Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Tori Kelly with Adam Levine on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

I’m sure everyone knows by now that she’ll be advising the members of Team (Boyfriend) Blake Shelton.

The other mentors for the battle round include Tori Kelly for Team Adam, Sean “Diddy” Combs for Team Pharrell and Patti Labelle for Team Christina.

Team Adam:

Katie Basden vs. Ryan Quinn: Well, Katie is getting lots of airtime tonight. She just landed the final spot on Team Adam. Now she’s being featured in a battle round against a guy who turned four chairs with his blind audition. He’s going to have them sing “Maybe I’m Amazed.” Sorry, I’m going to have trouble getting excited about yet another version of this song on a singing show. Tori and Adam are reminding Ryan to make sure he engages the audience. Katie is battling through a cold, but Tori loves the rasp in her voice.

That was a really great opening battle. Ryan got to show off all his range, but Katie certainly held her own when they were exchanging glory notes at the end of that song. Blake says he’d give the win to Katie. Christina and Pharrell didn’t really offer a verdict. I’d give the win to Katie, but that’s largely because I’m so impressed with her original music. And Adam picks Ryan as the winner, saying his potential is limitless. And Katie will be stolen, by either Christina or Blake. Katie joins Team Blake.

Team Blake

Brittney Lawrence vs. Paxton Ingram: Brittney is the gal who’s tried out for The Voice eight times. Paxton is the former dancer we met on the first blind audition episode. They’ll sing “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” Blake says it’s moments like this that he wanted Gwen as his advisor because Paxton and Brittney are pop singers. Gwen says she impressed by Brittney’s tone, but notes that Paxton is a natural performer with tons of energy.

This was a great song choice by Blake. And Paxton and Brittney are delivering a very entertaining performance. Brittney certainly has a big voice with lots of range. But Paxton is a real natural on stage. You can see him as a pop star. I’m give the win to Paxton. Christina and Pharrell also say they’d give the edge to Paxton. Blake calls Paxton a vocal ninja. Blake awards the win to Paxton. No one pushes to save Brittney, meaning she’s eliminated from the show.

Team Christina:

Bryan Bautista versus Malik Heard: Bryan is the usher who gained national attention singing the national anthem, failed to turn a chair in Season 9, but did much better in Season 10. Malik is the former athlete who earned chair turns form Pharrell and Christina. They’ll sing “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World.” Another song done way too often on these shows. Christina says she’s impressed by both singers range. Patti Labelle says they’re equally great.

And, yep, they turned in a very good performance of the song. Wow, both of them poured tons of passion into that. Bryan showed a little more range and control. But Malik was belting glory notes throughout that performance. I’d give the win to Bryan by the narrowest of margins. Pharrell and Adam are already lobbying for the steal that they say is coming after Christina makes her decision. Christina calls it “toe-to-toe greatness” and says she’s the only loser in this battle. She awards the win to Byran. She calls him a great complete package.

But all three of the other coaches want to steal Malik. Adam thinks he could be a front-runner in the competition. Pharrell promises to empower Malik. Blake says Malik could win the show. Malik decides to join Team Pharrell.