Idol Chatter & Voice Views

 

Voice viewers select the Season 11 finalists this week.

And we can thank Blake Shelton and Sundance Head for putting a little more suspense in the Season 11 proceedings than it looked like they might have when Billy Gilman and Wé McDonald were proclaimed the early front-runners.

But it’s a pretty sure bet that those three will make the finals, leaving the other five singers to compete for the final spot.

In the past, the top three vote-getters on Top 8 night automatically advance to the finals. The bottom two are automatically eliminated, leaving the three singers who land in between to compete for the season’s final Twitter save.

To see where each contestant ranks on social media, head here.

Meanwhile, here are the Top 8 rankings. Last week’s ranking appears in parenthesis.

1. Sundance Head (Team Blake): Could the former American Idol contestant help Blake Shelton claim his fifth Voice victory during a season in which the show seemed to deliberately water down the country talent? Well, “Me and Jesus” was his best performance yet. And he’s been the show’s iTunes leader the last two weeks, last week climbing all the way to number one on the iTunes singles chart. (2)

2. Ali Caldwell (Team Miley): I still think Ali’s the most ready for prime time among The Voice’s Top 8. But she was given the pimp spot last week and failed to seize the spotlight. She also failed to land in the Top 10 on iTunes. She needs to do better this week, well enough to be voted into the finals because I’m not sure her Twitter following — lowest among the Top 8 — is strong enough to earn her the Twitter save. (1)

3. Billy Gilman (Team Adam): At one point, it looked like Billy might run away with the Season 11 crown. But he’s been topped on iTunes every week since the finals began — first by Wé McDonald and then by Sundance the past two weeks. With that great pop voice of his, he’s still likely a lock to make the finals. But Adam Levine needs to serve up song choices that will truly strike a chord with viewers. (3)

4. Brendan Fletcher (Team Adam): Yep, that was Brendan, the former bartender, sitting at number two on the iTunes singles chart last week, right behind Sundance, with his take on Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors.” I wasn’t crazy about the song choice, but Brendan made it work. And speaking of striking a chord, Brendan is clearly doing that with Voice fans. And he’s peaking at the right time. Last week’s cover of “The River” was very good too. (5)

5. Wé McDonald (Team Alicia): Look, Wé’s version of “God Bless the Child” was a flat-out mess for someone with aspirations of winning the show. The good news for the youngest contestant among the Top 8: It still cracked the Top 10 on iTunes. I’m not sure Wé will be voted into the finals. I’ve written this before: Voice viewers have a terrible track record when it comes to supporting talented R&B females. The good news there is she has a pretty strong Twitter army at her back is she needs this week’s save. (4)

6. Christian Cuevas (Team Alicia): Wow, I’d written two straight weeks that Christian was a singer sorely in need of a moment on The Voice. And he delivered with last week’s brilliant rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Million Reasons.” It was easily the night’s most emotional performance. But Christian’s probably going to need another performance of that magnitude to reach the finals. (7)

7. Josh Gallagher (Team Adam): With The Voice country fan base behind him, Josh has exceeded expectations on The Voice. But my guess is he’s not going to make it past Top 8 night, even though last week’s cover of “Real Good Man” was probably his best performance since the finals began. (8)

8. Aaron Gibson (Team Alicia): He’s received three straight Twitter saves, something that’s never happened before on The Voice. But that also means he’s finished in the bottom two or three in voting three straight weeks. This week, if he lands in the bottom two, he won’t even be eligible for a Twitter save unless The Voice follows a different format than in recent seasons. (10)