Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Team Legend on The Voice, including, from left, Bryan Olesen, Zoe Levert, Mafe, Nathan Chester and Kamalei Kawa’a. (NBC Photo)

The playoffs begin Monday night on The Voice with performances by Team Legend and Team Dan + Shay.

Each team is down to five singers, three knockout round winners, the playoff pass recipient and a singer stolen during the knockouts.

Monday night, all five will perform solo. Then John Legend will handpick three singers who advance to the live shows, which begin May 6.

Here’s a look at the five remaing members of Team Legend, followed by my prediction on who advances.

Bryan Olesen, 49, turned 3 chairs in the blinds singing One Republic’s “Love Runs Out. He ‘lost’ his battle to Nathan Chester, but then received the playoff pass. They performed “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele. As a result, Bryan sat out the knockout round.

Mafe, 22, Miami, turned 4 chairs in the blinds, performing “Besame Mucho.” She then won her battle with Rivers Grayson. They sang “You’ve Got a Friend” by Carole King. Mafe then won her knockout with fellow four-chair turn recipient Gene Taylor. She performed “Almost is Never Enough” by Ariana Grande.

Nathan Chester, 27, of Chicago, turned 2 chairs in the blinds, singing Al Green’s “Take Me to the River.” He then ‘won’ his battle with Byran Olesen, who got the playoff pass. They performed “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele. He then won his knockout with Val T. Webb, a another four-chair turn recipient, performing Elvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love.”

Zoe Levert, 20, of New Orleans, turned 2 chairs in the blinds with her version of Taylor Swift’s “Better Man.” She then won her battle with the pop trio OK3. They performed “The Bones” by Maren Morris. Zoe then won her knockout match with Jackie Romeo, drawing praise for her performance of The Chicks’ “Cowboy Take Me Away.”

Kamalei Kawa’a, 26, from Hawaii, turned 2 chairs in the blinds with his performance of Bob Marley’s “The Redemption Song.” He then won his battle match with Gabriel Goes. They performed an island-vibe version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Kamalei was stolen by Team Legend in the knockouts after a tender performance of John’s song “All of Me.”

Prediction: We haven’t seen Byran Olesen perform since the March 18 show. That’s right, more than a month ago. He’ll quickly remind us why he’s still a Season 22 front-runner. Nathan Chester’s cruise ship experience has served him well. There’s no reason to think that will change in the playoffs. The third spot will likely go to Mafe, who just won a four-chair showdown in the knockouts.