Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Early on in last week’s Top 8 performance episode of The Voice, Blake Shelton pronounced that everything was going just dandy for his team, but now it was time to knock off some members of Team Adam.

He couldn’t have written a better script.

The Top 6 on The Voice includes three country gals, Danielle Bradbery, Holly Tucker and Amber Carrington. (NBC Photo)

Judith Hill. Gone.

Sarah Simmons. Gone.

Left entering Monday’s Top 6 performance show: all three members of Team Blake. Just one member of each of the other coaches’ teams.

And the odds of a Blake Shelton-coached artist winning The Voice for the third time in four seasons surely improved.

The Voice is on for two hours again Monday. Last year, that meant everyone in the Top 6 performed twice.

If that’s the case again, it translates into an even trickier job selecting songs for a Top 6 that’s incredibly even in terms of talent.

This week’s rankings …

1. Danielle Bradbery (1): With three weeks of performances and so many talented singers left, it would be premature to suggest the 16-year-old has the Season 4 crown in the bag. But it sures looks like it’s hers to lose, doesn’t it? The Voice artists have been singing live for four weeks now, and only one performance has topped any of Danielle’s on the iTunes chart — the Swon Brothers’ George Jones tribute from a couple of weeks ago.

Michelle Chamuel continued a string of impressive performances last week on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

2. Michelle Chamuel (6): Back in her blind audition interview, Michelle said she has trouble communicating with people if not through music. Well, fans are having no trouble relating to her heart-on-her-sleeve performances. And that’s great to see since she has the most interesting original pre-show music of anyone still in the competition. Last week marked the second straight time Michelle finished right behind Danielle on iTunes.

3. Amber Carrington (5): The gal from Rockwall, Texas, has indeed proved she can sing anything. Last week, she tackled Adele’s “Skyfall” — for crying out loud — and survived. But it’s time for Adam to look around and see what’s happening. He’s got one singer left, and she’s a country singer on a season when fans are clearly in a country music mood. So why not serve up songs in Amber’s wheelhouse, country tunes or pop songs she can deliver with a country twist?

4. The Swon Brothers (7): I loved their laid-back rendition of “Seven Bridges Road.” And if they’re not the best singers left standing, certainly they’re the most fun when it comes time to talk about singing. Or anything else for that matter. Plus the fact that they’re a change of pace, on a show filled with female singers, might work to their advantage. Zach and Colton seem to be growing in popularity. Last week, their performance landed fourth among eight on iTunes.

Sasha Allen reacts to being safe last week on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

5. Holly Tucker (8): I keep thinking Holly’s bound to be eliminated just based on the number of country artists left in the competition, and she keeps hanging on. The last two weeks, she’s done it with brilliant song choices — “How Great Thou Art” and “Done.” The fact that she performed both brilliantly is a testament to her versatility. You certainly wouldn’t expect those two songs to be on the set list for the same concert, would you?

6. Sasha Allen (3): I had her ranked first, then second, then third based on her fabulous voice and range, but she’s clearly suffering from Judith Hill syndrome — something’s just not clicking for viewers at home. You think she and Shakira weren’t surprised that she made the Top 6? Just go back and watch their reactions on last week’s results show again. Shakira might do well to study some Voice history and serve up a classic rock song for Sasha Monday night.