Kendra Checketts performs while fellow contestants look on during The Voice cross battles Monday. (NBC Photo)
Monday night confirmed what I suspected after last Monday’s first-ever cross battles on The Voice.
The Voice has rounded up a deep and vocally talented Season 16 cast. We just haven’t heard the individual artists perform enough!
By the typical Voice schedule, last night should have been the Top 12 or Top 13 show.
Instead, we were seeing half the remaining Season 16 singers perform for just the third time.
Ugh! Never, ever, ever use this format again, Carson and company.
Anyway, Tuesday, we’ll find out who advances to the live playoffs. Five of the 16 who performed Monday will head home.
Here are the Voice Views song by song grades, with my picks for the winner of each battle.
If some of the grades seem a bit low, blame L.B. Crew and Beth Griffith-Manley for setting the bar so dang high on a night filled with solid performances.
Cross Battle #1
L.B. Crew (Team Adam), “Wade in the Water” — Well, now, L.B., that’s the way to start the show. He took us to church with this song choice, showing off those deep vocals with a bit of scatting and a shriek thrown in for good measure. It all worked, and got the second-ever Voice cross battle show off to a roaring start. Grade: A–
Jej Vinson (Team Kelly) “Versace on the Floor” — Jej seemed a bit nervous when the song started and never found the groove or swagger he needed to pull this off as well as “Wade in the Water.” But he was so, so good in his previous two performances, I’m hoping he gets Kelly’s remaining save if he doesn’t win the battle. Grade: C+
Winner: L.B. Crew (Team Adam)
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Cross Battle #2
Kalvin Jarvis (Team Adam), “New Rules” — A mixed bag of a performance. I loved the rap and the ending. I loved the intensity with which Kalvin delivered the lyrics. But, vocally, the first half of the performance wasn’t as impressive. Grade: B–
Julian King (Team Legend), “Hello” — And another mixed bag of a performance. That opening was brilliant, and Julian even sang part of it in Spanish. Very nice. But when the song swelled to the part that … well, makes it an Adele song … Julian ran into pitch issues before coming back with a nice ending. Grade: C+
Winner: Kalvin Jarvis (Team Adam)
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Cross Battle #3
Carter Lloyd Horne (Team Blake) “Way Down We Go” — That’s right, Carter’s the singer who sounds much older than. This is a great song choice for his gruff vocals. Not only that, but he looked very comfortable on stage. Grade: B+
Jacob Maxwell (Team Legend) “You’re Still the One” — He nailed a really nice prolonged note about midway thrugh the song, but this was a much more shaky vocal, especially at the start. I want to know who decided he should cover Shania Twain. It might not have been the wisest choice. Grade: C–
Winner: Carter Lloyd Horne (Team Blake)
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Cross Battle #4
The Bundys (Team Kelly) “The Letter” — I was such a big fan of The Bundys’ first two performances on the show, this was actually a bit of a disappointment. It just seemed a bit disjointed, though I really liked the arrangement and the way the trio handled the vocals over the last 20 seconds of the song. Grade: C
Andrew Sevener (Team Blake) “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde” — Well, Andrew certainly cut loose on stage, didn’t he? This might not have been the best vocal of the night, but it ranked as one of my favorite performances. And talk about a big voice. Grade: B
Winner: Andrew Sevener (Team Blake)
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Cross Battle #5
Shawn Sounds (Team Legend) “Lay Me Down” — Check out the deep, rich tone Shawn displayed right before the chorus, then the range he showed off once he reached the chorus. That’s folk, is some vocal versatility. It was also a heartfelt vocal, even if a bit more frill-filled than I prefer. Grade: B
Karly Moreno (Team Blake) “Down” — This was a tough draw for Karly, a one-chair turn against a four-chair turn. And to topple Shawn, she probably would have needed a song with more heft. That said, I love her distinct vocals and, given the choice, it’s probably Karly I’d buy a ticket to see live just because she’s more unique and I’m pretty sure I’d walk away smiling because of her upbeat vibe. Grade: C+
The winner: Shawn Sounds (Team Legend)
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Cross Battle #6
Kendra Checketts (Team Adam) “Cold Water” — Hey, Kendra, you were a one-chair turn. You’re not supposed to do this well. I was all-in on her vocal from the opening note, and then she took the intensity up another notch at about the 1:20 mark before delivering a tender ending. Grade: B–
Jimmy Mowery (Team Legend) “Mercy” — Really liked Jimmy’s voice and the intensity he delivered when he hit the chorus on this song. The verses didn’t come off off quite as well, especially when the performance began. But Jimmy also did a nice job of building the song. Grade: C
Winner — Kendra Checketts (Team Adam)
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Cross Battle #7
Rebecca Howell (Team Kelly) “Any Man of Mine” — Fun performance by Rebecca, who doesn’t have a ton of performance experience. She nailed two impressive glory notes and danced among her Team Kelly colleagues. But the song calls for lots of sass, and I would have liked a bigger helping of that. Grade: C+
Beth Griffith ManleY (Team Legend) “I Put a Spell on You” — Wow. I mean, I heard what Beth was singing and thought, ‘Well, that song’s been done to death on shows like this.’ Wow, but not the way Beth did it. She put her own stamp on the classic with what was undoubtedly one of the best vocals and performances of the night. Grade: A–
Winner: Beth Griffith-Manley (Team Legend)
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Cross Battle #8
Gyth Rigdon (Team Blake) “Goodbye Time” — Really nice song choice by Gyth and a vocal that was solid from start to finish. Yeah, and that ending was pretty special too. Hmm, so on Monday night we discovered that Dexter Roberts isn’t the only very talented male country singer on The Voice Season 16 cast. Grade: B
Abby Kasch (Team Kelly) “Cupid’s Got a Shotgun” — Love the attitude and energy Abby delivered on this Carrie Underwood tune. Clearly, she was having a good time on stage. But all the moving around might have affected the vocal, because it sounded very shouty in spots. Grade: C
Winner: Gyth Rigdon (Team Blake)
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