Idol Chatter & Voice Views

When the live shows began on Season 5 of The Voice, I suspected Blake Shelton might be the first coach left without a singer.

Three weeks later … well, it looks like Cee Lo Green is more in jeopardy of landing in that situation.

After two weeks of shows with results based purely on fan voting, Cee Lo has lost two singers.

His third, Caroline Pennell, needed an instant save to make it to Top 8 week.

Meanwhile, Blake seems to have a contender for the crown in Cole Vosbury, who has landed at the top of the iTunes chart among Voice artists twice in the last four weeks.

The Top 8 take the stage again at 8 p.m. Monday. Or at 9 p.m., if NBC decides to air another recap show at 8.

Check back then for a live blog with song by song grades for the singers. Meanwhile, if you’d like to check where the artists landed on iTunes this week, head here.

Here are the new rankings for the singer. The number in parenthesis is where the singer was ranked last week.

1. Matthew Schuler (1) (Team Christina): Between singing “Hallelujah” on Top 12 night and getting to close Top 10 night with “Beneath Your Beauty,” Matthew was given a wonderful chance to put distance between himself and the rest of the field. He took full advantage. If this ended now, he should win. In a “Hallelujah” type landslide.

2. Tessanne Chin (3) (Team Adam): On a Top 10 night when some of the other ladies on The Voice faltered, Tessanne’s vocal prowess was front and center. Again. Now, Adam, how about giving her a song she can introduce to the U.S.? Or at least something recorded in this century? This week’s selection (“If I Were Your Woman”) was released in 1970.

3. Jacquie Lee (3) (Team Christina): Christina has praised Jacquie’s ability to transform from kitten to tiger when she hits the stage. But on Top 10 week, she decided the teen should show her vulnerable side. Jacqui wound up declawed and vulnerable, but probably not in the way Christina intended. I’m pretty sure fans prefer the tiger in Jacquie.

4. James Wolpert (5) (Team Adam): The lad from Lancaster might not have been vocally perfect on “Without You,” but he commanded the stage and his song landed third among those from Top 10 night on iTunes. James loves to rock, but you wonder if he and Adam will take that chance again considering how well his last two slower tempo performances have been received.

5. Cole Vosbury (10) (Team Blake): Is it the beard in the middle of the Duck Dynasty craze? Is it Blake’s popularity? Or do fans really love Cole? Regardless, I don’t get it. “To Be With You” sounded like a mess the moment it began; yet it landed at the top of Top 10 week songs on iTunes. Of course, I don’t get Duck Dynasty either.

6. Caroline Pennell (Team Cee Lo): The coach who loves flamboyant stage productions is left with one singer, a teen from New Jersey for whom simple works best. That said, Caroline needs to be more current and less boring than she was with her own song selection, “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” Prediction: This match will not produce a Season 5 champion.

7. Ray Boudreaux (8) (Team Blake): Blake was looking for a breakout moment on Top 10 week from Mr. Swamp Pop. He got another solid performance from a guy with one of the most distinctive male voices in the competition. As for the breakout moment, it needs to come soon or time might run out for the guy who used to mow lawns to make ends meet.

8. Will Champlin (9) (Team Adam): Forced to perform early on Top 10 week, Will survived thanks to another solid performance and a risky song choice (the U.K. hit “Love Me Again” by John Newman). His biggest problem might be that he’s simply not as distinctive as many of the others left in the competition, including those on the same team.