Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Top 8 on The Voice include (from left) Brynn Cartelli, Kaleb Lee, Jackie Foster, Britton Buchanan, Rayshun LaMarr, Kyla Jade, Spensha Baker and Pryor Baird. (NBC Photo)

Next week will determine which four contestants compete for the Season 14 title on The Voice.

But first, fans have to trim the field from eight contestants to four.

And while I think three spots in the finals are virtual locks, the competition for the fourth should be fierce.

Each singer will perform twice on semifinals night, once as a soloist and once in a duet with another member of the Top 8.

More on the duets — which are by inherently unfair and shouldn’t be used for voting — after The Voice announces the pairings.

Regardless of those pairings, here are my rankings for The Voice Top 8. The prior week’s rankings are in parenthesis.

Disagree? Feel free to let me know by commenting below.

1. Brynn Cartelli (Team Kelly Clarkson) (2): I thought Brynn took on too big and too mature of a song during Top 11 week. She was back in top form on “Fix You” though on Monday night, and that’s why she’s back in the top spot in the rankings. Plus Carson Daly announced that she led The Voice cast in overnight streaming on iTunes for the second straight week.

2. Britton Buchanan (Team Alicia Keys) (1): Hey, I admire the 18-year-old reworking of Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It” last week. And Alicia Keys is right, the teen seems to gain more confidence in terms of stage presence each week. But song choices also have to be a good match for the singer’s voice, and that’s where Britton’s Top 10 performance fell short.

3. Pryor Baird (Team Blake Shelton) (3): He’s taken his performance in more of a country direction. He sings for Team Blake. He’s the type of veteran performer The Voice fans often gravitate toward. He’s scored iTunes bonus points two straight weeks and he lead all singers on iTunes on Top 12 and Top 11 weeks. I wouldn’t be shocked if it all added up to a winning combination.

4. Jackie Foster (Team Alicia Keys) (4): Watching it back, Jackie delivered probably her finest vocal yet on this week’s “Gravity” cover. The last 30 seconds, in particular, were magical. But as it unfolded, I just knew it wasn’t going to be a major chart success, especially coming on the heels of her great rocker performance the week before. I’ll be shocked if Jackie doesn’t rock the stage again in the semifinals.

5. Spensha Baker (Team Blake Shelton) (7): She’s been a bit inconsistent, but Spensha certainly hit all the right notes on her Monday night cover of “Red.” And I have complete faith that she and Blake will come up with another crowd pleaser next Monday night when the competition for that last spot in the finals is going to be absolutely fierce. The Voice’s country voters just might propel Spensha into the finals.

6. Kyla Jade (Team Blake Shelton) (5): Kyla is one of the reasons the competition for that final spot in the finals is going to be so fierce. She’s coming off a week in which she led the cast on iTunes. And deserved to do so after opening Top 10 night with a brilliant cover of “This is Me.” I’m just a bit confused about what type of artist Jennifer Hudson’s background singer would be as a front woman.

7. Kaleb Lee (Team Kelly Clarkson (6): Kaleb and Kelly have decided to go upbeat the past two weeks. And while Kaleb has turned in solid performances, the iTunes reaction has been middling. And Kaleb’s in a position now where he needs to deliver a Voice “moment” to fight his way into the finals. I’m not sure a song like “Boondocks” is going to do that. In other words, pick very wisely Kelly and Kaleb. Or review some of Blake’s song choices over the past 13 seasons.

8. Rayshun LaMarr (Team Adam Levine) (9): He brings a ton of energy to the stage every week. But he also needed a second instant save on Top 10 results night, and it’s difficult for me to envision a scenario where he leapfrogs into the finals when — quite honestly, Brynn, Brittona and Pryor look like locks for the finals. If Rayshun doesn’t make it, it’ll mark the first time since Season 4 that Adam hasn’t had a finalist.

See also …
The Monday night duet pairings
Twitter support could mean everything
2 more lousy guest star selections
Top 10 iTunes results
Top 10 photo gallery