‘The X Factor’ USA top 6 rankings: Alex & Sierra battle against Carlito Olivero, Rion Paige

Wednesday night, the remaining contestants on “The X Factor” USA are going to hit the stage in hopes of performing what are the best songs of their entire career … but which ones of them have a real shot of actually winning? The list here is really rather small. We see the competition right now as one where there is a favorite that is far ahead of everyone else, and then everyone else still struggling to keep up and hold on for dear life.

While we try to based these rankings on performance quality and fan support, we admit that it’s harder with a competition that has been so unpredictable so far. With there being so many young people out there voting, they don’t often pick the people who are necessarily the best singers vs. the people they can relate to the most.

6. Jeff Gutt (last week: 8) – Jeff obviously has some fans, but we will be completely shocked if he finds a way to sneak into the finale. This is more all about the conspiracy theory that he is probably the last person that production wants to win, so he will probably spend most of his time buried early on the show rather than late in it.

5. Restless Road (4) – They are coming off another weak performance, but what is perhaps growing more notable and troublesome is Simon Cowell’s reluctance to actually let the guys in the band anchor the performance. What country act performs with so many backup dancers or singers? It feels like Simon is just the wrong mentor for them.

4. Carlito Olivero (7) – Carlito’s performances have ranged from very good to very weak, and he struggles with that “song choice” problem more than anyone else in this competition. At least he is trying to go uptempo at times, and we feel a push from him to be a genuine entertainer. He just still has a little ways to go if he wants to make it there in the long run.

3. Rion Paige (3) – Rion may be coming off an appearance in the bottom two, but we still feel like she’s got a pretty solid chance of making it to the finale. As for winning the competition, we suppose it’s possible, but unlikely. We haven’t really loved a number of her performances, mostly because they have benefited from her personality more than her voice.

2. Ellona Santiago (5) – Talent-wise, we don’t doubt Ellona’s abilities, and we feel at this point like she has a great shot at being in the finale and maybe even winning. While we haven’t liked every one of her performances and have at times found her a little too risque for her age, she’s making an effort to be a real pop star now. That’s more than you can say to many who take part in this competition.

1. Alex & Sierra (1) – This season, there’s really no telling who America likes since they’ve already sent home (or at least put into a position to be sent home) Khaya Cohen, Lillie McCloud, and Josh Levi. These two have been the most consistent, though, and their strong performances have to be enough to leap them far ahead of everyone else at this point.

Who do you think is going to win “The X Factor” this year? Leave us a comment with your thoughts. I you want more “X Factor” news and scoop, just click here and we’ll hook you up.

Photo: fox