Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Kelly Clarkson with her Top 13 artists, Girl Named Tom, Hailey Mia, Gymani and Jeremy Rosado (NBC Photo)

The top singers on The Voice will have five weeks to show why they deserve to win the crown in Season 21.

That’s compared to just two weeks in recent seasons, when the show went from the live playoffs to the finals in a heartbeat.

That will force current favorites to continue to deliver, and perhaps encourage them to take a risk or two along the way.

That will give current underdogs a chance to win over viewers and change the trajectory of the competition with a surprise peformance.

Here’s my ranking of the Top 13 entering Monday’s show. Several of the rankings are reflective of where I think the singer should finish rather than where I think they will.

Two singers head home this week. I’ll be posting song by song grades after Monday’s show.

1. Girl Named Tom (Team Kelly): The trio of Bekah, Caleb and Joshua Liechty make up a group unlike anything The Voice has seen before. Kelly would be wise to steer their song choices in the folk / Americana / country direction. If they can tap into The Voice’s country music voting bloc, they might be unbeatable.

2. Paris Winningham (Team Blake): He’s got charisma, comes off as genuine and sings with incredible passion. He’s a Team Blake artist I can see fans rallying behind if he continues his string of strong performances.

3. Wendy Moten (Team Blake): She’s without doubt one of Season 21’s top singers. But she’s going to have to serve up some surprises — not old standards like last week — to prevail on a show where veteran female R&B/soul singers have seldom faired as well as they should.

4. Shadale (Team Legend): This is probably wishful thinking on my part. She needed a save to survive in spite of a superb performance last week. But Shadale strikes me as the most current among the remaining pool of very talented Season 21 R&B singers.

5. Jershika Maple (Team Legend): Again, perhaps wishful thinking, but this young woman lights up the stage every time she steps onto it. She’s a delight to watch with powerful enough vocals to match anyone above.

6. Hailey Mia (Team Kelly): Yep, I know she needed the instant save to advance. I also know she’s been performing with an uncanny maturity for a 14-year-old and has impressed me every bit as much the last two weeks as teens who won the show in the past.

7. Jeremy Rosado (Team Kelly): He’s been one of Season 21’s most consistent performers with his impressive range and impassioned vocals. I wonder if he can show the versatility necessary to stand out in a very talented field.

8. Lana Scott (Team Blake): She’s the only country singer left in the competition, so my guess is Lana will get a couple more weeks to convince viewers that three Team Blake artists should go deep into Season 21.

9. Holly Forbes (Team Ariana): She’s the top vocalist on Team Ariana. The question is: What does she do to stand out in a field filled with big-voiced female singers?

10. Gymani (Team Kelly): She turned in an excellent vocal on “Say Something” last week. But she also needed a save to advance on Team Kelly. And I’d wager Hailey received more votes.

11. Joshua Vacanti (Team Legend): His performances are a bit too theatrical for my taste, but there’s no doubt he delivered a powerful vocal on “You and I” last week.

12. Ryleigh Plank (Team Ariana): After a strong start on the show, her last two vocals have been shaky. And last week’s song choice — “I’m Your Baby Tonight” — was absolutely baffling.

13. Jim and Sasha Allen (Team Ariana): The father-son duo has been fun to watch. But last week’s “Hey Jude” performance was not Top 13 worthy.

Ariana Grande with her Top 13 artists, Jim and Sasha Allen, Ryleigh Plank and Holly Forbes. (NBC Photo)

Blake Shelton with his Top 13 artists, Lana Scott, Paris Winningham and Wendy Moten (NBC Photo)

John Legend with Joshua Vacanti, Jershika Maple and Shadale (NBC Photo)