Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Three more artists were stolen and montages returned during Monday’s battle round episode of The Voice.

The steals went to Delaney Silvernell and Keith Palsuo, who are now on Team Adam Levine, and Zaxai, who landed on Team Kelly Clarkson.

That leaves one steal remaining — it belongs to Blake Shelton — heading into Tuesday’s final battle round episode.

As for the montages, you knew they’d be back with The Voice trying to cram 24 battle round matches into five hours of TV time and usually spending about 20 minutes of airtime on each battle.

And, honestly, Monday’s format was preferable to last Tuesday’s mishmash of a show that featured performance clips so abbreviated (40 seconds) that it was impossible to enjoy the performance or determine if the coach had advanced the correct artist.

But I’ll repeat, it sure would be nice if the full montaged performances were posted to YouTube. The cameras are rolling. I still don’t understand why they aren’t.

Here’s Monday’s recap.

A NECESSARY STEAL

Team Kelly Clarkson

The matchup: Abby Cates vs. Delaney Silvernell
The song: “Love Me LIke You Do” by Ellie Goulding
The background: Abby is the young girl who broke bones in her back in a fall from a horse and turned to music as therapy. Daleny is the young woman whose family was into wrestling. She was too, until she fell in love with musical theater. Kelly says she matched them because their both soulful pop singers. She wants to see which is most ready for The Voice experience.
The outcome: Kelly advanced Abby, complimenting her potential and her cool sound. Delaney is immediately stolen by Adam Levine.
Voice Views take: Really, really pretty opening by Delaney. And Kelly was right, that’s the part of the song that won me over. She just seemed more in control of her voice and I thought she was the more ready. So that was a well deserved steal.

THE COACHES GOT IT RIGHT

Team Blake Shelton

The matchup: Keith Paluso vs. Dave Fenley
The song: “One Woman Man” by George Jones
The background: Keith is the former park ranger; Dave is the former contestant from America’s Got Talent, who wrote and sang “Make America Great Again” at the 2016 GOP Convention. Blake said he paired them because they both have a rugged style of singing. As for the song, anyone who sings country needs to worship at the temple of George Jones, he says.
The outcome: Blake named Dave the winner. But Adam Levine stole Keith.
Voice Views take: Keith overcame his problem with the lyrics, and the guys started the song with brilliant harmonies. But it’s Dave’s voice that really stood out. And for a guy who said he was intimidated by Keith’s range, he showed off quite a bit on his own.

Team Adam Levine

The matchup: Emily Hough vs. Reagan Strange
The song: “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran
The background: These two met before the blinds and developed a friendship. Reagan is one of just two 13-year-olds in the Season 15 cast. Emily is 16 and a junior in high school.Adam says he matched them for obvious reasons: They’re both talented young women. Reagan’s been watching since Season 1, so she knows CeeLo and even asks how his cat is doing.
The outcome: Adam advances Reagan. Emily doesn’t get stolen, so she leaves the competition.
Voice Views take: Dang. Maybe these two should form a duo. Their voices sounded so great together on the harmonies. Emily might sing with a little more power, but there’s a tender lilt to Reagan’s voice that I love, which is why I would have given her the edge.

Team Jennifer Hudson

The matchup: Franc West vs. Matt Johnson
The song: “Too Close” by Alex Clare
The background: Matt is the guy who’s been trying out for the show since Season 1 and snagged the very last spot on Season 15. Franc grew up singing in church, but dabbled in sexy R&B music in Cleveland before relocating to Atlanta. He calls this a good pairing. Matt says they’re totally different singers. Jennifer says she wants to see whose style stand out the most.
The outcome: Jennifer advanced Franc. Matt isn’t stolen, so he leaves the show.
Voice Views take: Listening to Matt on that performance, it’s tough to believe he had so much trouble making it to a blind audition. But Franc is the guy with the more unqiue tone and his edge in experience showed in that performance.

Team Adam Levine

The matchup: Jake Wells vs. Natalie Brady
The song: “Closing Time” by Semisonic
The background: Jake is the guy who grew up traveling nad performing Christian music with his family. He found himself on a hitchhiking trip down the West Coast. Natalie is the mother of two who traveled from Florida to Nashville to pursue his music dreams. And blew the coaches away with her powerful performance of “Baracuda” in the blinds. They seem to think it’s an odd pairing.
The outcome: Adam advanced Jake, saying he’s too special to pass up. Natalie isn’t stolen, so she leaves the show.
Voice Views take: I didn’t like this song choice for Natalie. It corraled her powerful voice. As a result, more of the focus was on Jake’s delicate tone, and I thought he came off best in that ballad.

Team Jennifer Hudson

The matchup: Tyshawn Colquitt vs. Zaxai
The song: “Love Lies” by Khalid and Normani’
The background: Tyshawn is the oldest of 10 kids who grew up in the projects and has a business called Pounds4Sounds with his mother, who makes pound cakes that he delivers with music. Zaxai’s parents moved to the U.S. from Haiti and he sings in multiple languages. Jennifer said she wanted to give both of them a song that fell outside their musical comfort zones.
The outcome: Jennifer advances Tyshawn. Kelly stepped in and stole Zaxai.
Voice Views take: Both guys showed off incredible range over the course of that performance. But if I hadn’t heard the song before, I would have had no idea what Tyshawn was singing in that opening. That said, he bounced back strong, showed off great stage presence and made a smart style decision. That pink suit on a dark stage made him stand out throughout the performance.

THE MONTAGED

Team Adam Levine

The matchup: Radha vs. Foushee
The song: “Growing Pains” by Alessia Cara
The outcome: Radha was declared the winner, Foushee was eliminated

Team Kelly Clarkson

The matchup: Chevel Shepherd vs. Mikele Buck
The song: “You Look So Good in Love” by George Strait
The outcome: Chevel was declared the winner; Mikele was eliminated

Team Jennifer Hudson

The matchup: Audri Bartholomew vs. MaKenzie Thomas
The song: “Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey
The outcome: MaKenzie was named the winner, Audri was eliminated