‘The X Factor’ USA top 8 rankings: Josh Levi surges, battles Alex & Sierra, Rion Paige

Could this be the second time in three years that a contestant previously-eliminated from “The X Factor” ends up winning? We saw it previously with Melanie Amaro, and now Josh Levi is making a case to be the next act to potentially give this a shot. But if he wants to do this, he has to find a way to get past a duo who has proven themselves to be the most artistic group in the entire competition by a pretty enormous margin.

We can’t admit that ranking the contestants this season has been easy, mostly because there are so many people who have failed to really do anything to the point that it is hard to remember them. To us, there are at the moment on two or three acts in the bunch who we feel have a definite chance to sell albums immediately (which shouldn’t really be the point of this, but that is what Simon Cowell has deemed to be important).

8. Jeff Gutt (last week: 7) – We just can’t sit here and honestly tell you a single thing that Jeff has performed in the live shows, and that’s with watching them all live. He’s not a bad singer, but he’s not exciting. This is not going to be something that makes people want to vote for him down the line.

7. Carlito Olivero (5) – It’s been a rough few weeks for Carlito. Despite him being a decent singer at times, he gets muddled with bad song choices, too many dance moves, and annoying backup dancers to the point of him getting lost in some sort of vast production that is completely unneeded.

6. Lillie McCloud (8) – She’s coming off one of her better vocals of the season, but we still have a hard time really believing that Lillie is going to be able to win this competition. She hasn’t really done anything to revolutionize her genre, and most of the structure of the show favors the young singers that Simon can eventually put on his label.

5. Ellona Santiago (2) – We admire that Ellona is one of the few people in this competition who acts like she legitimately wants to be a superstar, as she performs with so much zest and talent. But she took too big of a risk this past show, and laid an enormous egg out on the stage. She’s gotta get back on the public’s good side.

4. Restless Road (4) – Sometimes, we really buy that this group could be the next big country act; other times, we wish that someone who actually understood country music would take the car keys from Simon. It’s great to mix things up occasionally, but shouldn’t these guys actually get to sing some actual country songs from a change?

3. Rion Paige (3) – Rion is the darkhorse to win the race, or at least from the vantage point that she is someone who we can see sneaking by week after week, and then getting into the finale with a chance to actually win the whole competition. She hasn’t necessarily blown us away, but she has been consistent. That is more than any other contestant on this list.

2. Josh Levi (6) – What a comeback for Josh! What we really see from him that impresses us is that there’s a commitment here to actually be entertaining and doing something different. We legitimately believe and like most of what he does, and that makes for a much more interesting experience than those who just stand up there and sing like a high school talent show.

1. Alex & Sierra (1) – What really has us on their team is that they seem completely in their own little world during the competition. We feel like them having a preexisting relationship helps them dramatically in that it keeps them grounded and focused, and does not allow them to become a puppet of production or anyone else. They are consistent, creative, and a blast to watch.

Who is your favorite on “The X Factor” at the moment? Share some of your thoughts in the poll below!

Photo: Fox