Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Look at that, we’re four episodes into Season 3.

And The Voice judges are still wearing the same outfits they were wearing in last Monday’s premiere.

Sloppy production. Just plain sloppy.

The good news is that these judges are very entertaining, as they just reminded us again at the start of tonight’s show.

So, let’s meet some contestants …

Melanie Martinez, 17, Baldwin, N.Y.: She likes photography as well as music and says she’s always been the one who didn’t look like everyone else. Still doesn’t with hair that is part reddish, brown and part black. As a singer, she thinks she’s good at interpreting songs in different ways. She’ll sing Britney Spears’ “Toxic.” And she’s doing a unique version of the dance tune, on acoustic guitar. Adam and Blake spin their chairs around quickly. They’re soon joined by Cee Lo. Oh, we just got a closeup of Melanie’s feet. She’s playing a tambourine, too. Blake says he thinks “she’s a star,” with a unique sound and look. And she chooses Adam, who just landed one of the most unique contestants we’ve met so far.

Cupid, 32, Lafayette, La.: Here’s the guy who came up with the popular line dance “Cupid’s Shuffle” in 2006. “It became viral. Next thing I know, it sold 2 million copies.” Unfortunately, Cupid wasn’t able to turn the song into a musical career. Now, Cupid wants to be known as more than “a one-hit wonder.” He says he’d love to be a three- or four-hit wonder. Regardless, he’s going to sing “Cupid’s Shuffle” during his audition. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work and none of the judges spin their chairs.

Brian Scartocci, 26, Austin, Texas: Here’s a guy who married his high school sweetheart and has two children, but says his marriage was crumbling by 2010 because they’d gotten married too young. He’s had to take jobs other than singing because music wasn’t paying the bills, but says he also wants to show his children how to pursue a dream. He’s singing “Isn’t She Lovely.” Except for an ill-advised scream, there was nothing really noteworthy about that performance, but all three male judges turned their chairs. After some very humorous competition between the judges, Brian picks Adam.

Beat Frequency, Vancouver, Wash: A husband and wife team — Shawn Lewis, 35 and Natasha Neuschwander, 28 — met in church and do music full time. Sean previously worked in a Christian rock band. Natasha says their dreams are on the line with their performance on The Voice. They’ll sing “E.T.” And they’ve barely started when Christina spins her chair. And it looks like they’ll be hers because none of the other judges turned around. Even Adam, who didn’t spin around, calls them the best duo so far.

Tyler Lillestol, 23, Riverside, Calif.: His two passions are baseball and singing. He’s now decided to pursue singing because he realized he probably didn’t have a future in baseball. Given his background, he got the invitation to perform on The Voice after singing the national anthem at Dodger Stadium. He’s going to sing Usher’s “U Got It Bad.” Interesting choice for a white guy who looks like Tyler does. Unfortunately for Tyler, no one spins.

Liz Davis, 25, Madison, Mississippi: She likes fishing. She likes to ride four-wheelers. And, yep, she’s a country gal from Nashville, who’s working lots of odd jobs while working for her break in music. Now she’s hoping to be the first country singer to win The Voice. She’s going to sing “Here for the Party.” And her take-no-prisoners attitude gets Christina and Adam to spin around in a heartbeat. At the last second, the country judge spins for the country singer. And Liz picks Blake.

J.R. Aquino, 24, Anchorage, Alaska: This guy says he doesn’t live in an igloo. He doesn’t even ice fish. He does sing, though there isn’t much of a music scene in Alaska. So he turned to YouTube and says he’s attracted 45 million views for his videos. He’ll sing “Just the Way You Are.” And it’s obvious almost immediately that he’s got a great voice. So obvious, that Christina and Adam spin their chairs almost simultaneously. Cee Lo joins them at the last moment. And J.R. picks Cee Lo because of the constructive criticism he provided during the selection process.

AginaAlvarez, 23, Burbank, Calif.: She works in a tennis club folding towels, but her passion is singing and she says her family has moved closer to L.A. so she can pursue her dream. She recorded a Latin album a few years back, but wound up “shelved” by her record label and “back at square one.” She’s going to sing “Turn the Beat Around.” Unfortunately, she can’t entice a chair to turn around.

Nicholas David: 31, Egan, Minn.: He says he used to be a member of an outlaw country band, known as much for drinking as singing. He admits he “was partying and partying and drinking and drinking and kinda lost.” His weight ballooned to more than 300 pounds. He said he met his wife, shed the weight and the booze and thinks he’s rediscovered his voice. He’ll perform “Stand By Me.” Cee Lo spins around early on in the performance, but he’s the only judge to do so.

Alessandra Guercio, 17, Brooklyn, N.Y.: This lovely young lass attends Laguardia High School, known as the “Fame” school. She says her teachers push her hard to prepare their students for the real world. She also says she’s anxious and nervous about the performance and decided not the jinx herself by telling her classmates. She’s singing “The Climb,” yep, that crappy Miley Cyrus song. And she lands on Team Adam, in spite of a somewhat shaky vocal.

Now we get a rapid-fire introduction to some other contestants who made it, Adanna Duru, 15, singing “Edge of Glory,” lands on Team Adam; Kelly Crapa, 15, singing “Sparks Fly,” lands on Team Blake; and Paulina, 16, singing “You Make Me Feel,” winds up on Team Christina.

Avery Wilson, 16, Hamden, Conn.: He says he comes from a family of dancers and used to only sing in his room until his father proclaimed: “You aren’t a dancer; you are a singer.” Avery says he considers himself somewhere between Stevie Wonder, Chris Brown and Usher and is looking forward to getting vocal training from one of the judges. He’ll audition with “Without You” and quickly demonstrates an impressive range that prompts three judges to spin their chairs. He’s definitely turning in one of the best performances we’ve seen tonight, especially considering that he’s just 16. And he winds up with a four-judge turn-around. And he picks Team Cee Lo.