Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Expect lots of suspense tonight on The Voice, but there’s only one verdict that matters.

Will Juliet Simms — the black-winged rocker, the former lead singer for Automatic Loveletter — make the finals?

Because if she doesn’t, The Voice finals might not be worth watching.

Here’s what music buyers think.

Juliet’s version of “It’s a Man’s World” from last night is number 6 on the iTunes download chart.  Number 6, folks.  No Voice performance has ranked higher than number 21 on the overall singles chart all season.

Her first live performance, “Roxanne,” is number 89; her second, Aerosmith’s “Cryin’,” is number 142.   She’s the only one of the remaining eight contestants to have all three of her songs in the top 200.  In fact, only Tony Lucca has two, with his performance of  “Baby, One More Time” barely making it at number 198.

I’d say music fans have spoken with a very loud chorus of “we want Juliet.”  Add my voice to that chorus.

Here’s how the other singers from The Voice stacked up on iTunes as of 8:30 p.m.

• 21:  Lindsey Pavao of Team Christina with “Skinny Love”
• 28:  Katrina Parker of Team Adam with “Killing Me Softly”
• 31:  Jamar Rogers of Team Cee Lo with “If You Don’t Know My By Now”
• 32:  Tony Lucca of Team Adam with “How Do You Like Me Now”
• 58:   Jermain Paul of Team Blake with “Open Arms”
• 63:  Chris Mann of Team Christina with “Ave Maria”
• 152:  Erin Willett of Team Blake with “Without You.”

But keep in mind, we’ve been fooled by these numbers before.  Charlotte Sometimes did great on iTunes with “Misery Business” — still one of my personal favorites from this season.  The next night, she was homeward bound.

We’ll also hear from last year’s finalists tonight.  Four great singers.  Surprised none of them have made much of an impact on the music charts.

First up among the returning singers on The Voice, Dia Frampton with “Don’t Kick the Chair.”  Check out her CD “Red.”  It includes some great songs, including “Billy the Kid” and “Bullseye.”

Vicci Martinez is now joined on the stage by Cee Lo Green for a rendition of her song, “Come Along.” Hey, I really liked that rendition. Vicci has an EP out today.  Go here for video of the songs we’re hearing from last year’s finalists tonight.

Beverly McClellan and Cyndi Lauper take the stage for “Money Changes Everything.”  OK, I could have done without that shout-fest. But I guess we should give Cyndi credit for rocking like that at age 58.

Javier Colon won the show last year and has since released a CD.  He’ll sing “Drop in the Ocean.”   Nice vocal, but of the three singles we heard tonight, I think I liked Vicci’s best.

Results for Team Christina:

Chris Mann vs. Lindsey Pavao:  We’ll learn in a minute whether singing opera in the semifinals was a mistake for Chris Mann.  Lindsey’s song did better on iTunes.  Christina split her score 50-50.  Chris Mann wins, 104-96.  That means he got 54 percent of the public vote.  And I guess singing opera wasn’t a mistake.  But, for the record, that’s the second straight year Christina has wimped out and refused to favor one contestant over the other.  Last year, she split her vote 50-50 too.

Results for Team Adam:

Katrina Parker vs. Tony Lucca:   This could be a tight one, based on how they did last night and how they did on the iTunes singles chart.  Adam split his score 60-40 in favor of Tony.  Adam says Katrina is “far and away the most improved,” but that he has a better connection with Tony.  Wow, Adam’s score made the difference because Tony wound up winning, 108-92.  That means Katrina got 52 percent of the public vote.  But Tony Lucca is finals bound.

Results for Team Blake:

Jermaine Paul vs. Erin Willett:  This should not be close.  In fact, it’s the biggest mismatch of the four teams, and I have to wonder if it would have been that way had Blake picked RaeLynn for the semifinals instead.   Blake divided his 100 points, 50-50.  And it was a landside, 123-77.  That means Jermaine got a whomping 73 percent of the public vote.  And Jermaine Paul heads to the finals.

Results for Team Cee Lo:

Juliet Simms vs. Jamar Rogers:  And The Voice saves the best for last. Truth be told, Jamar had one of the best performances last night and would be finals worthy if he were on any other team. And both contestants are in tears as they await the verdict.  Cee Lo splits his votes 60-40 in favor of Juliet.  And it’s 121-79 in favor of Juliet.  Which means she also got 61 percent of the public’s vote.  And, wow, she is overcome with emotion.  Juliet Simms is finals found.