Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Monday night, we met the final 13 members of The Voice Season 11 cast.

Once again, I’ll use the term “met” loosely since four singers got the montage treatment, meaning we weren’t really introduced to them and we heard only the tiniest snippet of their blind auditions.

That includes Belle Jewel, one of the more interesting indie artists I came across while researching singers who auditioned for Season 11.

And that includes Tarra Layne, whose pre-show music — including a fabulous “One You Go Red” EP — is my personal favorite.

Oh, well, we did get to meet and hear from nine new artists. I’ll rank my top three below, then follow with the others in the order they performed.

1. Whitney and Shannon: The sisters who hadn’t performed together in more than a year auditioned with Fleetwood Mac’s (Stevie Nick’s) “Landslide.” Let’s just say you’d never know they hadn’t performed together in a year. Midway through the performance, Adam Levine, Miley Cyrus and Blake Shelton turned around almost simultaneously. Before the song ended, they were joined by Alicia Keys. Adam called their performance “beautiful.” Blake said they sounded “so country” and reminds the sisters how well he did with the Swon Brothers. Alicia says “the world needs the two of you.” The sisters joined Team Alicia.

2. Courtney Harrell: The songwriter who’s used to being in the background stepped to the foregound by singing James Bay’s “Let It Go.” A solid vocal prompted a chair turn from Blake Shelton. then Courtney hit a heck of a glory note, prompting Alicia Keys to pound the button that spins her chair. Blake complimented her on a “brilliant voice.” Alicia Keys said she got a very emotional feeling from Courtney’s performance. Courtney decided to join Team Blake.

3. Blaine Long: The 40-year-old auditioned with John Hiatt’s “Have a Little Faith in Me.” Blaine’s vocals soared on the second verse and by the time he finished singing Blake Shelton, Miley Cyrus and Adam Levine were all facing in his direction. Alicia’s team was already full at the time. All the coaches praised Blaine’s performance, urging him to take the last spot on their teams. Blaine opted for Team Blake.

The Others

Johnny Rez: The 25-year-old auditioned with “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls. He has a unique sound and hits an impressive falsetto note, but the coaches stayed put until the last note, when both Adam Levine and Blake Shelton turned their chairs. Adam complimented him on a “rich, emotional tone.” Johnny joined Team Adam.

Maye Thomas: The 27-year-old Nashville residents sang “Roses” by the Chainsmokers. Her vocal prompted an early chair turn from Adam Levine and when Maye did a bit of a rap breakdown in the middle of the song, Miley Cyrus turned. Miley said she wants to make Maye the “gothic Dolly Parton.” Maye joined Team Miley.

Kylie Rothfield: The 23-year-old performed One Republic’s “Wherever I Go,” doing a stripped down version of the song. It’s a version of the song that put Kylie’s voice front and center. But Blake Shelton and Alicia Keys didn’t turn until the last minute. Blake said “there was never a moment you didn’t have me” during that performance. Alicia complimented Kylie on being “so completely yourself.” Kylie decided to join Team Alicia.

Natasha Bure: The daughter of actress Candace Cameron Bure auditioned with Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” She provided several interesting vocal wrinkles during the performance and got a chair turn from Adam at the end of the first verse. Since he was the only coach to turn, she automatically became a member of Team Adam.

Ponciano Seoane: He auditioned with just two spots left on the show — one on Team Adam Levine and one on Team Miley Cyrus — and enticed both of those coaches to turn for his performance of Phillip Phillips’ “Home.” Adam liked the emotion in Ponciano’s performance. Ponciano opted to join Team Adam.

Josette Diaz: The 17-year-old performed “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber at a time when only Miley Cyrus had a spot left n her team. And she had already bypassed a couple of singers when Josette’s crystal clear vocals captured her attention, though she waited until Josette’s impressive a cappella ending to turn her chair.

Montaged singers:

Belle Jewel, 18, sang “Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds and landed a spot on Team Alicia.

Tarra Layne, 30, sang Black Velvet by Alannah Myles and landed a spot on Team Blake.

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J-Soul, 26, sang Stay with Me by Sam Smith and landed a spot on Team Adam.

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Charity Bowden, 17, sang “Girl Crush” by Little Big Town and landed on Team Miley.

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