Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Ariana Grande with her team members, Ryleigh Plank, Bella DeNapoli, Holly Forbes, Raquel Trinidad and Sasha and Jim Allen. (NBC Photo)

The remaining artists on Team Ariana Grande performed in The Voice live playoffs Monday night.

Three advance Tuesday, two based on fan voting, one via a coach’s save.

Here are my song by song grades.

Raquel Trinidad, “Don’t Know Why” by Norah Jones — I’m not sure of the strategy behind this song choice in a season when The Voice is loaded with so many superior soul singers. And when Raquel has been at her best on sassy, upbeat songs. Let’s just say that after hearing Shadale, Jershika and Gymani perform earlier in the show, that vocal didn’t stand out. Grade: C+

Jim and Sasha Allen, “Hey Jude” by The Beatles — I’ve enjoyed watching and haring this father-son team. But tonight’s vocal — and the harmonies that should accompany being a duo — just weren’t up to par. After the performance, we learned Sasha has laryngitis, which certainly might have been part of the problem. He did show off nice stage presence. Grade: C

Bella DeNapoli, “The Sweet Escape” by Gwen Stefani — Ariana called Bella “the perfect pop star.” But, honestly, I didn’t care for this version of the Gwen Stefani hit and it didn’t help that Bella didn’t exactly nail the big notes near the end. Again, I’m not sure the song choice did Bella any favors, because she’s sounded much better in previous round. Grade: C

Ryleigh Plank, “I’m Your Baby, Tonight” by Whitney Houston — What the heck happened with Team Ariana and tonight’s song choices? Ryleigh doesn’t have a lot of competition in the lane of young, stylish, current pop singers on Season 21. And she decides to sing Whitney Houston? Or shout Whitney Houston? Because that might be a better description of that performance. She’s much better than that vocal, judging from past performances. Grade: C–

Holly Forbes, “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia — I thought Holly might have trouble advancing on Team Ariana since she’s a fresh steal while the rest of the team has been with Ariana since the blinds. But on a night when the rest of Team Ariana failed to match expectations, it’d be a crime is Holly wasn’t rewarded for delivering the team’s best — even if not flawless — vocal of the night. Grade: B