Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Top 9 on The Voice, from left — Zach Seabaugh, Emily Ann Roberts, Barrett Baber, Braiden Sunshine, Jeffery Austin, Shelby Brown, Amy Vachal, Jordan Smith, Madi Davis. (NBC Photo)

Gotta admit, I’ve sorta struggled with these rankings in Season 9.

Should I rank the remaining singers on The Voice in the order I think they’ll finish?

Or should I rank them in the order I think they should finish?

The show’s handling of Jordan Smith has been the biggest problem. I can’t recall a season in which The Voice selected its own winner in the blind auditions and continued to push that singer as the eventual winner in pretty much total disregard for everything else that’s happening on the show.

So this week, I’ve decided to do both — in terms of rankings, that is.

First, I’ll list where I think the singers will finish Season 9. Then I’ll rank my Top 9.

Expected finish: 1. Jordan Smith; 2. Emily Ann Roberts; 3. Amy Vachal; 4. Barrett Baber. Missing the finals: Braiden Sunshine, Jeffery Austin, Madi Davis, Shelby Brown, Zach Seabaugh.

Now, my rankings …

1. Jeffery Austin, Team Gwen: Folks, this is the singer The Voice should be celebrating. I mean, talk about a Cinderella story. He steps away from the stage for six years. He turns just one chair in the blind audition. But he’s turning in one brilliant performance after another, both vocally and emotionally. And he isn’t doing it by being handed popular power ballads that are sure to do well on iTunes. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope he makes the finals. He’s certainly deserving.

2. Madi Davis, Team Pharrell: I wasn’t a big fan of her cover of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” but it turned out to be her biggest iTunes hit yet. I am a huge fan of Madi’s voice and her artistry. She’s just 16 and rearranges songs with the skill of a veteran. Here’s hoping she and Pharrell come up with something truly magical for Top 9 night. Among the Top 9, it’s Madi’s post-show music that I’m most eager to hear.

3. Emily Ann Roberts, Team Blake: This young lady has won me over with her voice, her likability and her much improved stage presence. Apparently, I’m not alone. She hit the Top 10 on iTunes for the third time in four weeks of live shows last Tuesday. And fans were downloading all of her previous Voice performances at a pace that put them in the Top 200 as well.

4. Barrett Baber, Team Blake: This Top 9 is probably the least experienced ever to grace The Voice stage. That’s probably why Barrett comes off as one of the most self-assured, week after week. At 35, you might say he’s been doing this a while. He’s shown nice versatility over the course of the competition and is coming off his finest performance yet, that show-closing cover of “I’d Just Love to Lay You Down” on Top 10 night.

5. Jordan Smith, Team Adam: Go ahead and scream, Jordan fans. Look, can the guy stand behind the mic and deliver a fabulous vocal? Absolutely. Does he have one of the best voices on The Voice? Absolutely. But can he perform? Will he make post-show music that I’d pay to download? I’m not certain. I know this: Last week he was handed one of the most moving songs there is, and he failed to move me with his version of “Hallelujah.”

6. Amy Vachal, Team Adam: Should Amy slip into the finals, I won’t be complaining one bit. I suspect the decision to ditch songs from the 1930s and 1940s and focus on rearranging current hits was more Adam’s doing than hers. However it happened, it’s worked. I now look forward to each Amy Vachal performance. I’m not sure how she’s doing in fan voting, but like Emily Ann, Amy has multiple songs in the iTunes Top 200 after every performance show.

7. Zach Seabaugh, Team Blake: Nor will I be shocked if Zach somehow slips into the finals. He can’t match Jordan note for note, but he might be the show’s most charismatic performer. You have to admire what he told Carson Daly during the Top 10 results show, about how he wants to concentrate on delivering the best vocal possible. But if I’m Blake Shelton, with a spot in the finals on the line, I keep Zach doing something fun and up-tempo.

8. Shelby Brown, Team Adam: She went from the bottom of the pack on iTunes to the Top 10 in the span of a week. The difference: The country singer sang a country song on Top 10 night. I can’t help thinking that Shelby would have a more defined identity on the show if she were singing country for Team Blake.

9. Braiden Sunshine, Team Gwen: The instant save earned him another week in the competition. Braiden’s hope of making the finals probably hinges on a repeat of that. It’s not out of the realm of possibility. He picked up more Twitter followers than anyone on the show in the past week and ranks fifth among the Top 9 in Twitter support.