NBC’s ‘The Voice’ rankings: Where Matt McAndrew, Craig Wayne Boyd, Reagan James stand early
Is there a clear favorite on “The Voice” this season? In looking at the current artists in the top 12, we would not say so. Some seem more equipped to win than others, but we don’t have a Christina Grimmie or a Danielle Bradbery type who feel is destined to at least make the finale from their first performance in the show. (We’re still surprised that Grimmie did not win her season just based on her built-in base.)
This sort of parity makes for a difficult job ranking the contestants, but we do at least feel still like there are tiers: Contestants who really need to step it up, ones who have the tools to make it far but need to learn to execute, and those who seem to the time being to be contenders. We’re rankings based primarily on performance quality, but other things like screen time and personality are taking into consideration, as well.
12. Ryan Sill (Team Gwen) – We were surprised he was chosen to be in the top 12, and while he is good, we’re not entirely sure that he is ready for prime time vocally compared to some of the other contestants.
11. Sugar Joans (Team Pharrell) – We’re slightly more confident in Sugar’s abilities, but are still shocked that she made it this far over Elyjuh Rene.
10. Chris Jamison (Team Adam) – At least one person from Adam Levine’s team tends to go early, and there is obviously a pattern here: Contestants who needed the coaches to save them are at least at first in the most danger.
9. DaNica Shirey (Team Pharrell) – Not an indication of where we actually think she is personally, but looking at the past history of this show, she is the sort of contestant who ends up going home well before she should.
8. Taylor John Williams (Team Gwen) – We don’t feel like he really made the most of his prime positioning on this past week of the show, and while he’s not going anywhere right now, we’d be worried a few weeks down the road.
7. Jesse Pitts (Team Blake) – Blake tends to have the most consistent following out of anyone in the competition, and that’s why we personally do tend to give some of his acts a little bit more credit than most others.
6. Damien (Team Adam) – A very good singer with a good story, but why hide the last name? That bugs us. He needs to do something more upbeat on the show this week, and show that he is a good who can also have a little fun.
5. Luke Wade (Team Pharrell) – The voice is there. We’re just waiting to see if Pharrell can put his magic touch on him and make the entire audience see just how interesting and artistic of a guy Luke can be to go along with that.
4. Reagan James (Team Blake) – You have to give Reagan a good shot. Given her confidence level and her age, she’s only going to get better and better as we start to progress in the competition. We find this confidence meshes very well with Blake’s demeanor.
3. Anita Antoinette (Team Gwen) – We haven’t loved her last performance or two, but her capabilities coupled with her familiarity are a big asset. She should easily by Gwen’s last act standing this season.
2. Craig Wayne Boyd (Team Blake) – A serious contender, mostly in the way that many of Blake’s other performers with this sort of classic rock voice were. He just will appeal to a very wide demographic, and not just those who enjoy country music.
1. Matt McAndrew (Team Adam) – He is unique, artistic, likable, has a popular coach, and he performed well on iTunes this week. With the information that we have, there are not too many other places we could go with the #1 spot.
Who is your favorite right now? Let us know in the poll below or the comments! Also, you can sign up today to get some other TV news worth singing about courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo via NBC.)