Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Hey, The Voice put on one heck of a show last night, huh?

The show narrowed the field of contestants to eight in the first 10 minutes, then let those eight take the stage with four spots in the finals on the line.

We saw some excellent showmanship. We heard some excellent vocals. Best of all, we got lots of songs that sounded fresh compared to what we’ve gotten used to on American Idol.

My only complaint, the final four contestants will be selected by team, rather than at large.

That means last night boiled down to teammate against teammate, rather than one contestant against all the rest. And, in some cases, that diminishes the suspense for tonight’s results show (8 p.m. on NBC).

Who should advance? Here are my picks.

Team Blake: Dia Frampton vs. Xenia

Hey, Xenia did pretty well Tuesday night. Better than I expected. But she’s still no match for the far more experienced Dia Frampton, who broke out her guitar and turned in a very nice version of “Losing My Religion.” And, apparently, fans love her sound. “Losing My Religion” is number six on the iTunes singles download chart this morning; her earlier version of “Heartless” cracked Billboard’s Hot 100.

Team Adam: Javier Colon vs. Casey Weston

There was more talk about Javier taking off his hat than about his vocals, but they were pretty special on Coldplay’s “Fix You.” Shame Casey Weston is on this team, because she sounded great on the chorus of “I Will Always Love You.” But Javier is going to win this spot, and deservedly so. Speaking of the iTunes singles chart: “Fix You” is number eight this morning.

Team Christina: Frenchie Davis vs. Beverly McClellan

Cee Lo Green called Beverly McClellan that Killer B, and she sure slayed “The Thrill is Gone” on Monday’s show. One of the very best performances of the night. My favorite in fact. And her 20 years of performing experience shows. That performance should end Frenchie Davis’ run on the show, even though she started off the evening nicely with Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.”

Team Cee Lo: Vicci Martinez vs. Nakia

Here’s where I really wish the voting was at large, because we’re likely to lose Nakia tonight. His vocal on “Whataya Want from Me” wasn’t Adam Lambert magic, but it was pretty darn good. And he’s a heck of a performer. But if there’s a better performer among the remaining contestants on “The Voice,” it’s Vicci Martinez. She’s like a demon on stage. She proved it again Tuesday on “Dog Days Are Over,” hailed by the judges as the best performance of the night.

Check back tonight at 8 p.m. I’ll be live blogging during the results show … provided the satellite signal is working.