Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The quarterfinals continue tonight on The Voice.

We’ll get to hear from the members of Team Cee Lo Green.

Watch out for Nakia and Vicci Martinez in particular.

We’ll get to hear form the members of Team Adam Levine.

Keep an eye and ear on Jeff Jenkins and Javier Colon.

And we’ll learn the results of the first fan voting on this new show that’s done more things right than wrong so far.

Like limiting the number of times fans can vote and allowing them to vote until 10 a.m. Monday.

The four remaining members of Team Christina Aguilera and Team Blake Shelton learn their fate tonight. Two from each team advance; two go home.

And those who will learn their fate include Season Two American Idol contestant Frenchie Davis, who competes for Team Christina and turned in one of last week’s stronger vocals.

But will it be enough.

And it looks like we’re going to start off with some results from Team Christina. And Christina is already in tears.

The top vote-getter from Team Christina is — Beverly McClellan. Wise choice, voters.

Now Christina has to choose between Raquel Castro, Lilly Elise and Frenchie Davis. And Christina picks Frenchie Davis.

Vocally, a wise decision. But I hate to see Lilly Elise go home. She was impressive last week.

We’ll find out who advances from Team Blake at the end of the show.

And the competition begins …

Tori and Taylor Thompson, Team Cee Lo Green: I’ve complimented The Voice on keeping the music current. And here Cee Lo goes and picks Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from the 1940s.  Oh, check out those cute outfits. Oh, check out that cute performance. And that cute choreography with all those soldiers/dancers on stage with bugles. Shame the performance did absolutely nothing for me. There’s just too much cuteness with these two. And, honestly, we lost a couple of lines to the background music midway through the song. Grade: C.

Casey Weston, Team Adam Levine: I find myself rooting for Casey, partly because she did very well on “Leather and Lace” in the battle round. She’s going to perform ‘Black Horse and a Cherry Tree.” Very nice job from Casey. I liked the way she changed up the song near the end. I almost wish she had performed a ballad that showcased her special tone more. Partly because I find myself comparing that to a superb version of the same song from Season 5 of Idol by a gal named Katharine McPhee, who, if you haven’t heard, has been picked to star on a new NBC show next year. Go here for info on that. Casey’s Grade: B-

Well, I’ll get you that Kat McPhee link in a minute. Between a cranky Internet connection and a cap key that isn’t working, I’m having fits with this laptop.

Vicci Martinez, Team Cee Lo: She’ll preform Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” Get prepared for something special. Wow. This is like watching a seasoned professional, huh? Perhaps because she is a seasoned professional. But I mean, this is making the first two performances of the night look amateurish. Excellent, excellent job, Vicci. And just enough little twists in the arrangement to make a familiar song very interesting. Grade: A

Devon Barley, Team Adam: The pre-med student who wants to sing is up next. Devon admits he has trouble cutting loose on stage, so let’s see what happens. He’ll sing One Republic’s “Stop and Stare.” Not sure whether Devon is suffering a case of the nerves or not, but this vocal is very shaky, verging on shouty at spots. Of course, he had the misfortune of following Vicci Martinez to the stage. Grade: C-.

Now Cee Lo and his team will perform “Everyday People.” Check out the wig on Cee Lo. The mentor and Vicci sound great. Not sure about anyone else. And can’t we let Taylor and Tori sing a line alone once in a while. They’re sisters, not Siamese twins.

Nakia, Team Cee Lo: Interesting. Cee Lo is going to have Nakia sing “Sex on Fire” by Kings of Leon. There’s a song choice you’d never see on American Idol. Liked the part where Nakia slowed things down in the middle of the song. And, all in all, he turned in a very solid performance. And there’s nothing bashful about him as a performer. Hmm. This live show must be running short on time. We only heard from two judges after that performance, Blake and Cee Lo. Not that it matters. These judges are turning out to be nearly as easy to please as the ones on Idol. Grade: B.

Jeff Jenkins, Team Adam: The country singer will be tackling Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel.” He wants the song to be an emotional tearjerker for his mom, who died recently. The opening verse seemed weak and rushed in spots, but Jeff soared when he hit the chorus. I’m wondering what The Voice voters will think of a male singing that song. Especially country fans so familiar with Carrie’s version of the song. Again, we hear from only two of the judges, both of whom praise Jeff’s vocal. Grade: B-

Now Team Adam performs. Singing “A Little Help from My Friends.” And there’s that special tone from Casey Weston I didn’t hear enough of when she performed earlier. Oh, and Javier Colon can sing a little bit, huh?

Curtis Grimes, Team Cee Lo: Another interesting song choice. Cee Lo has country boy in cowboy hat Curtis singing “Addicted to Love.” OK, I can tell you right now, this is not working for me. And I have to wonder if Curtis ever goes without a hat of some sort. Actually, I wasn’t thrilled with that song choice or that vocal. It did nothing to show off whatever range Curtis might have. He came off as the second-best country singer tonight. Grade: C-.

Javier Colon: He’ll sing “Angel,” and get ready for a special vocal. No way this guy doesn’t advance to the next round. I imagine that’s why he’s been selected as tonight’s show-closer. Not hard to see why he once had a big-label album deal. But I see what Adam means about his need to scale it back a bit. This vocal is great and a bit much all at the same time. But certainly one of the best of the night. And undeniably one of the best voices we’ll hear on this show. Grade: B+

Voting begins now on The Voice. But, no hurry. You have until next Monday at 10 a.m. to vote by phone, computer at The Voice website or by downloading the performances from iTunes.

Now we find out who advances from Team Blake.

The top vote-getter from Team Blake is Dia Frampton. A bit of a surprise there. I thought Dia would be one of the contestants on the bubble.

But I think that makes Blake’s decision much easier. He must now choose between Xenia, Jared Blake and Patrick Thomas.

Shock of all shocks, Blake picked Xenia! Huh?

OK, I don’t get that pick at all.

On that note, I’ll be back tomorrow with a wrapup on who should stay and who should go from tonight’s performance show.