Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Get ready for three nights of The Voice this week, with two teams performing in the live playoffs on Monday, two teams performing on Tuesday and the results being revealed on Wednesday. Remember, two singers advance based on fan votes; then each coach selects a third singer to move forward.

By the time Wednesday’s episode ends, the field of 20 will have been whittled to 12 finalists.

Check back all three nights. I’ll be blogging live throughout. Now for a look at the members of Team Adam and some predictions …

Chris Jamison

Background: From Pittsburgh, Pa., he was 20 at the time of his audition and earned money delivering mail at Capital University in Ohio, where he also joined the rock ensemble. He was putting together a band to play corporate events and weddings pre-Voice.
Blind audition: He sang John Mayer’s “Gravity” and prompted all four coaches to turn their chairs.
Battle round: He defeated four-chair turn recipient Jonathan Wyndham; they performed “Young Girls” by Bruno Mars.
Knockout round: He defeated another four-chair turn recipient, Blessing Offor, with a performance of Otis Redding’s “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.”

Damien Lawson

Background: From Monroe, La., he was 35 when he auditioned. He’s the TSA agent who had a co-worker gunned down at LAX and sang at the funeral. Back in 2007, he was a runner-up on “Gifted,” a Christian singing competition.
Blind audition: All four coaches turned their chairs when he sang Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.”
Battle round: Defeated Kelli Douglas; they sang Otis Redding’s “Knock on Wood.”
Knockout round: Defeated Toia Jones with his performance of “How Do I Live” by LeAnn Rimes.

Matt McAndrew

Background: From Philadelphia, Pa., Matt was 23 when he auditioned. A singer-songwriter, he taught music lessons at Bach to Rock and released an impressive album called “View of the Pines” earlier this year.
Blind audition: He sang “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri and enticed three judges to turn their chairs.
Battle round: Defeated Ethan Bulter; they performed Coldplay’s “Yellow.”
Knockout round: Defeated Rebekah Samarin with a performance of Train’s “Drops of Jupiter,” but only a snippet of the match aired.

Mia Pfirrman

Background: From Temple City, Calif., Mia was 19 when she auditioned. Her parents were in a band called “September” and she hails from a musical family. She said she’s hoping to find musical direction on The Voice.
Blind audition: She got all four coaches to turn their chairs for her cover of Katy Perry’s “Unconditionally.”
Battle round: Defeated Beth Spangler; they performed “I Turn to You” by Christina Aguilera. Beth was stolen.
Knockout round: Defeated Allesandra Castronovo with a performance of “Human” by Christina Perri.

Taylor Phelan

Background: From Sherman, Texas, he was 25 when he auditioned. Performed with a Chicago-based indie rock band called The Canes; they released an EP in 2012, but Taylor decided to find a more settled job after he and his wife had a daughter.
Blind audition: All four coaches turned their chairs when he sang The Neighbourhood’s “Sweater Weather.”
Battle round: Defeated Jordy Searcy; they performed “Breakeven” by The Script.
Knockout round: Sang “Rather Be” by Clean Bandit, but dropped the Team Pharrell match to Luke Wade. No problem, three coaches tried to steal Taylor, who decided to join Team Adam.

Prediction:

This team is stacked. Four singers got all four coaches to turn their chairs in the blind auditions. Yet I have a hunch the one who didn’t — Matt McAndrew — just might be the team’s biggest threat. Many of the singers on Season 7 are searching for a musical identity. He seems to already own one.

My hunch is that he’ll be joined in the finals by Chris Jamison, who has a strong social media following, and Mia Pfirrman, because I suspect Adam might want to diversify his team heading into Top 12 week. When it comes time for him to pick a third singer to advance, he can’t go wrong. This team is that talented.

For a look at where all the contestants rank on social media, head here.