Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Members of Team Blake in the knockout round on The Voice include, from left, Taylor Brashears, James David Carter, Tanner Linford, Grant Ganzer, Griffin, Allison Bray, Reagan James, Jessie Pitts. (NBC Photo)

The Voice’s country coach heads into the knockout round with three country singers on his team.

And if Blake Shelton has been paying any attention to how well country singers have done on this show — and you’d better believe he has — my guess is he’ll try to get at least two of those singers to the live rounds.

My prediction: James David Carter is a lock to make the live shows. Sassy Taylor Brashears is a good second bet.

Beyond that, I’m hoping to see Reagan James and Jessie Pitts advance. Reagan looks like the top under-18 among this year’s cast; Jessie has one of the show’s most distinct voices.

Remember, four of the eight singers below will advance to the live rounds, along with the singer Blake steals during the knockout round.

Follow the links below and you’ll find a full bio on each singer as well as video of pre-Voice performances.

James David Carter, 34, of Atlanta, Ga., auditioned with Kevin Sharp’s hit, “Nobody Knows,” and earned a quick four-chair turn with his stellar vocals. In the battle round, he defeated another country singer, Craig Wayne Boyd, who turned a pair of chairs in the blinds. For the battle, they performed “Wave on Wave” by Pat Green.

Reagan James, 15, of Burleson, Texas, auditioned with Ed Sheeran’s “Give Me Love,” turned a pair of chairs and deserved better. In the battle round, she defeated Kensington Moore, who turned one chair with her blind audition. They sang Lorde’s “Team.”

Returning contestant Allison Bray, 18, of Louisville, Ky., auditioned with Kacey Musgraves’ “Merry Go Round” and turned a trio of chairs. In the battle round, she defeated Fernanda Bosch, who turned two chairs with her blind audition. They sang Taylor Swift’s “Sparks Fly.”

Jessie Pitts, 18, of Birmingham, Ala., auditioned with Brandi Carlile’s “The Story,” showing off a beautiful, delicate and distinctive voice that prompted a pair of chair turns. She landed a spot on Team Gwen, but lost her battle round to Ryan Sill after a performance of “I Need Your Love” by Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding. Blake stole her at that point.

Taylor Brashears, 21, of Nashville, Tenn., decided to audition with the Loretta Lynn classic “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man).” She turned three chairs. In the battle round, she defeated Bree Fondacaro. They performed “You’re No Good” by Linda Ronstadt.

Grant Ganzer, 16, of Johnston, Iowa, auditioned with “Unaware” by Allen Stone. Blake Shelton was the only coach to turn around for his performance. In the battle round, he went up against John Martin, a three-chair turn recipient, and scored an upset victory. They performed OneRepublic’s “Stop and Stare.”

Tanner Linford, 17, of Kaysville, Utah, auditioned with Alison Krauss’ “When You say Nothing at All.” Blake Shelton turned at the last moment, giving the returning contestant a spot on the show. In the battle round, he defeated fellow teen Justin Johnes. They performed One Direction’s “You and I.”

Griffin, 23, of Greenville, S.C., auditioned with a fun, upbeat version of Michael Buble’s “It’s a Beautiful Day.” He turned three chairs. He lost his Team Pharrell battle round match to four-chair turn recipient Luke Wade. But their performance of “Maybe I’m Amazed” was so good, both Blake and Gwen wanted to steal Griffin. He decided to join Team Blake.