The Voice

Ranking the Top 12 on The Voice

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The Top 12 on The Voice (from left), Chris Jamison, Matt McAndrew, Damien, Jessie Pitts, Craig Wayne Boyd, Reagan Jame,s Sugar Joans, DaNica Shirey, Luke Wade, taylor John Williams, Anita Antoinette, Ryan Sill. (NBC Photo)

The Top 12 on The Voice (from left), Chris Jamison, Matt McAndrew, Damien, Jessie Pitts, Craig Wayne Boyd, Reagan James, Sugar Joans, DaNica Shirey, Luke Wade, Taylor John Williams, Ryan Sill, Anita Antoinette. (NBC Photo)

The Voice’s Season 7 finalists take the stage Monday night at 8 p.m.

And, having just watched lots of performance videos again … wow, it’s an incredibly talented Top 12.

And their fate now rests solely in the hands of voters. No more coaches’ saves. No more coaches helping decide who advances and who doesn’t.

The bottom three vote-getters will be in jeopardy of going home Tuesday night. Fans will save one of the three with their own instant save. The other two will be eliminated.

With all that out of the way, here are my Top 12 rankings.

I’ll be shocked if some of you don’t disagree. If you do, please tell me what you think in the comments below.

And check back Monday and Tuesday night. I’ll be live blogging both evenings.

1. Matt McAndrew (Team Adam): Pharrell made sure Matt got a chance to plug his website during Monday’s show. Head there, listen to his originals and you’ll find out why he’s ranked here. (Link to Matt’s bio and Voice videos.)

2. Reagan James (Team Blake): Take a young singer, poised beyond her years. Add Blake Shelton as a coach. Yeah, that might work. In fact, it already did in Season 4 when Danielle Bradbery won The Voice. And I think Reagan’s better. (Link to Reagan’s bio and Voice videos.)

3. Craig Wayne Boyd (Team Blake): This veteran performance never should have needed one steal, let alone two, to stay in the competition. Of course, if he hadn’t been stolen he would have missed out on the Gwen Stefani makeover. (Link to Craig Wayne’s bio and Voice videos.)

Anita Antoinette and John Taylor Williams perform during a  group number Wednesday night on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Anita Antoinette and John Taylor Williams perform during a group number Wednesday night on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

4. Taylor John Williams (Team Gwen): My pick for the male singer most likely to catch fire with Voice fans. Maybe he already has. As of noon Wednesday, he was the only finalist with two songs in the iTunes Top 200. (Link to Taylor John’s bio and Voice videos.)

5. Anita Antoinette (Team Gwen): Of all the coaches, I thought Gwen did the best job of matching singer and song in the live playoffs. “All About That Bass” served as a wonderful springboard for this uniquely talented young woman. (Link to Anita’s bio and Voice videos.)

6. Luke Wade (Team Pharrell): Luke gets my award for best finish to a song in the live playoffs with the way he ended “Let’s Get it On.” If he keeps — what did Adam call it — Luke-ifying songs like that, he might climb much higher. (Link to Luke’s bio and Voice videos.)

7. Damien Lawson (Team Adam): Pouring emotion into a song is this guy’s strength. He showed it in the blind audition. He showed it again in a superb live playoff performance that might have been the vocal of the night. (Link to Damien’s profile and Voice videos.)

8. DaNica Shirey (Team Pharrell): Now, before all of York brands me a traitor, let me stress: This ranking has nothing to do with DaNica’s immense vocal talent. It has everything to do with Voice voters’ lack of support for female R&B/Soul singers in past seasons. (Link to DaNica’s profile and Voice videos.)

9. Jessie Pitts (Team Blake): My favorite voice on The Voice. And the iTunes’ reception to her last two performances shows I’m not alone. So, Blake, I wonder how she’d sound singing country? (Link to Jessie’s bio and Voice videos.)

10. Ryan Sill (Team Gwen): He opened Tuesday’s live playoffs in brilliant fashion singing OneRepublic’s “I Lived.” And if he was having trouble with cutting loose on stage, it sure didn’t show that night. (Link to Ryan’s bio and Voice videos.)

11. Sugar Joans (Team Pharrell): Forget the purple hair. Forget the stage name. With vocals like she demonstrated on “Survivor” (in the battles) and “I Say a Little Prayer,” she clearly deserved the Team Pharrell save. (Link to Sugar’s bio and Voice videos.)

12. Chris Jamison (Team Adam): From the Capital University Rock Ensemble to The Voice stage, this guy from Pittsburgh has come a long way. Adam has gambled on his “intangibles.” Let’s see if the gamble pays off. (Link to Chris’ bio and Voice videos.)

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3 Comments

  1. Billyv November 16, 2014 at 8:24 am -  Reply

    I don’t think it’s clear if you are ranking who you think “will” win or who you think “deserves” to win.

    • Mark Franklin November 16, 2014 at 9:32 am -  Reply

      A combination of the two. And that’s partly because all the singers on The Voice — as opposed to some other singing shows — are not only very talented, but consistently deliver ready-for-prime-time performances.

  2. Wanda November 17, 2014 at 6:41 am -  Reply

    Craig Wayne Boyd

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