‘The Voice’ 2017 Videos: Hunter Plake vs Chris Blue on YouTube, Team Alicia leading

Emotional singers Hunter Plake (Team Gwen) and Chris Blue (Team Alicia) are leading the YouTube viral battle among “The Voice” Season 12 contestants. Their live playoffs videos have both gone viral with a million views, while the rest of the Top 12 are still in the half- million zone, as of this writing.

Thanks to Plake and Blue, coaches Gwen Stefani and Alicia Keys are expected to stay strong against their veteran rivals, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. Incidentally, Plake was originally in Alicia’s team until his battle with Jack Cassidy, who went home after the first live show. This week, eliminations continue through public voting.

After stunning the audience with Rihanna’s “Love on the Brain” (2016), Blue will sing “Love and Happiness” (1973) by Al Green on the April 24 show. For his part, Plake is taking on “Somebody that I Used to Know” (2011) by Gotye. He sang Sia’s “Elastic Heart” (2013) during the live playoffs.

Blue’s “Make It Rain” cover currently has 1.3 million views on YouTube. Plake’s “Elastic Heart” is a runner-up with over 910,000 views, while the third viral video (Team Alicia’s Vanessa Ferguson) currently has about 560,000 views.

During the blind auditions, Plake turned the chairs of Alicia and Gwen. Blue was the last blind audition of the season. He went to Alicia by default. Alicia really took her sweet time before turning for the last member of her team. Viewers are convinced that Blue would have turned all four chairs if he went on stage earlier this season.

Joining Plake in Team Gwen are Brennley Brown and Troy Ramey. Aside from Blue and Ferguson, Team Alicia also has Stephanie Rice, who was on Team Gwen. Team Adam has Mark Isaiah (leading team with 470,000 views), Jesse Larson and Lilli Passero. Team Blake has Lauren Duski, Aliyah Moulden (leading team with 525,000 views) and TSoul.

The live show this Monday on NBC is expected to come with more brilliant moments on stage. The Top 12 will be fighting for a slot until this year’s finale. The artists in the bottom two of the public voting result will compete for an instant save. The audience will then vote using The Voice app.

The Top 11 results will be announced on Tuesday, April 26. Downloads on iTunes figure into the public vote computation, so supporters can by downloading their favorite’s song covers.

“The Voice” 2017 airs Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC. It is hosted by Carson Daly. Watch Blue and Plake in the videos below. Follow this link for the show's verified YouTube page.