Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Hey, I don’t know about anyone else, but I was impressed by Dan + Shay in their first season as Voice coaches. Especially by their enthusiasm and their playful combativeness when competing for artists.

They also have perhaps the most intriguing team heading in the battle round, one loaded with potential and one where I won’t be surprised if artists who flew under the radar a bit during the blinds winds up doing very well on the show.

Among those, I’ll be paying particularly close attention to veteran country singer Karen Waldrup, young male country artists Ryan Coleman and Ducote Talmage and female singer-songwriter Anya True and her distinctive voice.

In terms of those already on the radar, Madison Curbelo is a great story as a singer who didn’t turn a single chair the first time she tried The Voice, but returned and turned all four. Kyle Schuesler turned three chairs in nabbing the final spot on Team Dan + Shay and was one of the most impressive male vocalists in the blinds.

Matches we’ll see on the opening night of the blinds include Karen Waldrup vs. Ryan Argast from Team Dan + Shay, Asher HaVon vs. Alyssa Crosby and Tae Lewis vs. L. Rodgers from Team Reba, OK3 vs. someone on Team Legend and the already leaked battle between Bryan Olesen and Nathan Chester.

Twenty contestants will be in danger of elimination during the battles. But four will be stolen and another four will receive a playoff pass, meaning 12 contestants will be ousted this round.

With 10 members per team and the playoff pass, The Voice seems to be following its Season 23 format. If that’s the case, five singers per team will advance to the playoffs.

One significant change: three will advance to the live shows compared to two in Season 23. Those singers will be hand picked by their coach.

AJ Harvey, 25, Wichita, Kansas, 2 chairs

Anya True, 17, Encinitas, Calif., 2 chairs

Ducote Talmage, 20, Auburn, Ala., 2 chairs

Frank Garcia, 19, Roma, Texas, 1 chair

Justin and Jeremy Garcia, 17, Millbrae, Calif., 3 chairs

Kyle Schuesler, 19, Huntington Beach, Calif, 3 chairs *** (only 3 spots remained on the show when he auditioned)

Karen Waldrup, 36, Mandeville, La., 2 chairs

Madison Curbelo, 21, Westfield, Mass., 4 chairs

Ryan Argast, 30, Plainfield, Ill., 1 star

Ryan Coleman, 25, Chalfant, Pa., 1 chair