Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Top 11 on The Voice, from left, Evan McKeel, Madi Davis, Jordan Smith, Shelby Brown, Amy Vachal, Zach Seabaugh, Barrett Baber, Emily Ann Roberts, Jeffery Austin, Korin Bukowski, Braiden Sunshine. (NBC Photo)

The Top 11 on The Voice will be hard-pressed to repeat last week’s performance, at least one the music charts.

I mean, three songs in the Top 10 on the iTunes’ singles chart. Ten of 12 songs released hitting the Top 10 on a genre chart.

That’s quite impressive.

And, of course, Jordan Smith will be trying to repeat as king of the iTunes’ singles chart. In fact, his cover of “How Great is Thy Faithfulness” spent most of the week in the iTunes Top 10.

This will be another single elimination week under The Voice’s new finals format, meaning two singers will compete for the instant save during Tuesday’s 8 p.m. results show.

Brad Paisley, the Team Blake adviser during the battle round, is also returning to perform his new single, “Country Nation” this week.

Now, on with this week’s rankings. Last week’s rankings are in parenthesis.

1. Madi Davis, Team Pharrell (1): In hindsight, I wasn’t thrilled by any of the Team Pharrell song choices last week. In Madi’s case, “Who Will Save You Soul” didn’t give her enough of an opportunity to showcase her unique tone. Madi still managed to deliver some wonderful moments, which is why she remains in this spot for at least another week.

2. Barrett Baber, Team Blake (2): Don’t underestimate this guy’s popularity. He just missed the iTunes Top 10 last week and topped the show’s quartet of country singers on the charts even though he hasn’t yet enjoyed what could be considered a “breakout moment” on The Voice. Give him that, and he could challenge Jordan for the Season 9 title.

3. Jordan Smith, Team Adam (3): Yes, I know he’s likely to win. Yes, I know he’s hit the iTunes Top 10 the past two weeks. During his exit interview, Mark Hood said “nobody is going to beat him.” But Jordan hasn’t delivered what I considered the best performance either of the past two weeks. This much is certain: A post-Voice Christian music career awaits if Jordan wants it.

4. Jeffery Austin, Team Gwen (6): It was great to see fans recognize Jeffery’s performance last week by rewarding him with a Top 10 showing on iTunes. He’d certainly win the award for most improved contestant among the Top 11. He also looks like Gwen Stefani’s only chance to end the male coach stranglehold on The Voice title.

5. Shelby Brown, Team Adam (5): Back-to-back splendid performances from Shelby, whose big voice continues to impress. But for the second straight week, she finished behind all three of Blake’s country artists on iTunes. And you wonder why country artists keep flocking to Team Blake during the blind auditions?

6. Emily Ann Roberts, Team Blake (6): I think it’s a safe bet to say we’ll see this young lady on Top 9 night a couple of weeks from now. She’s quietly putting together a string of solid performances while making more than a little noise on iTunes. If you didn’t notice, her live playoff song resurfaced on the iTunes Top 200 this week as well as her new cover.

See also …
Social media stats for the Top 11 on The Voice
iTunes rankings from Week 1 of the finals
Song by song grades from Top 12 week

7. Zach Seabaugh, Team Blake (4): Zach’s change-of-pace decision to sing a ballad didn’t work. Except in the fan voting. And on iTunes. Which of course, matters quite a bit. Still, Zach would be wise to return to his fun-loving, hip-shaking ways from the live playoffs. Oh, and shame on Blake for pointing out a minor miscue by Shelby, then declaring Zach tour ready after a subpar performance.

8. Amy Vachal, Team Adam (8): Blake Shelton called her cover of “Hotline Bling” the classiest and most elegant version of a booty call song he’d ever heard. But is that how a booty call song should sound? Personally, I didn’t get it. But Adam’s song pick and Amy’s interpretation soared to number four on iTunes. The good news: That probably means more current music from Amy.

9. Evan McKeel, Team Pharrell (10): Amy went current last week and scored her biggest hit on the show so far. I’d recommend the same tactic for Evan. Otherwise, stale song choices like “This Is It” and “Overjoyed” are going to lead to the elimination of a very good singer who turned four chairs back in the blind audition. With a song released much more recently.

10. Korin Bukowski, Team Gwen (11): Last week’s “Titanium” was a step in the right direction, but still not back to the form Korin flashed in the battle and knockout rounds. For those looking ahead to what might happen: Yes, contestants have received back-to-back instant saves in the past. Kat Perkins, Ryan Sill and India Carney all did it.

11. Braiden Sunshine, Team Gwen 12): Apparently, three strikes and you’re out doesn’t apply to Braiden because last week’s performance marked the third time he should have been eliminated (I’m counting a battle round Lyndsey Elm clearly won). But his fans keep bailing him out, even after a cover song (“Renegade”) that ranked last on iTunes.