Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Tonight, we learn the identity of six more finalists on The Voice.

We already have three, courtesy of Team Blake’s selections last week — Audra McLaughlin, Sisaundra Lewis and Jake Worthington.

Two of the remaining three coaches will select their three finalists tonight.

Who’s still in the running?

Glad you asked:

Team Adam: Kat Perkins, Delvin Choice, Christina Grimmie, Morgan Wallen and Jake Barker.

My picks for finals: Kat, Delvin and Christina.

Team Shakira: Tess Boyer, Kristen Merlin, Deja Hall, Dani Moz and Patrick Thompson.

My guess on who makes the finals: Patrick, Tess, Deja.

Team Usher: Stevie Jo, Melissa Jimenez, T.J. Wilkins, Bria Kelly, Josh Kaufman.

My guess on who makes the finals: T.J., Bria and Josh.

TEAM SHAKIRA:

1. Kristen Merlin, 29, of Hanson, Mass., turned two chairs with her audition performance of Sugarland’s “Something More.” She defeated Lindsay Bruce in the battle round. In the second battle round, she defeated Emily B. They sang “I Can Love You Better.” She’s going to sing “Two Black Cadillacs” by Carrie Underwood. We’ve seen very little of Kristen. She was montaged in both battle rounds. Not sure why The Voice has kept Kristen in hiding. She’s doing a very nice job with this song. I counted four really nice glory notes, two of which she seemed to hold forever. And she showed tons of stage presence during that performance. She even showed a tiny little grit in her voice. Adam Levine calls that one of the best performances of the season. Blake calls it her best and says it “was as flawless” as a live performance can be. Shakira says Kristen “killed it.” Grade: B+

2. Deja Hall, 16, of San Antonio, Texas, turned three chairs in the blind audition, then toppled a singer more than 10 years her senior, defeating Ayesha “Music Box” Brooks in the battle round. She also went up against a more experienced singer in the second battle round, defeating Ddendyl as they performed “Say Something.” She has decided to perform the Jordin Sparks’ hit “Battlefield.” Interesting the first two songs are singles by former American Idols. Deja is doing fine for such a young girl. Best of all, she doesn’t seem intimidated by The Voice stage. She’s also a likable young woman. But vocally, that wasn’t as strong as Kristen and, I’m afraid, won’t be as good as some of the other vocals we hear from Team Shakira members tonight. Blake likes the maturity she’s shown. Usher says she might have over-sang in spots. Adam also compliments her on her progress. Grade: C+

3. Tess Boyer of St. Louis got just Usher to turn for her blind audition. But she was impressive enough in her battle round with Bria Kelly that Blake used one of his two saves on her. And in the second battle round, she was stolen again, this time by Shakira after losing to Jake Worthington. They sang “Have a Little Faith in Me.” Tess has decided to sing “Human.” Remember how far Cole Vosbury went after turning only one chair in last year’s blinds? Tess is looking like she might be that contestant in Season 6. That started off a bit slow, but once she hit the chorus, her voice was crystal clear, as strong as could be. Very, very nice performance. Wonderful control on a wonderful vocal. Adams calls Usher and Blake morons for letting Tess leave their teams. Usher calls her “superhuman.” Blake calls her one of the best singers in the competition. Shakira calls her “the little miracle.: Grade: B+

4. Patrick Thompson, 35, of Festus, Missouri, turned two chairs with his blind audition. He lost to Kat Perkins in a Team Adam battle round, but was stolen by Shakira, who said she couldn’t resist his voice. In the second battle round, he defeated Josh Murley; they performed “Run to You.” He’s decided to sing “Trouble,” saying the song speaks to him. You have to wonder if Patrick might have an edge as the only guy left standing on Team Shakira. He turns in a soulful rendition of that song and sang “she won’t let me go” several times facing Shakira, probably hoping it’s prophetic. He also showed off the grit in his voice that convinced Shakira to steal him in the first place. Adam calls it his shining moment on the stage. Blake says he loves the grit in his voice as well. Shakira says Patrick just delivered the moment to show fans what he’s capable of. She says he “killed it.” I liked it more than I loved it. Grade: B

5. 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. Then she upset Clarissa Serna, the recipient of a four-chair turn, in the second battle round; they sang Pink’s “Perfect.” We didn’t even see Dani’s blind audition, but she’s been impressive since. She’ll sing “Edge of Glory.” She says she’s singing for her musical life. And we’re told she’s going to change up the arrangement. She’s delivering the song sitting at the piano, with a very simple arrangement. Dang, what a vocal! That was excellent from the word go, but that ending was absolutely brilliant. Talk about a powerful voice filled with emotion. That was the best from Team Shakira tonight out of a group of five strong performances. Adam says he hopes her tears are tears of joy. Blake calls it “unbelievable.” Usher loved the overwhelming emotion she delivered. Shakira called her a true artist who made her connect with the song. Grade: A–

My picks for advancing on Team Shakira: Dani Moz, Tess Boyer, Kristen Merlin. But I won’t be shocked it Patrick Thompson steals one of those spots.

Shakira advances: Tess Boyer, Kristen Merlin, Dani Moz.

TEAM ADAM

1. Delvin Choice, 24, of Greenville, S.C., turned four chairs in his blind audition after failing to land a spot on the show in a previous season. He defeated Caleb Elder in the battle round. In the second battle round, he went head to head with another singer who turned four chairs in the blind auditions and defeated Josh Kaufman. They sang “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours.” He sees himself as a R&B/soul performer, so he’s going to sing “Let’s Be Together.” Delvin started off a little slow, showed some pitch issues and might have been struggling a wee bit with nerves. But once he got off his stool, he found his groove. And he certainly added his fair share of embellishments to that tune. Usher compliments him on a unique voice and says he’s a threat on the show. Shakira calls it “delicious.” Adam says he still can’t believe no one turned around for Delvin the first time he tried out. Grade: B

2. 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. In the second battle round, he was pitted against another stolen contestant, Brittnee Camelle, and prevailed when they performed Usher’s “Climax.” And Jake is going to try singing a coach’s song for a second time. This time, he’ll perform Maroon 5’s “She Will Be Loved.” Not sure singing a coach’s song is going to work out quite as well for him this time around. I wasn’t a big fan of that. The opening was a little rough. Jake stepped it up on the chorus, but I still think he paled in comparison to the original. But he’s getting strong comments from the other coaches, including Shakira, who said she wasn’t sure she’d like someone else singing Adam’s song, but enjoyed Jake’s performance. Adam notes that Jake has still performed live only a few times and has shown great progress. Grade: B–

3. 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. In the second battle round, she was pitted against the duo of Dawn and Hawkes and prevailed; they sang “Suddenly I See.” Kat will sing “Open Arms” by Journey, calling it her father-daughter tribute. And she turned it into a really nice tribute, showing off the strength in her voice and some real control. She was pitch perfect even when she was belting out the big notes. Usher called her performance “flawless.” Shakira called the performance “committed.” Blake Shelton calls it “open lungs” her voice was so strong. Grade: B+

4. Morgan Wallen, 20, of Knoxville, Tenn., turned two chairs in the blind audition, then defeated The Brothers Walker in a battle round match we didn’t get to see. He sang “Collide” in the blinds. He lost to Stevie Jo in the second battle round, singing “Story of My Life,” but was stolen by Adam Levine. He’s going to go country for this performance, singing “Stay” by Florida Georgia Line. Nice grit in this guy’s voice, but he faces an uphill battle to make the finals on Team Adam. To his credit, Morgan hit a couple of really nice glory notes over the course of the performance. He also hit a couple of rough patches on a team where we haven’t heard many pitch problems. Usher calls it a great performance. Blake likes his blend of country and rock. Shakira says he’s shown great progress. Adam calls him “excellent.” Grade: C+

5. Christina Grimmie, 19, of Marelton, N.J., turned four chairs in the blind auditions with a fine version of “Wrecking Ball;” then defeated Joshua Howard in the battle round. She scored another win in battle round two, topping Sam Behymer when they performed “Counting Stars.” She’s going to sing “I Won’t Give Up” in honor of her mom, who has fought breast cancer three times. Love the tone of this young ladies voice when she isn’t belting. Her performance brings Adam to his feet. She just showed off incredible range over the course of that song. From singing soft to belting, she was spot on from start to finish. Dang, now I know why she already has so many fans. Blake calls her the best on Team Adam. Shakira called her “perfect.” Adam says he’s “on fire” he’s so happy with her performance. Grade: A

My picks for Team Adam: I think this one is pretty easy — Christina Grimmie, Delvin Choice, Kat Perkins.

Adam advances: Christina Grimmie, Delvin Choice, Kat Perkins.