Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Tonight marks the final battle round episode of The Voice.

When the dust settles and Blake Shelton uses the final available save, we’ll be left with 20 singers, five per team.

Personally, I’m more curious about what follows that.

In the past, the live playoffs have featured solo performances by each of the remaining 20 artists. The public has voted two through; each coach has saved a third contestant to leave us with a final 12.

The NBC Entertainment schedule indicates those playoffs will begin during Tuesday’s one-hour show, but The Voice has also been touting a new playoff format, so I’m not quite sure what to expect.

That’s not the case tonight.

Among the contestants we haven’t heard from in the second battle round …

Team Adam: Jake Barker, Britnee Camelle, Kat Perkins and Dawn and Hawkes.

Team Blake: Kaleigh Glanton and Ryan Whyte Maloney, a pair of four-chair turn recipients who will apparently go head to head.

Team Shakira: Clarissa Serna and Dani Moz.

Team Usher: Bria Kelly, Madilyn Paige, Melissa Jiminez and Music Box.

TEAM SHAKIRA:

Clarissa Serna vs. Dani Moz: Clarissa Serna, 27, of Corpus Christi, Texas, turned four chairs in the battle round by singing “Zombie.” In the battle round, she defeated Jeremy Briggs. Dani Moz of Delmar, N.Y., turned just one chair with her blind audition, but turned in an impressive battle round performance, besting DeShawn Washington.

Shakira paired these two ladies because she says they’re her powerhouse singers. We didn’t see Dani’s blind audition, but she was really impressive in the first battle round. And the gals decide to sing “Perfect” by Pink. Kelly Clarkson’s “Catch My Breath” was another of the choices. Clarissa’s going to relate this song to the teens she works with who are bullied. Tackling a Pink song is a pretty tough job, but Clarissa and Dani did a pretty nice job. And they sure do have powerhouse vocals. Dani hit a couple of huge notes midway through, but Clarissa showed a little more grit, which is necessary in selling the song. They both ripped into that tune over the last minute or so. Both Blake and Usher say they would give the verdict to Dani. My choice: Dani showed just a little more spark, so I’d pick her in an upset. Shakira’s decision: Dani.

The steal? Clarissa does not get stolen.

TEAM ADAM

Kat Perkins vs. Dawn and Hawkes: Dawn and Hawkes of Austin, Texas, only turned two chair with their blind audition, but their version of “I’ve Just Seen a Face” was the most popular on iTunes of any song from that round. The duo consists of Miranda Dawn and Chris Hawkes. They defeated Josh Murley in the battle round. Kat Perkins, 33, of Minneapolis, Minn., turned three chairs in the blind audition with a spirited rendition of “Gold Dust Woman.” The former lead singer for Scarlet Haze defeated Patrick Thompson in the battle round.

This match-up baffles me. As Miranda Dawn pointed out, she and Chris Hawkes are on the softer side as vocalists. There’s nothing soft about Kat’s vocal side. They’ve decided to tackle “Suddenly I See.” I still don’t like battle rounds for a duo. I just don’t think they allow a duo to shine. I’m not sure this was a very good idea, Adam. These contestants seem so mismatched on stage. Miranda and Chris are doing their best to maintain their loving duo vibe, while Kat is dancing all around them doing her rocker chick best to steal the spotlight. Vocally, everyone sounded fine. The voices just didn’t match. Usher thinks Dawn and Hawkes needed to do more to command the stage. Not sure what they were supposed to do standing behind those mikes. My decision: Kat stole the spotlight, so I’d pick her, though I think this format was unfair to Dawn and Hawkes. Adam’s decision: Kat. He says he thinks she’s one of the show’s most under-rated contestants.

The steal? Dawn and Hawkes are not stolen.

TEAM USHER

Melissa Jimenez versus Music Box: Melissa Jimenez, 29, of Fort Lee, N.J., turned two chairs in the blind audition, then defeated Brittnee Camelle in one the most spirited of the battle round matches. Brittnee was then stolen. Ayesha “Music Box” Brooks, 28, of Seattle, adotped her stage name as a means of dealing with stage fright. Her blind audition landed her a spot on Team Shakira. She lost in the battle round to Deja Hall, but was stolen by Usher.

OK, congrats Usher, this pairing makes a lot more sense. Melissa takes command during the song selection process, and the ladies decide to sing Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fire.” Chris Martin is encouraging both gals to commit more to the lyrics. Well, this is definitely the best battle round we’ve seen so far tonight. Melissa delivered a spot-on, crystal clear vocal. Music Box displays a slightly more unique tone. Both delivered plenty of vocal fireworks. And they came together for a really nice finish. Shakira says she’d give the match to Music Box, so does Blake. Adam says Melissa had more good moments. My decision: Melissa. I think she’s just the better natural performer, and I haven’t forgotten that sultry performance from the first battle round. Usher’s decision: He delares Melissa the winner.

The steal? Music Box is not stolen.

TEAM BLAKE

Kaleigh Glanton versus Ryan Whyte Maloney: Ryan Whyte Maloney, 33, of Traverse City, Mich., sang “Lights” for his audition and turned all four chairs. He defeated Cali Tucker in the battle round. Kaleigh Glanton, 20, Wichita, Kan., had all four coaches turn for her rendition of “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” in the blind auditions. she defeated Noah Lis in the first battle round.

The pair of four-chair turn recipients decide to sing “Easy” by Rascal Flatts. Blake likes the fact that they’re challenging themselves with a country song. This is a certainty — the loser goes home because Blake is the only coach with a save and he can’t use it on one of his own singers. Not a fan of this tune. I am a fan of Kaleigh’s voice, though she hit a couple of bum notes on her first solo part. Ryan opened a little rough, but came on strong and added a wrinkle there near the end that might tilt the match in his favor. You can tell he’s a polished solo performer. Usher, Adam and Shakira all said they would give the battle to Ryan. My choice: Ryan takes the match. The performance, as Shakira said, seemed more natural for him. He’s clearly a showman at heart. Blake’s decision: He awards the battle to Ryan.

The save? As noted earlier, Kaleigh can’t be stolen.

TEAM ADAM

Brittnee Camelle versus Jake Barker: Brittnee Camelle, 23, of Lawrenceville, Ga., turned two chairs in the blind auditions. She lost her Team Usher battle round to Melissa Jiminez, but was stolen by Adam. Jake Barker, 28, of St. Petersburg, Fla., also started out on Team Usher after turning three chairs in the blind audition. He lost his battle round to Stevie Jo before being stolen by Adam.

Adam matches his steals against one another, ensuring that one will advance. I’m a little surprised Adam didn’t match up Brittnee and Music Box and then throw Jake up against Dawn and Hawkes. His first battle tonight suffered because of mismatched singers. Let’s see what happens on this one. They’ll sing Usher’s “Climax,” so they’ll be singing a song by the artist who initially coached them. Not crazy about Jake’s falsetto at the start of this song. Brittnee seems far more comfortable in this song’s shoes, though Jake got stronger as the song progressed. Brittnee also seemed the more comfortable performer. Shakira and Blake both give the edge to Jake based on that falsetto I didn’t like. My choice: Brittnee. Adam’s decision: He picks Jake, saying there’s just something about him that makes him want to see more.

The steal? Brittnee does not get stolen.

TEAM USHER

Bria Kelly versus Madilyn Paige: Bria Kelly, 18, of Smithfield, Va., sang “Steamroller Blues” and turned four chairs in the blind audition. She defeated Tess Boyer in the battle round, though Tess was saved by Blake Shelton. Madilyn Paige, 16, of Provo, Utah, turned two chairs with her blind audition performance of “Titanium,” then defeated Tanner James in the battle round. Her songs have been among the best performing on iTunes.

Really surprised Usher would be willing to cut loose one of these two by pairing them up. Every song Madilyn has released has done well on iTunes. Bria was one of the absolute stars of the blind auditions. And one of them will wind up perhaps haunting him as a member of Team Blake. They decide to sing “I’ll Stand by You.” This is a song Madilyn could excel at, and one that will force Bria to show more control than we’ve seen in her first two performances. Really nice job by both young ladies. It seemed like Bria was just waiting for the chorus to begin so she could cut loose. She has a really big voice. Madilyn, once again, pulled it together, seemed invested in the performance and didn’t allow herself to get pulled into a power battle. Adam and Blake decline to choose a winner. My pick: Madilyn. I think she has a more unique tone and will register more with voters. Usher’s decision: He picks Bria Kelly.

The steal? Of course, Blake steals Madilyn Paige, vowing to make a performer out of her. Hmm, does she remind anyone of Danielle Bradbery?