Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Tae Lewis, Madison Curbelo and Karen Waldrup of Team Dan + Shay on The Voice (NBC Photo)

The Top 12 takes the stage tonight on The Voice for the first of three live shows that will wrap up Season 25.

And that means fan voting opens either at the start or end of the show and continues through 7 a.m. eastern time tomorrow morning.

You can vote via the Voice app or the Voice website. One vote per email address per method, so you’ll have to select a single favorite to support.

The Top 8 vote-getters advance to next week’s semifinals. The rest will compete for an instant save and the last spot in those semifinals on tomorrow night’s results show (8 p.m. eastern start time).

Two other important notes about tonight’s show.

These contestants have not been on The Voice stage for SEVEN MONTHS!

That’s right, folks. If you missed that detail from my other blogs the playoffs we last watched were filmed in early October of last year.

That said, this is also the most seasoned group of contestants on The Voice in at least five seasons with an average age of 29.2 years when they auditioned.

So I expect most of them to take the stage after the long layoff without missing a beat. In other words, they should deliver a very good Top 12 show.

I’ll be blogging live throughout with song by song grades, so you can check back during the show to see how your favorite is doing.

See also
Ranking the Top 12 on The Voice

Bryan Olesen (Team Legend), 49, Lincoln, Neb., “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen: Bryan kicks off the night with a fun, high-energy performance. He has a great voice. This wasn’t a perfect song choice to show that off with all the rapid-fire lyrics. But he’s also a great showman and those lyrics were appropriate. He was having fun and I very much doubt that Voice fans will stop him yet. His coach said he pitys contestants who have to follow him to the stage. Grade: A–

Tae Lewis (Team Dan + Shay), 31, Goldsboro, N.C.. “19 You and Me” by Dan + Shay: Wow, how many Dan + Shay songs are going to be featured in Season 25? Regardless, I think that might have been Tae’s best performance on the show. He performed with lots of passion and show nice state presence all the while. Dan said he crushed the song. Shay agreed. Grade: B:

Maddi Jane (Team Chance), 25, Chicago, Ill., “Happier Than Ever” by Billie Eilish: Great song choice for Maddi in terms of showing off her versatility. She starts off in ballad mode, then exploded with a fiery pop performance, showing off great vocals and stage presence. Still not sure how well her song choices will register with the show’s older fan base, but that was Top 8 worthy to me. Grade: A–

L. Rodgers (Team Reba), 34, Baltimore, Md., “Up to the Mountain” by Patty Griffin: As soon as I heard this song choice, I knew it would fall in L’s wheelhouse. And she delivers an excellent vocal with a really impressive closing. Wow, this is going to be tough for Voice voters. L. performed with tons of passion too. Reba declares that she nailed it. Oh, and ignore what Reba said about L. being a one-chair turn. That’s only because most of the teams were full when she auditioned. Grade: A–

Madison Curbelo (Team Dan + Shay), 21, Westfield, Mass., “Yesterday” by The Beatles: Madison says she and her three brothers used to jam to songs by The Beatles. I wish someone had steered her away from this song choice. It was just a little sleepy for the occasion. Not to mention not a song that shows off the fact that Madison’s personality is a “ray of sunshine.” I’ll be hoping she survives because she’s the young singer who I think is best suited to break through in a cast of pros. Grade: B

Asher HaVon (Team Reba), 31, Selma, Ala., “I’ll Make Love to You” by Boys 2 Men: Asher has a phenomenal voice and showed it off again there. I’m just a little baffled by the song choice. Asher asked Reba how to connect with the song. Given the stakes, why isn’t he singing something he has a natural connection to. The result was a ballad that was a bit too frill filled for my taste. But Chance thinks he should win the show, if someone from Team Chance doesn’t. Grade: B+

Zoe Levert (Team Legend), 20, New Orleans, La., “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan: Oh, my, I had Zoe ranked last among the Top 12. I think I underestimated her. That might have been my favorite performance of the night. She admits she’s not a belter like several of the singers on Season 25. But that was a very nice singer-songwriter performance. Coach John Legend says Zoe continues to blossom before our eyes, and he’s right. Grade: A–

Karen Waldrup (Team Dan + Shay), 36, of Mandeville, La., “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack: This is an oft-done song on singing shows. She delivers a pro performance and is especially impressive as the song draws to a close. Great glory note near the end. But I sorta wish she’d gone with a more surprising song choice though. I think that would have made more of an impression. Grade: B+

Serenity Arce (Team Chance), 17, of Jupiter, Fla., “Traitor” by Olivia Rodrigo: Serenity says she wants to showcase vunerability. She started strong and delivered a heartfelt performance. But everything about that — the background, the lighting, Serenity’s eventual belting — got too noisy as the song swelled. It might have helped if I hadn’t just seen this song done brilliantly on American Idol. And yikes! The Voice just gave up how long it’s been between rounds. Dan congratulated her on her 17th birthday, asking when it was. The answer: December. LOL. Grade: C+

Nadège (Team Chance), 26, Wellington, Fla., “He Loves Me” by Jill Scott: She relates to the song because she just got engaged. Chance calls her his sultry soul singer, and she’s certainly living up to that billing on this opening. The song allowed her to ab lib quite a bit, and she did so beautifully. Not sure the song choice or the performance will register with Voice fans. Did Chance indicate he picked it? John says it was the perfect song choice. Hmm. I’m guessing Nadège better dust off her save song for tomorrow night. Grade: B–

Josh Sanders (Team Reba), 35, Kannapolis, N.C.,”Angels” by Thomas Rhett: Josh is singing this as a tribute to his wife. He started wonderfully. The vocals weren’t quite as strong on the chorus. But Josh sold the song with an impassioned performance and a touching ending that had him tearing up and the judges as well. That performance was his best on the show and will likely propel him to the semifinals. Grade: B+

Nathan Chester (Team Legend), 27, Chicago, Ill.”Higher and Higher” by Jackie Wilson: Nathan is the throwback performer and treats us to a great, fun throwback performance. Wow, I’m tired just watching that. That switched up ending was a great touch and he ended the performance by dropping to a split. It’s becoming his signature move. Nathan has been vastly underrated on this show as an entertainer and performer and that was a great performance to close the night. Grade: A–

Bryan Olesen, Nathan Chester and Zoe Levert of Team Legend on The Voice. (NBC Photo)