Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Top 13 from The Voice include (from left) Sandy Redd, Kennedy Holmes, MaKenzie Thomas, Sarah Grace, Lynnea Moorerr, Chevel Shepherd, Kymberlie Joye, Tyke James, Reagan Strange, DeAndre Nico, Dave Fenley, Kirk Jay, Chris Kroeze. (NBC Photo)

The Voice Top 13 takes the stage Monday night to sing for fans’ votes and there are no more coaches’ saves.

There are voting rule changes, however, and that trusty old Twitter save that will determine who stays and who goes at the end of Tuesday’s results show.

Since the Comeback Stage winner left The Voice with a Top 13 rather than a Top 12 entering the finals, I have a hunch two singers will head home this week.

That said, I haven’t seen anything official.

Meanwhile, here are my rankings of the Top 13.

For Week 1, I’m going with where I think everyone should be ranked, not where I think they will finish. And certainly not how Voice producers would like them to finish.

1. Sandy Redd (Team Jennifer): She’s impressed me as the artist most prepared to win The Voice. Sandy clearly has a vision of who she is as a performer and has delivered great stage presence and killer vocals every time she’s stepped on the show’s stage. Yet a victory appears a longs hot since she’s needed a save or steal at every step of the way since the blinds.

2. Kymberli Joye (Team Kelly): Who’s been the most impressive of The Voice artists over the past three rounds? You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who’s done better than this former background singer. And she’s done it with some surprising song choices, most recently “Radioactive.” But like Sandy, she needed a save to make the Top 13 so …

3. Chris Kroeze (Team Blake): His performance of Cam’s “Burning House” was one of my favorites so far in Season 15. I guarantee that would have soared on iTunes if it had been available. The veteran performer from Wisconsin also has a heck of a fan base, but will need songs that make a bigger impression than last week’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain.”

4. Sarah Grace (Team Kelly): Wow, did you see how composed Sarah was behind her organ last week? And how impassioned that performance was? Of the four minors who have made the Top 13, she’s probably the most defined as an artist. Of course, she’s been performing with her band, Sarah Grace and The Soul, for five years.

5. DeAndre Nico (Team Adam): He’s one of the four four-chair turns from the bind auditions and has since proven he deserved those four chairs, with a string of solid performances. His live playoff performance wasn’t my favorite, but the way those playoffs worked out, DeAndre now has the R&B/pop lane all to himself on Season 15.

6. Dave Fenley (Team Blake): This guy has perhaps the most distinctive male voice on the show. And don’t discount the fact that he’s been through this before, several years ago as a contestant on America’s Got Talent. A wise save by Blake because I can see country-loving Voice fans rallying to support Dave.

7. Kennedy Holmes (Team Jennifer): A marvel at age 13 and one of the favorites to win Season 15. But we’re now down to the Top 13 now, and if Kennedy prevails, it should be because she out-performs and out-sings everyone else on the show, not because she’s so impressive for a 13-year-old. “Halo” might have been too big for her.

8. Kirk Jay (Team Blake): Another of producers’ favorites, and he’s been consistently solid. But I’ve yet to hear anything that would justify the wild reaction he’s getting from the show’s coaches. And, remember, we didn’t even get to see or hear his battle round vocal. Note to producers: Play fair with song choices, performance order and staging!

9. Chevel Shepherd (Team Kelly): As the only female country artist on the show, she might very well wind up doing much better than this. After all, she’s talented and personable. And Voice fans certainly embraced Emily Ann Roberts and Danielle Bradbery, propelling both to the show’s finale.

10. MaKenzie Tbhomas (Team Kelly): No doubt MaKenzie can deliver a power ballad as powerfully as anyone in the Top 13. But I’d like to see more versatility from the young woman who failed to make the show in Season 14 and has now made it all the way to the voting rounds this season.

11. Reagan Strange (Team Adam): Voice voters placed four young female singers 17 and younger in the Top 13, and it’s a very talented group. Reagan lands here merely because she’s the one who doesn’t seem to have carved out a musical identity at this point.

12. Tyke James (Team Adam): Adam said he’s eager to hear more from Tyke. I’m eager to hear a performance deserving of the save Adam used to get his surfing singer-songwriter from Hawaii into the Top 13. Last week’s performance of “Use Somebody” wasn’t it.

13. Lynnea Moorer (Team Kelly): Truth be told, neither of the Comeback Stage performances we saw Tuesday were as good as many of those delivered by contestants eliminated that night. So it’s up to Lynnea to prove that this Comeback Stage twist wasn’t just an ill-advised gimmick on the part of the show.

See also …
Tips for voting this week
Social media leaders among the Top 13
Watch for song by song grades after Monday’s show!