Idol Chatter & Voice Views

OK, we haven’t been told exactly how this will work.

But apparently viewers won’t have any say in who advances to the final 12 on The Voice.

Bria Kelly reacts as Carson Daly proclaims her winner of a Team Usher battle round that aired Monday. As it turned out, she and Madilyn Paige (right) both made the Top 20 when Madilyn was stolen by Blake Shelton. (NBC Photo)

That decision will be left to each coach as they whittle their five remaining singers to just three.

Then the finals — with the instant save still intact — are supposed to begin April 21.

Who’s left among the Top 20? Glad you asked.

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

Team Blake: Audra McLaughlin, Jake Worthington, Madilyn Paige, Ryan Whyte Maloney, Sisaundra Lewis

Team Shakira: Dani Moz, Deja Hall, Kirsten Merlin, Patrick Thompson, Tess Boyer

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

And it looks like we begin with the artists from Team Blake.

Audra McLaughlin

1. Audra McLaughlin, 21, of Philadelphia, Pa., sang “Angel from Montgomery” in the blind audition, prompting all four coaches to turn. She defeated the duo of Alaska and Madi in the battle round. In battle round, part 2, she defeated Megan Ruger; they performed “The Climb.” For the playoff, she’s going to sing “Broken Wing” by Martina McBride. And Audra certainly starts off the show with a solid performance. A couple of mild complaints: I had trouble making out some of the lyrics early in the song, and Audra threw in so many glory notes, it came off a little over-baked as the ending approached. That said, she showed off a big voice with really nice range. Blake compliments her on the fact that she keeps getting better. She certainly proved herself worthy of a spot in the Top 12. Grade: B

Ryan Whyte Maloney

2. 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. In the second battle round, he was matched up with another four-chair turn singer, Kaleigh Glanton, and prevailed. He’s going to sing “Second Chance” by Shinedown. He says the song came out at a turning point in his life, when his parents thought joining the military might have been his best option. Well, I wasn’t sure I’d like that when Ryan started singing, but he won me over by the middle of the performance and had me with him by the end. I loved the showmanship. I loved the range he showed. And he seemed to have a plan for the performance other than just stringing together a ton of glory notes. Put him in the finals, Blake. Grade: A–

Madilyn Paige

3. Madilyn Paige, 16, of Provo, Utah, turned two chairs with her blind audition performance of “Titanium,” then defeated Tanner James in the battle round. In the second battle round, she was pitted against fellow teen Bria Kelly, who turned four chairs in the blinds. She lost, but was stolen by Blake. She’s going to sing “Clarity” by Zedd. During rehearsals, her new coach is encouraging her to make sure she’s invested in the lyrics. Madilyn has done wonderful to this point, but she just brought a 16-year-old type performance to a grownup game on Team Blake. She seemed pretty nervous at the open. And she didn’t quite hit a couple of those big notes she went for dead on. And Adam gives her great advice: She didn’t quite cut loose on that performance. She seemed too concerned about delivering the perfect vocal. Blake says he doesn’t think she did her best, but he still has confidence in her. Grade: C

Jake Worthington

4. Jake Worthington, 17, of LaPorte, Texas, is one of the contestants who enjoyed success on his second try at the show, turning three chairs in his blind audition. He defeated Lexi Luca in the battle round. In part two of the battle rounds, he defeated Tess Boyer when they performed “Have a Little Faith in Me.” Tess was stolen by Shakira. He’s decided to sing “Anywhere With You” by Jake Owen, and he’s dedicating it to his girlfriend, “the only girl who treated me like a skinny guy,” he tells Blake. Jake is more animated than he’s been in previous performances. He seems more self-assured, encouraging the crowd to get into his performance. That said, I’m not sure I see star power. Jake did deliver one really nice wrinkle there near the end of the performance. Otherwise, I thought the vocal was solid, not sensational. I can’t see Blake cutting this guy. Grade: B

Sisaundra Lewis

5. Sisaundra Lewis, 44, of Orlando, Fla., sang Aretha Franklin’s “Ain’t No Way” in her bind audition and turned four chairs. She was equally impressive in defeating Paula DeAnda in the battle round. In the second battle round, she defeated Biff Gore, who had turned four chairs in his audition as well. They sang “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World.” She’s decided to sing “New York State of Mind.” The fact that she’s closing the show tells me that she’ll be fantastic. Dang. That ending was simply sensational. And what preceded it wasn’t too darn bad either. My only complaint is that the band was a little too loud for me to appreciate the opening. She draws rave reviews, of course. I don’t think there’s any doubt she’s the best singer on the show. My only question is whether The Voice fans will rally behind her. Grade: A

Blake should pick: Audra, Ryan and Sisaundra

Blake will pick: Jake, Ryan and Sisaudra.

Those are my predictions. Blake’s picks …

1. Sisaundra. No surprise there.

2. Audra. Wow, pleasantly surprised, though I think she deserves it.

3. Jake. Don’t know if it influenced Blake’s decision, but that was a nice little speech by Jake at the end.