playing the guitar, but it sounds as though Blake has convinced her to leave it behind. This was a really smart song choice, and it’s turning into one of my favorite Mary Sarah performances. Love the breakdown near the end when Mary Sarah strolled out near the audience. And, dang, she delivered a great ending. Yep, easily my favorite Mary Sarah performance. Pharrell calls that performance her best connection to a song. Adam agrees it was her best. Blake calls that Mary Sarah’s moment on the show. Grade: A–

Nick Hagelin

Until now: Blind audition: Performed “Lost Stars,” turned three chairs and joined Team Pharrell. Battle round: Performed “Electric Feel” with Jessica Crosbie and prevailed; Jessica was stolen. Knockout round: Performed “Lost Without U” in a matchup against Moushumi and was eliminated. Brought back by Christina as her comeback artist. Live playoffs: Sang “Stay.” Landed at number 25 on iTunes. Voted into finals. Top 12: He sang Blake Shelton’s “Mine Would Be You,” dedicating the song to his wife. It landed at 41 on iTunes, fifth best of the night. He was voted into the Top 11. Top 11: Performed “Your Body is a Wonderland.” The song hit number 99 on iTunes, ninth best from the night. He was voted into the Top 10. Top 10: He sang “I Can’t Help It” by Michael Jackson. The song landed at number 91 on iTunes, eighth best of the night. He landed in the bottom two the next night, but got The Voice instant save.

Tonight: He;ll tackle “Hold On, We’re Going Home” by Drake. And Christina is encouraging him to move more during the performance. That said, he begins the performance seated and playing guitar. OK, midway through the song Nick gets off his stool and starts showing off those dance moves, twirling around in a T-shirt, part of which hangs all the way to his knees. He’s also using the song to show off his range again. The ladies might love the dance moves. To me, it’s wake me up when it’s over. Adam called it really cool when he was dancing. He doesn’t say a word about the vocals. Christina calls the dancing part of his artistry. She calls the performance awesome. Grade: C

Hannah Huston

Until now: Blind audition: Performed “Unaware” and turned three chairs. Performed “Elastic Heart” with Maya Smith and prevailed; Maya was stolen. Knockout round: Performed “House of the Rising Sun” in a match with Malik Heard and advanced. The song wound up being the round’s most popular on iTunes. Live playoffs: Sang “Ain’t No Way.” Landed at number 44 on iTunes. Voted into finals.Top 12: She performed “Something’s Got a Hold on Me.” The song landed at number 40 on iTunes, fourth best of the night. She was voted into the Top 11. Top 11: Performed “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” She hit number 34 on iTunes, sixth best of the night. Was voted into the Top 10. Top 10: She sang Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and posted he fifth best performance on iTunes, landing at number 23.

Tonight: She will sing “Say You Love Me” by Jessie Ware. Hannah says being the last standing member of Team Pharrell makes her more determined to move on. And we’re reminded again how inexperienced Hannah is. Prior to The Voice, the teacher says she’d sing maybe twice a year at a coffee shop. This quickly turns into one of her most emotional performances, one that has Pharrell on his feet from almost the first moment. It was a performance certainly worthy of a spot in the Top 8. Blake calls it his favorite performance from her. Christina agrees and calls it a wonderful job. Pharrell calls it “amazing.” Grade: B+

Shalyah Fearing

Until now: Blind audition: Performed “What is Love” and prompted a chair turn from Christina, but only Christina. Battle round: Performed “Lady Marmalade” with Tamar Davis. She didn’t win, but was stolen by Pharrell Williams. Knockout round: Performed “Broken Wing” in a match with Emily Keener and lost, but was stolen by Adam Levine. Live playoffs: Sang “Listen.” Landed at number 14 on iTunes. Voted into finals. Top 12: She performed “Up to the Mountain,” landing at number 46 on iTunes, seventh best of the night. She was voted into the Top 11. Top 11: Sang “The Climb.” Song hit number 96 on iTunes, eighth best of the night. Was voted into the Top 10. Top 10: She performed “My Kind of Love,” landing at number 92 on iTunes, ninth best of the night. But she was voted into the Top 9.

Tonight: She’ll perform “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke. Shalyah credits her grandmother for introducing her to this song. She’s badly in need of a comeback performance after tanking on iTunes the last couple of weeks. OK, that opening is a great start. And Shalyah goes on to deliver another powerful, passionate performance, dropping to her knees to one point. Once again, the vocal wasn’t perfect. It sounded like she was shouting at us for part of the song. Blake says she’s back to her best. Adam loves the way she feels everything she sings so passionately. I’ll be interested to see how that does on iTunes. Grade: B

Laith Al-Saadi

Until now: Blind audition: Performed “The Letter” and turned two chairs. Performed “Honky Tonk Woman” with Matt Tedder and advanced. Knockout round: Performed “In Your Eyes” in a matchup with Jessica Crosbie and prevailed. Live playoffs: Sang “With a Little Help from My Friends.” Landed at number 32 on iTunes. Voted into finals. Top 12: Performed “Born Under a Bad Sign.” Landed at 45 on iTunes, 6th best from the night, and number one on the blues singles chart. Was voted into the Top 11. Top 11: He performed “Make It Rain.” The song hit number 29 on iTunes, third best of the night. He was voted into the Top 10. Top 10: He performed “The Thrill is Gone” and he just missed the iTunes Top 10, landing at number 11. He was number one on the blues chart.

Tonight: He’ll perform “We’ve Got Tonight” by Bob Seger. Laith notes that Bob Seger is from the same town as he is. He’s going to play keys on this, and it’ll be the first time he’s performed a ballad on the show. I wasn’t a big fan of the match of the voice and the song until the last minute or so, when Laith cut loose with that growl and delivered a fantastic ending. Pharrell encourages fans to keep voting Laith through and calls his a front-runner. Adam, of course, encourages support for Laith, too. Grade: B

Now we get a new song from Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, “Go Ahead and Break My Heart.” I like this a whole lot more than the earlier performance by Florida Georgia Line.

Adam Wakefield (Team Blake)

Until now: Blind audition: Performed “Tennessee Whiskey” and turned two chairs. Battle round: Performed “Can’t You See” with Jared Harder and prevailed. Knockout round: Performed “Bring It On Home to Me” in a matchup with Peyton Parker and advanced. Live playoffs: Sang “Seven Spanish Angels.” Landed at number 30 on iTunes. Voted into finals. Top 12: He sang “Soulshine” and topped everyone on iTunes, landing at number seven and earning bonus points in the process. The song also hit number one on the country singles chart. Top 11: Performed “Lights” by Journey. Landed at number 33 on iTunes, fifth best of the night. Was voted into the Top 10. Top 10: Performed “I Got a Woman” by Ray Charles. Finished third best of the night on iTunes at number 16.

Tonight: He’ll tackle “Love Has No Pride” by Bonnie Raitt. He says this is one of his mother’s favorite songs. Blake tells us he’ll be behind the keys again. Adam is delivering another soulful vocal. I really liked that soulful opening and that powerful ending, That was without doubt one of Adam’s best performances. It brings most of the coaches to their fee. Christina calls it “fiery.” Blake says he’ll see Adam in the finale. Grade: A

Alisan Porter

Until now: Blind audition: Performed “Blue Bayou” and turned all four chairs. The song turned out to be the most popular of the blinds on iTunes. Battle round: Performed “California Dreamin’ with Lacy Mandigo and prevailed; Lacy was stolen. Knockout round: Sang “The River” in a matchup against Daniel Passino and advanced. Live playoffs: Sang “Cry Baby.” Landed at number 12 on iTunes, best from the round. Voted into finals. Top 12: She performed Demi Lovato’s “Stone Cold” and earned iTunes bonus points for the first time by landing at number nine on the singles chart, second best of the night. The song was also number four on the iTunes pop chart. Top 11: Performed “Stay with Me Baby.” Landed at number 31 on iTunes, fourth best of the week. Was voted into the Top 10. Top 10: Performer Patti Griffin’s “Let Him Fly.” Hit the iTunes Top 10 for the second time, landing at number six when voting ended, best of the night on the chart.

Tonight: Quite a contrast from last week, Alisan will be singing “Cryin'” by Aerosmith. This could be special. The Voice band has been known to drown out some singers. Here’s betting they don’t drown out Alisan. OK, that was lots of fun. Just when you thought Alisan couldn’t get any more invested in the song, she kicked it up another notch. That ending was simply wild. Christina says she was “a superstar” on that song. Pharrell loved the message she delivered: That moms can be rock stars, too. Grade: A

Bryan Bautista

Until now: Blind audition: Performed “The Hills” and turned two chairs. Battle round: Performed “It’s a Man’s Man”s Man”s World” with Malik Heard and prevailed; Malik was stolen. Knockout round: Performed “Sorry” in a matchup with Trey O’Dell and advanced. Live playoffs: Sang “Pillowtalk.” Landed at number 37 on iTunes. Advanced to finals via Christina’s save. Top 12: He performed “Kiss from a Rose.” It landed at number 72 on iTunes, ninth best of the night. He was voted into the Top 11. Top 11: Sang “Just the Way You Are.” Hit number 79 on iTunes, seventh best of the week. Was voted into the Top 10. Top 10: He performed “Promise” by Romeo Santos, partly in Spanish. He finished sixth best of the night on iTunes at number 35 on the overall singles chart; he topped the Latino singles chart.

Tonight: In one of the night’s boldest choices, he’ll tackle “1 + 1” by Beyonce. Christina says she thinks this is the perfect song for Bryan to get back to his romantic, sensual side. She’s looking for passion from Bryan. Dang, Christina might have been right about this song and Bryan. It’s the most special I’ve heard him sing. By far. He drops to his knees near the end to add a bit of drama to the performance. I’m not sure that was even needed. Wow, a really solid night of performances on the show. Adam calls the performance “really beautiful.” Christina calls it “amazing” and calls for Beyonce to do a duet with Bryan. Grade: A–