Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Maybe The Voice should call its Top 8 the Swon Brothers and the seven sisters.

Heading into Monday’s show, Zach and Colton Swon are the only guys still standing on Season 4 of the NBC singing competition.

Danielle Bradbery performs last week on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

And it’s looking likely that Blake Shelton might just be coaching the winner for the third time in four seasons.

Led by Danielle Bradberry, his singers have claimed two of the top three spots on iTunes every week since fan voting began.

All three of his finalists are still in the competition.

For that matter, so are all three of Adam Levine’s.

Meanwhile, the odds of a rookie coach taking home the Season 4 crown don’t seem too good. Usher and Shakira have just one artist left, Michelle Chamuel and Sasha Allen, respectively.

On to this week’s rankings.

1. Danielle Bradbery (3): Call me slow, but I’m finally moving the 16-year-old country gal into the top spot, two weeks after Blake proclaimed her the favorite. Hey, I wasn’t certain she’d be able to hold her own among a cast of far more experienced singers. Turns out, Danielle has held her own and then some. In three weeks, her singles from performance night have finished either first or second on iTunes among all the songs from the show. Twice, she’s cracked iTunes overall top 10.

2. Judith Hill (1): Last week, Adam decided it was time for Judith to go upbeat and gave her a Michael Jackson song. The result was probably her weakest performance to date and one that failed to resonate with viewers. Only three of the 10 songs from the show did worse on iTunes. I’d be surprised if Adam doesn’t give her a song that demonstrates her artistry and her vocal range this week, more along the lines of that piano-accompanied performance of “You’ve Got a Friend” that was a hit two weeks ago.

Sasha Allen performs last week on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

3. Sasha Allen (2): I have no idea why Sasha was given Emeli Sande’s “Next to Me” last week after the song had been performed twice recently on American Idol. But it certainly wasn’t the most imaginative song choice when Shakira decided Sasha should
“go current” and Sasha’s version did only slightly better than Judith’s on iTunes. Should Danielle stumble, I still think Sasha has the vocal prowess to take the Season 4 crown. But she needs a breakthrough performance, and she needs it soon.

4. Sarah Simmons (6): If you’re looking for a dark horse in the competition, she might be it. That rocking version of “Mamma Knows Best” went over better with fans than I thought it might (4th best at number 41 on iTunes) and continued a string of very impressive performances from Sarah. She hasn’t had an off week, and consistency is going to be key as seven very talented females fight for survival from this point on.

5. Amber Carrington (4): Her cover of “Breakaway” wasn’t her finest moment, but you have to admire the range of songs Amber has tackled. Remember, she’s primarily a country singer, but that’s the second pop song she’s tried in the last three weeks (Rihanna’s “Stay” being the other.) Given how well country music is doing on the show, Adam might be wise to give her something more in her wheelhouse Monday night.

6. Michelle Chamuel (7): She sang Pink’s “Just Give Me a Reason” a week ago, and it turned out to be the second most popular performance of the week on iTunes. In fact, it was the most well received of Michelle’s songs to date (#15 on iTunes when voting ended). The 26-year-old from Massachusetts might not be able to match the vocal firepower of Judith or Sasha, but she pours heart and soul into every song she sings. And stage fright? She says she suffers from it, but it never shows.

Zach Colton works on getting the crowd revved up on The Voice last week. (NBC Photo)

7. The Swon Brothers (5): They tumble a couple of spots this week not because of anything they did wrong, but because everyone else on this list is so darn impressive. Two weeks ago, they struck a chord with viewers with a very timely tribute to George Jones. Could a tribute of some sort for the tornado victims in Oklahoma be in the cards this week? Especially with their coach organizing a benefit concert of those victims later in the week? Especially since they’re from Oklahoma?

8. Holly Tucker (9): I figured Holly was gone when I found out she was singing first last week. Then she and Blake came up with one of the best song choices of the entire competition — “How Great Thou Art” — and Holly sang it splendidly. But I still think the fact that there are three other country acts on the show will work to Holly’s disadvantage. The good news is this: She won’t be asked to open the show twice in a row.