Idol Chatter & Voice Views

In a blink of the eye, The Voice has narrowed it field of 32 contestants to just four.

And those four — Beverly McClellan, Dia Frampton, Javier Colon and Vicci Martinez — square off tonight for the opportunity to be proclaimed the first winner of The Voice.

Last week, the show promised us original songs tonight. Given these contestants’ backgrounds, that shouldn’t be a problem. Each of the four has released multiple albums.

But if that’s the case, it also means songwriting and the ability to pick a song that showcases them in the best light will play a major role in who becomes The Voice.

I was hoping we’d get to hear at least two songs from each finalist tonight. But that appears unlikely, given the other performances announced for tonight’s show.

We’ll get to hear the four judges perform the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” And tonight’s show will also feature Brad Paisley, Ne-Yo and Pitbull.

Either way, follow along. I’ll be grading each of the finalists’ performances as it occurs.

So, each performer will sing twice. They’ll each perform one original song and one duet with their coach. I’ll grade both.

Just announced, there will be a tour of the top eight finalists of The Voice, beginning next month in Los Angeles.

And, now, the competition begins:

Javier Colon, Team Adam: His original song is called “Stitch by Stitch.” Dang, we’re not only getting an original. We’re getting a full song. Take notice, Idol. This is a wonderful idea. And that was a very nice performance by Javier. His vocals seemed to go a little sharp from time to time, but I love the chorus to that song. Javier didn’t oversing, which was a challenge for him earlier in the competition. Judging from Cee Lo’s comments, I’m taking it this isn’t a song Javier wrote. Shame, I was hoping these songs would be written by the artist. Grade: B.

Dia Frampton & Blake Shelton: Check out these two, in matching suits and shades, singing Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down.” I’ll say this, Dia’s stage fright from earlier this season does seem to have eased. The old Dia probably would have been content to hide behind those shades for the whole song. There wasn’t a thing not to like about that performance. And Dia sounded great on it. Grade: A-.

Vicci Martinez, Team Cee Lo: She’ll be singing a song called “Afraid to Sleep.” Vicci has been the little dynamo throughout this competition, and you can tell she’s having trouble controlling all the energy she wants to unleash. Shame she wasn’t handed more of a rock number. All the jumping around got a little distracting. That said, she delivered another fine vocal, with a great glory note near the end and a nice line of a cappella. I didn’t like her song as much as Javier’s. Grade: B-.

Beverly McClellan & Christina Aguilera: They’ll perform one of Christina’s hits, “Beautiful.” Well, I’m not a huge fan of that version of the song, but I think Beverly just proved she can sing anything. She sounded simply splendid on the opening of that song, even though she’s been more of a rocker throughout her run on The Voice. Grade: C+.

Hey, look, a Katharine McPhee sighting on The Voice, plugging her new show, “Smash.” If you hadn’t heard, the song is about an aspiring Broadway actress fighting for a role in a show that puts Marilyn Monroe’s career to music.

Dia Frampton, Team Blake: She’ll be singing a song called “Inventing Shadows.” Yep, the shyness is gone. That was a very self-assured performance. And I don’t think there’s any doubt Dia has the most distinctive voice in this competition. A very nice performance, and loved her vocal on that chorus. Like Cee Lo, I won’t be surprised to see that on iTunes’ most downloaded singles chart next week. Grade: B+

Javier Colon, Adam Levine: They’ll duet on “Man in the Mirror.” Not the most original song to sing on a singing competition, huh? And they aren’t changing it up that much. Javier sounds fine but, like with “Beautiful,” that pales in comparision to the Blake-Dia duet from earlier tonight. Grade: C+.

Beverly McClellan, Team Christina: Her original song is called “Lovesick.” Hmm. This is my least favorite of the four original songs we’ve heard tonight, and I’m not sure Beverly’s vocal can rescue it, even if she’s displaying perhaps the biggest voice in the competition. Not to mention an incredible amount of showwomanship. She’s a heck of a lot of fun to watch. Check out that bit singing while lying on the piano. Grade: B.

And, now, the final performance of the night …

Vicci Martinez & Cee Lo Green: They’re going to sing Pat Benetar’s “Love is a Battlefield.” Well, there are flames all over the stage. And check out Cee Lo’s outfit. OK, this production sprang from someone’s nightmare. Not sure what’s up with the dancing children. If the goal was to put the focus on Vicci’s vocal, this is not succeeding. Well, that was interesting. Grade: C-.