The Voice Season 18: Our Picks For The Top 8

To a degree, there is just no predicting The Voice. Before Season 18's Knockouts, would you have said that there was a snowball's chance in hell that John Legend would dump frontrunner Thunderstorm Artis in favor of Mandi Castillo? Or that Kelly Clarkson would allow promising Tayler Green to be eliminated so that she could keep the significantly less promising Micah Iverson?

4. CammWess

After a good but not great Battle performance got him bumped from Team Legend to Team Kelly, CammWess all but declared, "I'm not here to play, I'm here to win!" with a stunning Knockout that got him stolen back by his original coach.

3. Megan Danielle

Every time we've been tempted to think that Team Kelly's standout doesn't have the training to go the distance, the spunky 17-year-old has smacked the thought right out of our heads with another performance that's as impeccable as it is raw.

1. Thunderstorm Artis

If you ask us, John gave away his best chance at a return trip to the winner's circle when he gave a pass to Mandi Castillo and the chop to Season 18's clear frontrunner, a nuanced fan favorite who immediately became the MVP on Team Nick.

5. Mandi Thomas

Opera shmopera! Turns out, there's freaking nothing that Team Kelly's classically-trained belter can't sing the stuffing outta. But is it a bad sign her Knockout was dispensed with in about 60 seconds? Or just a sign that her competitor had tanked?

2. Toneisha Harris

Team Blake's powerhouse has pipes for days — and maybe, just maybe, the momentum to do what arguably singers like Kyla Jade, Rose Short and Kennedy Holmes should've, and become the series' first female African-American victor.

7. Arei Moon

Who needs fancy studio lighting? Not this force of nature from Team Nick. She sings with so much oomph, she generates her own damn fireworks. What's more, she has presence; she doesn't just get up there and hit her notes, she puts on a show.

8. Todd Tilghman

Even if Team Blake's "Pastor Todd" didn't give off an infectious energy, the father of eight (including Making It's Eagan) would still be a contender, owing to a voice that's so big and passionate, there's scarcely a floor big enough for him to leave it all on.

6. Allegra Miles

Granted, this powerhouse from Team Nick could use some work on her enunciation. But the show's called The Voice, not The Diction. And when she achieves liftoff on one of those roof-rattling big notes of hers, all you're hearing is beauty, not words, anyway.