Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Voice opened the Season 19 knockout round Tuesday night and six singers earned berths to the playoffs.

They included Tamara Jade of Team Legend, Payge Turner of Team Kelly, the trio Worth the Wait of Team Blake and Ben Allen, who was stolen from Team Blake by Gwen Stefani.

Remember, Tamara Jade and Worth the Wait also turned four chairs in this season’s blind auditions.

Former Voice coach Usher is serving as adviser for all four teams this round.

Here’s a recap of Tuesday’s show, which featured six fine performances.

BEST MATCH OF THE NIGHT

TEAM BLAKE SHELTON

The matchup: Worth the Wait with “Delta Dawn” by Tayna Tucker vs. Ben Allen with “She Got the Best of Me” by Luke Combs.
Background: Worth the Wait — a trio of two sister and their mother — turned four chairs in the blinds, then won a battle round match with Taryn Papa. Ben turned three chairs, then won his battle with Sam Stacy.
The feeback: John said Worth the Wait deserved the win. Gwen and Kelly didn’t really voice a preference in the comments we heard.
The outcome: Blake announced Worth the Wait the winner. Gwen swoped in and saved Ben, giving her a country artist.
My take: Ben turned in a really solid performance, so it was nice to see him saved. But Worth the Wait turned in a r eally entertaining performance, my favorite of theirs so far. Combine that and Worth the Wait’s unique nature as a family trio and it’s tough to argue with Blake’s decision.

THE COACHES GOT IT RIGHT

TEAM JOHN LEGEND

The matchup: Tamara Jade with “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus vs. Casmé with “Higher Ground” by Stevie Wonder
The background: Tamara turned four chairs in the blinds and won her battle over Olivia Reyes. Only John has a spot remaining when Casmé auditioned. She defeated Rio Souma in a battle that aired Monday.
The feedback: Gwen and Blake gave a slight edge to Tamara. Kelly didn’t really give a preference in the edited comments we saw.
The outcome: John declared Tamara the winner. Casmé was eliminated.
My take: Two fine, high-energy performances. But Tamara took the knockout thanks to the brilliant ending on her cover of “Higher Ground.” The put the exclamation mark on an excellent performance.

TEAM KELLY CLARKSON

The matchup: Ryan Berg with “Makin’ Me Look Good Again” by Drake White vs. Payge Turner with “Creep” by Radiohead
Background: Payge turned two chairs in the blinds, then won her battle round match with Lauren Frihauf. Ryan turned two chairs and defeated Liam St. John in a battle that aired Monday.
The feedback: John said he though Payge should win. Kelly and Blake complimented both singers and really didn’t voice a preference in the comments we heard.
The outcome: Gwen declared Payge the winner; Ryan was eliminated when no one stole him.
My take: Payge chose a wonderful competition show song, then poured her emotion into it. You could tell she was drained when the performance ended, almost unable to get out the final note. Ryan turned in an excellent performance, but that gave Payge the edge.
Note: No steals remained when this knockout was filmed.