Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Voice voters will decide the final spot in next week’s playoffs.

They have until 7 a.m. eastern time Wednesday to vote for their favorites from Tuesday’s four-way knockout.

Their choices are Julia Cooper of Team John, Taryn Papa of Team Blake, Ryan Gallagher of Team Kelly and Larriah Jackson of Team Gwen.

Here are my song by song grades for the four-way knockout performances.

FOUR-WAY KNOCKOUT

The artist: Julia Cooper (Team John)
The song: “wish u were gay” by Billie Eilish
The background: She turned three chairs in the blinds, then was saved by John following a battle with John Holiday.
My take: At first, I was thinking this was a strange ick for a vocal competition, mainly because Billie talks sings much of it. Then Julia unleashed all sorts of vocal gymnastics to put her own stamp on the song. I’ll be surprised if it earns Julia the save from The Voice’s older audience, but it wound up being a brave and creative rendition of the song. Grade: A–

The artist: Taryn Papa (Team Blake)
The song: “Cry” by Faith Hill
The background: Taryn turned three chairs in the blinds. She was saved by Blake after her battle with Worth the Wait.
My take: Taryn has impressed me every time she’s performed. She just might be the best female country singer on the show. And she picked a song that gave her a chance to show off her vocal firepower. Note to Voice producers: On an emotional performance like this, it might be good to zero in on the artist rather than everything else in the room. You know, the way you did when Ryan Gallagher performed. Grade: B+

The artist: Ryan Gallagher (Team Kelly)
The song: “Time to Say Goodbye” by Andre Bocelli
The background: He turned two chairs in the blinds, then was saved by Kelly following a battle with Marisa Corvo.
My take: What do you make of a handsome guy who stars on MTV’s Ex On the Beach, then winds up singing opera on The Voice? I’m not sure, frankly. This wasn’t my cup of tea. Not by a long shot. But Ryan delivered big on that ending. Grade: B

The artist: Larriah Jackson (Team Gwen)
The song: “One and Only” by Adele
The background: She turned one chair in the blinds, then was saved by Gwen following a battle with Carter Rubin.
My take: It’s also brave when a young lady who was just 15 when she auditioned steps on the four-way knockout stage and tackles an Adele song. Based on the other knockout performances, Larriah shouldn’t advance. But she should be proud of that performance and the potential she displayed.