Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Voice Top 10 includes (front row, from left) Paxton Ingram, Mary Sarah, Alisan Porter, Shalyah Fearing, Hannah Huston, Laith Al-Saadi; (back row, from left) Adam Wakefield, Bryan Bautista, Daniel Passino, Nick Hagelin (NBC Photo)

The unpredictable 10th season of The Voice continues Monday night.

Oh, and if you haven’t heard, two special guests will be on hand for Monday’s show.

Michelle Obama and Jill Biden will be attending to raise awareness for Joining Forces, described by The Voice as “a nationwide initiative that calls on all Americans to rally around service members, veterans and their families and support them through employment, education and wellness opportunities.”

The organization is celebrating its fifth anniversary.

With that out of the way, it’s on to this week’s rankings for The Voice. As always, the number in parenthesis indicates last week’s ranking. And if you’d like to see all the performances by each artist, follow the links attached to their names.

1. Alisan Porter (1): Three singers might have finished ahead of her on iTunes last week, but in my mind, no one turned in a better vocal than Alisan when she poured out heart and soul on “Stay with Me Baby.” But despite Adam Levine’s prediction, I don’t think an Alisan win is a sure thing in Season 10.

2. Laith Al-Saadi (4): This guy is doing everything right at the moment. Loved his acknowledgement that he’s not a typical singing show contestant and his surprise at doing so well on The Voice because he’s not the youngest or the prettiest. I loved his take on Ed Sheeran’s “Make It Rain” even more.

3. Adam Wakefield (3): His re-invention of Journey’s “Lights” got rave reviews from the judges, but a lukewarm reception on iTunes (fifth among the Top 11). So I won’t be surprised to see Adam return to the country and southern rock music that has made him a favorite to this point in the competition.

4. Mary Sarah (7): The big question is whether last week marked a turning point for this spunky country lass, who’s always been one of the most popular Season 10 contestants on social media, but had trouble making a splash on iTunes. That changed last week when “Johnny and June” was the show’s second best on the charts.

5. Hannah Huston (5): After last week’s fine performance of “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” I’m officially done being surprised by the pre-school teacher from Nebraska. I think she’s proven that her rousing performance of “House of the Rising Sun” back in the knockout round was not a fluke.

6. Shalyah Fearing (2): After looking like a front-runner for a heartbeat, Shalyah has been heading in the wrong direction. In the past three weeks, she’s gone from 14 to 46 to 96 on the iTunes 200. Surely, that isn’t what she hoped for singing “The Climb.” Oh, and she’s up against a very experienced cast.

7. Nick Hagelin (6): Sometimes, it seems like The Voice is becoming a contest to see which male vocalist can sing the highest. Nick would certainly be in the running, but I’m not sure that’s going to get him into the finals. Like Shalyah, he’s been going backwards on iTunes.

8. Bryan Bautista (8): The romantic ballads just keep coming from Bryan, whose version of “Just the Way You Are” was far from his best performance on The Voice. Hey, Christina, it might be time for a change of pace. Right now, Bryan is looking very one dimensional.

9. Paxton Ingram (11): I haven’t tracked iTunes results for all 10 seasons of The Voice, but I can’t recall a singer going from dead last on iTunes to number one, like Paxton did last week with his impassioned performance of “Break Every Chain.” Now, what will Paxton do for a followup?

10. Daniel Passino (10): Pharrell’s done a great job with his “damn, Daniel” rallying cry on the pop singer’s behalf. But I’ve yet to think, “damn, that was a brilliant song choice” when Daniel took the stage. That’s pretty much what needs to happen after his bottom two finish last week.

See also
Owen Danoff already planning new EP
iTunes results for the Top 11
Song by song grades for the Top 11
Photo gallery for the Top 11