Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Bryan Olesen and Nathan Chester react to the coaches’ feedback following their battle on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Hey, I’m impressed.

When The Voice introduced the playoff pass last spring, the coaches clearly had no idea how to handle it.

Doled out after the winner of the battle was declared, they treated it like a consolation award rather than the prize it is — a chance to skip the knockouts and head straight to the playoffs.

Monday night showed the coaches have figured it out. John Legend awarded his playoff pass to Bryan Olesen, who’d have to be considered the front-runner to win Season 25 at this point.

Reba McEntire awarded her to L. Rodgers, another veteran singer with lots of performing experience who can afford to skip the knockouts without missing a beat.

The Voice aired six battles on the opening night of the round Monday. Advancing via battle victories were Tae Lewis, Nathan Chester, Asher HaVon, Zoe Levert, Karen Waldrup and Kamalei Kawa’a.

Alyssa Crosby earned the first steal of Season 25 and joined Team Chance as a result.

Eliminated during Monday’s show were Ryan Argast, Gabriel Goes and OK3, the female pop trio that had turned four chairs with a fun performance during the blinds.

Here’s a recap of Monday’s show.

BEST OF THE NIGHT

Team Legend

The match: Bryan Olesen vs. Nathan Chester
The background: Bryan, 49, turned 3 chairs in the blinds singing One Republic’s “Love Runs Out.” Nathan turned 2 singing Al Green’s “Take Me to the River.”
The song: “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele
The feedback: None of the other coaches ventured an opinion on who should win. John complimented them on delivering a unique version of the song and praised their performance.
The outcome: John advanced Nathan to the knockouts. Reba and Dan + Shay then tried to steal Bryan. Only John interrupted by rewarding Bryan with his playoff pass.
My take: That a cappella opening from Nathan was fabulous. Bryan put a bit too much of a twist on it for my taste. But those guys rocked the stage quite impressively. You can tell they’re both used to putting on a show. Bryan delivered a couple of fabulous glory notes. And that was wonderful strategy by John, using the playoff pass exactly the way it should be, on a veteran singer who is ready to win The Voice now.
More about Bryan Olesen
More about Nathan Chester

THE COACH GOT IT WRONG

Team Legend

The match: OK3 vs. Zoe Levert
The background: OK3 (Sierra Sikes, 23, Kenna Fields, 22, and Courtney Hooker, 25) turned all 4 chairs in the blinds, performing Meghan Trainor’s “Made You Look.” Zoe turned 2 with her version of Taylor Swift’s “Better Man”
The song: “The Bones” by Maren Morris
The feedback: Everyone praised Zoe’s performance for holding her own while going up against a trio. Chance gave her the edge. Dan + Shay gave the edge to OK3.
The outcome: John declared Zoe the winner of the battle in a bit of a surprise. She said she came out and sounded like the lead singer. OK3 was eliminated.
My take: John said he thought Zoe was at a disadvantage because there’s only one of her. I’ve always thought groups are at a major, major disadvantage in The Voice battles because there are too many singers on stage for each to make an impression in such a short period of time. But OK3 made the smart move of relying almost solely on their harmonies. At least I thought it was a smart move. And I thought they should have won the battle. Long-term, I think they would have stood out on the show. Zoe still has to convince me she will on a show with so many standout female vocalists.
More on OK3
More on Zoe Levert

WHERE WAS THE STEAL?

Team Dan + Shay

The match: Karen Waldrup vs. Ryan Argast
The background: Karen, 36, turned 2 chairs in the blinds singing Dee Messina’s “Bye Bye.” Ryan, 30, turned 1 singing Dan + Shay’s “Speechless.
The song: “Save Me the Trouble” by Dan + Shay
The feedback: John called it “so good.” He said he’s mad he didn’t turn for Karen and gave her the edge. Reba called it a great duet. Chance loved the “steamy” ending.
The outcome: Dan + Shay awarded the win to Karen. Shay says he feels like she has the “stuff” to win the show. Ryan was eliminated. My guess is no steals were left when they performed.
My take: Ryan showed off nice rasp and turns in a passionate performance. Again, you can tell these two are veteran performers. But Karen has such an impressive country voice. And she was playing her part on stage perfectly. I think Dan + Shay made the right choice. I’m just surprised Ryan wasn’t stolen. Perhaps the coaches decided one veteran rocker on the show is enough.
More on Karen Waldrup
More on Ryan Argast

A WELL-DESERVED STEAL

Team Reba

The match: Alyssa Crosby vs. Asher HaVon
The background: Asher HaVon, 31, turned 3 chairs in the blinds singing Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain.” Alyssa, 32, turned Reba’s chair with her version of Alanis Morissette’s “Hand in Pocket.”
The song: “We Don’t Need Another Hero” by Tina Turner.
The feedback: Chance gave Asher the edge, but said both turned in strong performances. John called it “so, so good” and said Reba should be “very proud” of their performance.
The outcome: Reba awarded the win to Asher. She says she thinks he has a good chance of winning. Chance jumped in and stole Alyssa. She breaks down in tears in reaction. He said Alyssa deserved the steal for going neck to neck with such an outstanding singer.
My take: Asher has an impressive, deep unique tone, but I’m having trouble understanding his lyrics. Alyssa, on the other hand, delivered attitude from the opening note she sang. And, I thought, held her own against Asher’s undeniable vocal firepower.
More on Asher HaVon
More on Alyssa Crosby

THE COACHES GOT IT RIGHT

Team Reba

The match: Tae Lewis vs. L. Rodgers
The background: Tae, 31, turned 2 chairs in the blinds singing Keith Urban’s “Somebody Like You.” L. Rodgers, 34, was the last singer to join Team Reba, singing “Wild Horses” by The Rolling Stones.
The song: “We Don’t Fight Anymore” by Carly Pearce (ft. Chris Stapleton)
The feedback: Chance called the performance insane. Dan + Shay didn’t offer an opinion. John gave a slight edge to Tae, but said neither should go home. Reba called the performance more than she could wish for.
The outcome: Reba awarded the win to Tae. Chance was about to steal L. Then Reba pushed her playoff pass button for L.
My take: After Tae’s opening lines I thought L. might be in trouble because the country song is more down his lane. But L. sounds very good on it. She’s got some natural fire in that big voice of hers. Vocally, I thought she was more impressive. In terms of selling the song’s story, I thought Tae was a bit stronger. Someone should have advised against L. wearing black feathers to sing this song. Nice move by Reba. Again, L. is a polished, experienced performer who can skip the knockouts and come back strong in the playoffs.
More on Tae Lewis
More on L. Rodgers

Team Chance

The match: Gabriel Goes vs. Kamalei Kawa’a
The background: Kamalei, 26, turned 2 chairs with his performance of Bob Marley’s “The Redemption Song.” Gabriel, 21, turned Chance’s chair singing “What I Got” by Sublime.
The song: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
The feedback: Shay complimented them on their positive energy. John gave the edge to Kamalei. He was the only coach that ventured an opinion. Everyone loved Gabriel’s energy and joyous attitude on stage.
The outcome: Chance awarded the win to Kamalei, saying he seemed a little more committed to the lyrics and the message of the song. Gabriel was eliminated.
My take: At first, I thought Chance had made a strategic mistake by pairing two singers with a total of three chair turns. But pairing the two singers from Hawaii on this version of the song probably produced a better performance. I thought Gabriel started stronger, but Kamalei eventually won my over with his stronger vocals. So Chance went with the stronger singer. But Gabriel’s charisma might have attracted more votes should either make the live shows.
More on Gabriel Goes
More on Kamalei Kawa’a

Alyssa Crosby reacts to being stolen by Chance the Rapper on The Voice. (NBC Photo)