Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Tonight, the final six singers will earn their spots in the live shows on The Voice.

And, once again, we’re in for some odd pairings.

For instance, Christina has just two acts that haven’t battled — the country-pop duo The Line and rapper Moses Stone.

Likewise, Blake has just two singers who haven’t been inside The Voice version of a boxing ring — street performer Naia Kete and country singer Jordan Rager, whom we barely met in the blind auditions.

Meanwhile, one of the more personal stories that hasn’t been resolved yet might be that of Justin Hopkins, the 30-year-old former guitar player in the Carson Daly house band who says he needs something big to happen if he’s going to keep doing music and become a lead singer.

And here we go …

True Colors:  Cee Lo is matching R&B singer WADE against third-generation body shop worker James Massone.  James seems a little stunned by the song choice. “Cyndi Lauper,” he says. “I don’t even know the song that well.”  You have to think WADE has a big edge judging from the rehearsals.  Oh, no, James is in trouble almost immediately.  Meanwhile, WADE’s vocals are silky smooth.  Very nice.  Wow, after hearing those harmonies, I’m wondering if that’s what made Cee Lo cry.  Those two guys don’t sound very good singing together.  That said, James came on strong near the end of the song, while WADE started to struggle in the second half, going off pitch on at least a couple of occasions.  He actually sounded nervous as the song went on.  All three of the other judges thought James won.  Cee Lo awards the win to James.

Love Song:  Adam matches up Nicolle Galyon, who wants to become the first piano-playing country star, against Mathai, who comes from a family of doctors.  Nicolle co-wrote two songs on Lauren Alaina’s debut album, but seems a little intimidated by Mathai’s confidence and showmanship.  Mathai is intimidated by the fact that Nicolle plays piano.  Oops, Adam just booted the piano.  Nicolle looks stunning, and is doing well without the comfort of her piano.  But for such a young performer, Mathai seems wonderfully comfortable on stage and has a unique tone to her voice.  All of the other judges prefer Mathai, who should win this battle round. Adam says he was a little let down by the performance.  He declares Mathai the winner.

Satisfaction:  Here’s one of those odd pairings I was talking about — The Line takes on Moses Stone.  Gotta confess, The Line is among my favorites on this show.  Moses is down for singing “Satisfaction.”  The Line seems a little taken aback by having to perform a rock song.  We haven’t seen them perform since the very first show of the season.  Moses has all the stage presence you could ever ask for.  Unfortunately, he simply isn’t a very good singer.  The Line, excellent singers,  and they’ve clearly succeeded in loosening up on stage too.  OK, odd, but everyone on stage and in the crowd seemed to have a good time.  Cee Lo likes Moses.  Adam and Blake go with The Line based on vocals.  Christina declares the winner to be Moses Stone.  Wow, The Line just got robbed.

“Easy:”   Adam matches Orlando Napier, the blues singer, against Karla Davis, a relative novice to performing.  Orlando is initially bummed because he doesn’t know the song Adam has picked, “Rich Girl.”  Meanwhile, Karla says she dreaded the possibility of being pitted against Orlando.  Once they get in rehearsals, Adam changes the song to “Easy.”  Gotta say, Karla looks a little scared as she takes the stage.  Very nice opening by Orlando.  But Karla has a wonderfully unique tone to her voice.  She seemed to struggle a little on the chorus.  And Orlando seems more comfortable as a performer.  And Adam declares Karla the winner.  Hey, finally, someone I wanted to win one of these battles won tonight.

 “I’m Yours:”   Here we go with another of those unique pairings — Jordan Rager versus street performer Naia Kete.  Naia says she considers the song perfect for her to showcase her vocal abilities; Jordan seems to think the song gives Naia a big edge. But at least Jordan gets to meet Miranda Lambert, his favorite female artist, as a mentor.  And the singing begins.  No doubt, this tune does favor Naia, and she sounds great on it.  Especially when she unleashed her vocal skills on that second verse.  Why, oh, why, did Blake make Jordan sing that song?  All the other judges go with Naia.  And Blake declares Naia the winner.

“Faithfully:”   Cee Lo matches Justin Hopkins, the former Carson Daly band member, against Tony Vincent, a broadway singer who says he’d love to perform pop-rock music.  Justin says he’s intimidated by Tony’s range.  Wow, does everyone who sings bring tears to Cee Lo’s eyes.  This is going to be the best of the night.  Tony is technically excellent.  But, like Cee Lo said, Justin has a roughness to his voice that’s very appealing.  Excellent performance, guys.  Blake and Adam prefer Justin; Christina prefers Tony.  I would pick Justin.  And Cee Lo declares Tony the winner.