Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Top 9 will take the stage tonight on The Voice.

And by the end of tomorrow’s episode, we’ll know the identity of the five Season 20 finalists.

The top vote-getter for each team will automatically make the finals.

Then, if The Voice follows the format from recent seasons, the bottom two overall vote-getters will automatically be eliminated.

That will leave three singers to sing for a save at the end of tomorrow’s results show.

But that’s tomorrow. Tonight, the Top 9 will perform the songs below. Follow the links, and you can stream them now.

For some reason, Pia Renee’s song has not been posted. Of the eight I’ve listened to, the studio versions from Rachel Mac, Corey Ward and Kenzie Wheeler are my favorites.

Check back at 8 p.m. I’ll be live blogging tonight and grading the performances as they happen.

See also
Celebrating 20 Seasons of The Voice through post-show music
Cutting back to one season per year won’t fix The Voice

Victor Solomon (Team Legend), “I Can Only Imagine” by MercyMe — Victor was voted through last week so he’s Team Legend’s favoite to make the finals. He said his mom’s going to be thrilled that he’s singing a gospel song. He started this very strong, hit a couple of vocal hiccups in the middle, then delivered some nice ab libbing near the end. Grade: B
Apple Music
Spotify

Jordan Matthew Young (Team Blake), “Rose Colored Glasses” by John Conlee — This is an interesting song choice, because Jordan’s more of a rock guy. To me, it isn’t as impactful as his Fleetwood Mac cover from last week. But with The Voice’s massive country fan base, singing classic country might work to his advantage. Jordan did a nice job with that, but it lacked dynamic vocal moments. Grade: B
Apple Music
Spotify

Pia Renee (Team Legend), “Pull Your Lights Down Low” by Bob Marley — Pia says she’s going back her roots with a reggae song. She stumbled vocally last week, but nevertheless got John’s save. She’s much more on point this week. Not sure that opening was the sultry John was looking for. And I’m not sure this song choice is going to resonate with Voice fans. That said, I loved the rap bit in the middle. And thought it was the best performance so far. For some reason, this song isn’t on streaming sites. Grade: B+
Apple Music
Spotify

Rachel Mac (Team Nick), “Human” by Christina Perri — Rachel says she’s struggled with depression, one of the reasons she selected this song. The studio version, folks, is really special. And you know what, she’s delivering on stage too. Wow, so impressive. Regardless of age. Not sure a couple of those big notes were spot on, but by that time emotion had taken over. And I’ll take emotion over vocal perfection any time. Grade: A–
Apple Music
Spotify

Corey Ward (Team Kelly), “Arcade” by Duncan Laurence — I really like this song choice for Corey. He’s certainly invested in the performance. But this vocal is coming off as well live as it does in the studio version. Not nearly as well, unfortunately. Nice ending though. And it would have been great if he could have performed that for a full house. Grade: B–
Apple Music
SpotifyVictor

Gihanna Zoe (Team Kelly), “Reflection” (from Mulan) — Gihanna did much better than a week ago. She nailed a heck of a glory note near the end then delivered a very tender, emotional ending. I just wish she would have gone to that broken, tender voice sooner so we could have heard it longer. Grade: B
Apple Music
Spotify

Dana Monique (Team Nick), “Leave the Door Open” by Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak — Another interesting song choice because Dana is so impressive with big, bombastic R&B classics. This requires more subtlety. Dana was fairly impressive again. But when Dana’s on stage, it’s a shame to spend so much time having her do nothing but single “la, la, la.” In the end, I think that song choice did her no favors. Grade: B–
Apple Music
Spotify

Cam Anthony (Team Blake), It’s Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday by Boyz II Men — Cam says this song reminds him of his uncle and grandfather, who were in a band together. He starts a cappella, and it’s quite impressive. I’m surprised. I didn’t love the studio version. Wow, Cam is delivering the night’s best vocal here. This stripped-down version is so, so much better than the version on iTunes. Grade: A
Apple Music
Spotify

Kenzie Wheeler (Team Kelly), “He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones — This song is a nice match for Kenzie’s deep country voice. I don’t think there’s any doubt he’s going to be in the finals. Gihanna had better dust off her save-me song. Because this is going to delight The Voice’s large country fan base. Excellent. And I like that he kept the spoken lines. Grade: A–
Apple Music
Spotify

Group performances:

Cam Anthony, Corey Ward and Kenzie Wheeler, “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” — Individually, all three guys sounded solid. Corey probably impressed me the most vocally. He tried to do something special every time it was his turn to sing. His energy, urging a non-existent crowd to get into it, was also noteworthy. Kenzie sounded better on this that I thought he might since it was out of his wheelhouse.

Dana Monique, Pia Renee and Victor Solomon, “Shining Star” — Check out those outfits. And Victor’s wig. They took the 1970s theme seriously, huh? Liked that we got to see Victor do this, because he’s quite a performer. And Dana’s vocal firepower is undeniable.

Rachel Mac, Gihanna Zoe, Jordan Matthew Young, “Go Your Own Way” — Yikes! Was Jordan the only one familiar with the song. He was channeling Lindsey Buckingham. No idea who Gihanna and Rachel were trying to channel. Less said the better.