So sorry for the delay in posting this recap for last night’s somewhat underwhelming episode of The Voice. I had a late rehearsal so I didn’t get to watch the show til late, and I totally had to watch the finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars too. (Um Raven, you were robbed!)… Anywho, I’m all caught up and still confused why everyone seems to be in love with Cassadee Pope. She’s selling like crazy on iTunes and certainly does a good job, but really, what is the mass appeal? She’s no Kelly Clarkson. But I digress…. So, just who do I think really has “the voice”? Check out my rankings below.
The Voice Performance Rankings for 11/26/12 1. Amanda Brown- “Someone Like You”: giving us a rocking version of Adele’s massive # 1 smash ballad was a big risk and it paid off in spades. Amanda is the most seasoned and talented of all the finalists if you ask me, not to mention exhibiting the most range. Love her. 2. Cody Belew- “Somebody to Love”: rebounding from his fun but derivative performance last week, my favorite male singer in the competition killed it on Queen’s iconic “Somebody to Love”. He has incredible stage presence and personality to go with his great vocals which got a nice and much-needed showcase this week. 3. Nicholas David- “What’s Going On”: the bearded Santa/ZZ Top contender delivered another pristine and pure vocal on the Marvin Gaye classic cementing his likely status as one of the final four. He also is the only contestant who truly represents what this show claims to be about, so extra points for that Nicholas! 4. Cassadee Pope- “AreYou Happy Now?”: while it was big step down from last week, Cassadee still did a nice job on Michelle Branch’s mid 2000′s rock/pop hit. She’s likable and has a decent voice, but why on Earth is everyone going crazy for her? Please let me know in the comments cuz I’m apparently missing something. (I’d still be content if she won though cuz we need more female winners on these talent shows folks.) 5. Dez Duran- “U Smile”: Dez always does a good job and looks amazing doing it. This one, however, was a little generic and I’m sorry, but a Bieber song? Really? You’re lucky you’re so hot Dez cuz you need a better song next time. 6. Terry McDermott- “Over You”: the Scottish rocker/mulletted Hobbit had another strong vocal on this Blake Shelton country hit. However, he really is lacking the star power to win this show and is it me or do all his performances feel like the same thing? 7. Trevin Hunte- “The Greatest Love of All”: Ok, Trevin is clearly a great guy with a nice voice. However, this was pretty bad. He was flat and/or pitchy throughout his take on Whitney Houston’s # 1 ballad from 1986 “The Greatest Love of All”. As my roommate said last night, he should’ve gone for more of a George Benson take on the song and made it intimate and less bombastic because unfortunately, this was just not good. 8. Melanie Martinez- “Too Close”: absolutely making a mess of Alex Clare’s recent # 7 hit, Melanie Skunk Hair Martinez was the worst of the bunch again. Her wispy vocals are atrocious. She has no stage presence and while I appreciate her attempts to make each song her own, she failed tremendously again last night. This was awful… And so why on Earth are people buying her crap on iTunes too? #Imconfused
Predictions~
In Danger: Trevin, Terry, Cody, Dez (unfortunately for me, Melanie seems destined to stay another week) Going Home: Trevin and Terry
And there you have it. As RuPaul says, I just “let you have it” with my recap, lol… But what do you think? Who’s your favorite and who do you think is going home? And how terrible of a host if Carson Daly? And why is Xtina so mean to Amanda Brown? Jealous much? And what does Adam have against The Viper Room? And how cute is CeeLo and Cody’s friend/funship? Ok, enough babbling from me. Sound off below and watch the results show tonight on NBC.
So, I have finally succumbed to The Voice in season 3. While the first two cycles, drove me nuts after the interesting “blind” auditions, this go round has implemented some great changes (like the “Steal”), focused on some fantastic singers and, thankfully, the judges aren’t annoying like before. One more thing that could improve the show~ PLEASE eliminate the ridiculous “Social Media” aspect of the show. We don’t care! Sorry Christina Milian… .Anywho, the improved product has yielded 12 strong finalists, 11 of which deserve to be there. But just who deserves to win at this point? Take a look at my rankings below and watch The Voice live tonight on NBC.
My Ranking of The Voice Finalists~ Top 12 Edition
1. Amanda Brown: she’s flawless week in and week out in every genre of music. Great vocals, gorgeous to look at and a fiery fun personality. She’s my pick to win the whole thing and deservedly so. 2. Cody Belew: this soulful country boy has nailed every musical flavor thrown at him doing it with style and confidence along the way. 3. Trevor Hunte: this big fella can wail like nobody’s business and has a great underdog back story. Now, if he’d stop singing 80′s and 90′s AC ballads… 4. Sylvia Yacoub: she broke out with a tender and emotionally resonant version of “The One That Got Away” that gave us a try sense of who she is and what she can do. She could be a dark horse. 5. Dez Duron: no, he’s not the best singer, but he is clearly a star. He’s hot, has a good voice and has charisma for days. If he picks the right songs, stays humble and improves week to week, he could end up surpassing a lot of better singers in the competition. 6. Terry McDermott: the Scottish rocker’s range is pretty amazing and he has a precise and flawless tone. If he could just fix that hair… 7. Michaela Paige: I’m thrilled Blake “saved” her because she’s by far the best on his weak team. This little P!nk rocker could pull ahead if she continues to nail her live performances. 8. Cassadee Pope: she’s beautiful, has great stage presence and a strong voice. But is the former rock band leader being out shown by the novices?
9. Brian Keith: good voice, but totally unlikable and overly cocky. 10. Nicholas David: he’s the elder statesman in the competition with the velvety voice. He is the definition of the show because you would never think a guy with that voice would look like he does. He’s a nice guy too. However, he is sorely lacking in star quality and is a tad forgettable. 11. Adriana Louise: she was the pretty pop powerhouse that Xtina saved. Now, she better show us why Xtina loves her so much or she is in trouble. 12. Melanie Maritnez: the two-haired girl with the annoying whisper voice plain sucks. I’m sorry I have no idea what she’s doing there or why Adam “saved” her. Blech.
Cody Belew:
Now, who are your favorites? And who are you gonna vote for tonight? Let me know below.
Gleeis gearing up for their big Valentine’s Day episode that will feature a lot of luvin’ going on. It will also introduce Rachel’s gay dads played by Jeff Goldblum and Broadway superstar Brian Stokes Mitchell plus The Glee Project winner Samuel Larsen will finally debut. (a full three months plus after his co-winner Damian McGinty first appeared as Rory). He will be playing a nonconformist student named Joe who joins Sam (Chord Overstreet), Quinn (Diana Agron) and Mercedes (Amber Riley) on a version of the Gym Class Heroes/Adam Levine hit “Stereo Hearts”. We’ll see if he actually gets the 7 episode arc the Glee Project win promised him (I hear they really only have to pay him for 7 episodes) or if he goes past that like the rather winning McGinty. In the meantime, check out the Glee version of “Stereo Hearts” below and watch the show Tuesday night on Fox.
She hasn’t done it since 2001 and he is the first to do it in history… Just what am I talking about? If I said she is Christina Aguilera and he is Adam Levine from Maroon 5 would you have a better clue? Now, now get your heads out of the gutter. I’m talking about the fact that Xtina grabs her first # 1 single on Billboard’s Hot 100 since “Lady Marmalade” (performed alongside Pink, Mya, Missy Elliott and Lil Kim) ten years ago with her collaboration with Maroon 5 on “Moves Like Jagger”. It’s the first chart topper on the Hot 100 for the band since “Makes Me Wonder” in 2007…. So, just what exactly is Levine doing that’s so special? Well, he becomes the first singer to land a # 1 song as a member of a band during the same week as a featured solo artist with the song “Stereo Hearts” by Gym Class Heroes featuring The Voice coach rising to # 10. Congrats to them both. With all that said, Katy Perry tumbles from the top to # 5 and Foster the People flies up to # 3. It should be a big race for the top next week between Maroon & Xtina, Foster the People and two flying high singles by Lady Gaga (“You and I”) and Adele (“Someone Like You”) that will have massive sales increases after the MTV Video Music Awards…. In the meantime head to www.billboard.com for more on the singles chart and check out the new top ten below.
Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten Singles:
1. “Moves Like Jagger”- Maroon 5 w/Christina Aguilera (last week~ 4)
2. “Party Rock Anthem”- LMFAO (lw~ 2)
3. “Pumped Up Kicks”- Foster the People (lw~ 7)
4. “Lighters”- Bad Meets Evil w/Bruno Mars (lw~ 6)
5. “Last Friday Night”- Katy Perry (lw~ 1)
6. “Super Bass”- Nicki Minaj (lw~ 5)
7. “How to Love”- Lil Wayne (lw~8)
8. “Good Life”- OneRepublic (lw~ 9)
9. “Give Me Everything Tonight”- Pitbull w/NeYo, Nayer & Afrojack (lw~ 11)
10. “Stereo Hearts”- Gym Class Heroes w/Adam Levine (lw~ 15)
And here’s Gym Class Heroes teaming up with Adam Levine in the video for “Stereo Hearts”
Heading over to the album charts, rapper The Game nabs his third chart topper with R.E.D. pushing Jay Z & Kanye West down to the runner-up position… And nabbing her 31st top ten album, Barbra Streisand debuts at # 4 with What Matters Most. She’s had more top ten albums than any woman in history and is third among all artists behind Frank Sinatra (33) and The Rolling Stones (36). Wow. Check out the new top ten below.
Billboard 200 Top Ten Albums
1. R.E.D.- The Game (debut)
2. Watch the Throne- Jay Z & Kanye West (last week~ 2)
3. 21- Adele (lw~ 2)
4. What Matters Most- Barbra Streisand (debut)
5. Now 39 Compilation- Various Artists (lw~ 3)
6. Hell on Heels- Pistol Annies (debut)
7. Tailgates & Tanlines- Luke Bryan (lw~ 4)
8. Muppets: The Green Album- Various Artists (debut)
9. My Kinda Party- Jason Aldean (lw~ 5)
10. Chief- Eric Church (lw~ 7)
The Voice may have been a fun albeit disastrous mess and a total American Idol clone, but it was also a ratings hit. And it has helped fuel sales of all the singers from the show. Um, let me rephrase~ the singing COACHES from the show. You see Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green have all had strong digital sales of their recent singles (“Never Gonna Leave this Bed”, “Moves Like Jagger”, “Bright Lights Bigger City”) and their catalog of albums since the show began. However, the standout has been country superstar Blake Shelton who recently grabbed his first Hot 100 top ten hit with “Honey Bee” and now grabs his first # 1 album on the Billboard 200 as he debuts on top with Red River Blue. It also becomes his 5th top ten album and his second consecutive # 1 country album. Now, if only the winner Javier Colon could drum up some sales for his long gone debut single “Stitch by Stich” (the same goes for the runners-up Dia Frampton, Beverly McClellan and Vicci Martinez whose singles have all but disappeared)… If you compare Colon to Idol’s most recent winner, Scotty McCreery, he has his work cut out for him. McCreery’s debut single “I Love You This Big” is top 20 at country radio and continues to sell well months after its release. Scotty has also had two hit compilation albums and remains in the top 20 with his Walmart release this week. So, The Voice has some catching up to do for its contestants, but was a big boon for its judges, ahem, coaches.
Now, back to the Billboard 200, Shelton leads 6 debuts in the top ten including rockers Incubus who grab their 5th top five album with If Not Now, When. Also new this week are the latest from Colbie Caillat, country singer Chris Young, Theory of a Deadman and Sublime with Rome. For all of the album charts news, head to Billboard here, and check out the new top ten below.
Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Red River Blue- Blake Shelton (debut)
2. If Not Now, When?- Incubus (debut)
3. 21- Adele (last week~ 2)
4. Neon- Chris Young (debut)
5. 4- Beyonce (lw~ 1)
6. All of You- Colbie Caillat (debut)
7. My Kinda Party- Jason Aldean (lw~ 4)
8. The Truth Is… – Theory of a Deadman (debut)
9. Yours Truly- Sublime With Rome (debut)
10. When the Sun Goes Down- Selena Gomez & the Scene (lw~ 3)
Over on the singles, chart, it’s a lot of the same old, same old with LMFAO holding pat for the third week at # 1 with “Party Rock Anthem”. The big news comes from recovered Disney princess Demi Lovato who debuts big at # 10 with her awesome new single “Skyscraper”. Here’s your new Hot 100 top ten…
Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100
1. “Party Rock Anthem”- LMFAO (last week~ 1) 3rd week on top
2. “Give Me Everything”- Pitbull w/NeYo, Nayer & Afrojack (lw~ 2)
3. “Last Friday Night”- Katy Perry (lw~ 4)
4. “Rolling in the Deep”- Adele (lw~ 3)
5. “Super Bass”- Nicki Minaj (lw~ 5)
6. “How to Love”- Lil Wayne (lw~ 7)
7. “The Edge of Glory”- Lady Gaga (lw~ 6)
8. “Good Life”- OneRepublic (lw~8)
9. “Tonight Tonight”- Hot Chelle Rae (lw~ 9)
10. “Skyscraper”- Demi Lovato (debut)
.. And an interesting note farther down the Hot 100 chart comes from the Re-Entry of Jason Aldean & Kelly Clarkson’s # 1 country smash “Don’t You Wanna Stay” at # 48. The single previously spent 6 months on the chart peaking at # 31, but after recently landing in the top ten of the Adult Contemporary and Hot Adult Contemporary charts, it returns to the overall Hot 100. It’s also getting a lot of pop airplay, so another long run could be on the way. Congrats Jason & Kelly! (Yes, it’s my fave song of 2011, so here it is again!)
Making it four in a row, Beyonce latest album, 4, becomes her fourth consecutive # 1 album on the Billboard Top 200 Album charts. That comprises all of her solo releases and makes her only the second female to do that with her first four records following Britney Spears. It’s quite a feat despite the lackluster reviews (I gave the album a “C-” grade) and her lowest debut week total of 310,00 copies (which is still a fine number, mind you). We’ll see if her new single “Best Thing I Never Had”, which is the best track off the album in my eyes, can keep momentum up for 4 after the first single, the terrible “(Girls) Run the World” tanked upon its release… While Queen B leads the chart, she’s not the only one making news on the Top 200 as we also have top ten debuts from rapper Big Sean, teen queen Selena Gomez, and American Idol winners David Cook (season 7) and Scotty McCreery (season 10). For Cook, it’s good news/bad news as his album gives him a second top ten, but the first week numbers (46,000) are a huge drop from his initial release (260,000). He needs a hit single asap… McCreery’s release is an EP of some of his best Idol moments from this season and gives him his first top ten and leads his contenders from the final four who also debut this week with their EPs. Runner Up Lauren Alaina comes in at # 24, while fourth place finisher James Durbin is at # 31 and third place finisher, the delightful Haley Reinhart lands at # 37. For more on all the Album charts, head to Billboard here and check out the new top ten below.
Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. 4- Beyonce (debut)
2. 21- Adele (last week~ 3)
3. Finally Famous- Big Sean (debut)
4. When the Sun Goes Down- Selena Gomez & the Scene (debut)
5. The Light of the Sun- Jill Scott (lw~ 1)
6. My Kinda Party- Jason Aldean (lw~ 10)
7. This Loud Morning- David Cook (debut)
8. Dream with Me- Jackie Evancho (lw~ 4)
9. Hell: the Sequel- Bad Meets Evil (lw~ 6)
10. American Idol Season 10 EP- Scotty McCreery (debut)
Switching over to the singles chart, LMFAO lands their first # 1 with “Party Rock Anthem” as it climbs to the top displacing Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything”. Check out the new top ten below.
Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “Party Rock Anthem”- LMFAO (last week~ 3)
2. “Give Me Everything Tonight”- Pitbull w/NeYo, Nayer & Afrojack (lw~ 1)
3. “Rolling in the Deep”- Adele (lw~ 2)
4. “Last Friday Night”- Katy Perry (lw~ 4)
5. “Super Bass”- Nicki Minaj (lw~ 5)
6. “The Edge of Glory”- Lady Gaga (lw~ 6)
7. “E.T.”- Katy Perry w/Kanye West (lw~ 7)
8. “How to Love”- Lil Wayne (lw~ 10)
9. “Good Life”- OneRepublic (lw~ 18)
10. “Tonight Tonight”- Hot Chelle Rae (lw~ 13)
And while there are no American Idol’s in the top ten, several are on the charts including Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson and McCreery. However, that other TV singing show, The Voice, makes waves with a bunch of debuts after its finale lead by winner Javier Colon’s first single “Stitch by Stitch” at # 17. Here are all the Voice debuts this week~
17. “Stitch by Stitch”- Javier Colon (The Voice)
20. “Inventing Shadows”- Dia Frampton (The Voice)
45. “Man in the Mirror”- Adam Levine & Javier Colon (The Voice)
57. “I Wont Back Down”- Blake Shelton & Dia Frampton (The Voice)
74. “Beautiful”- Christina Aguilera & Beverly McClellan (The Voice)
78. “Afraid to Sleep”- Vicci Martinez (The Voice)
And before I go, please enjoy Beyonce’s latest ”Best Thing I Never Had” live from the Macy’s 4t of July celebration.
After a strange and messy run, The Voicecrowned its first winner in a bit of a surprise with Javier Colon taking the title. While he may have seemed like the frontrunner after his glorious “Time After Time” cover in the blind rounds, he lost a bit of steam to the affable Dia Frampton in the subsequent weeks. Colon always delivered polished strong vocals and was the clear standout on Adam‘s team, but Frampton had become the David Cook of The Voice with intriguing and exciting new interpretations of classic hits. She was also outselling all her competitors by a wide margin on iTunes. After this week’s final performance, Colon’s digital sales came quite close to Frampton’s so it seemed like he could have a shot. But, it really seemed like Dia would win. So kudos America for picking someone with a great voice over someone who has a unique but affected voice…. Of course, I would’ve preferred the best singer of the bunch, Beverly McClellan, to win, or even the punky and awesome belter Vicci Martinez. But I should just be happy that all four finalists were strong contenders. It brought a nice if underwhelming tone to the finale which featured duets from each of the contestants. Here’s my take on those performances for ya:
The Voice Finale Results Performance Rankings: 1. Javier Colon & Stevie Nicks “Landslide”: it was simply gorgeous and became only the second true big “Moment” of all the season’s performances. (The other was Xtina and Beverly’s “Beautiful”.) Javier’s harmonies with Nicks were perfect and it was his best showing to date. Grade: A 2. Vicci Martinez & Pat Monahan “Drops of Jupiter”: while the two didn’t really connect in the song, Martinez’s sheer power and soaring vocals helped this one land in the runner up spot. And she was one of two finalists who outsung their star duet partner on the night. Grade: B 3. Dia Frampton & Miranda Lambert- “The House that Built Me“: this was lovely but boring. And unfortunately for Frampton, but she came nowhere near the strong vocals and emotional sentiment that Lambert displayed on her signature hit. Grade: B- 4. Beverly McClellan & Ryan Tedder- “Good Life”: Beverly gave her all and easily outsung the limited Tedder on his group OneRepublic’s current hit. He’s really a wonderful writer and producer, but not much of a live singer. Beverly, on the other hand, is a great singer. I just wish she had been given a song and a partner worthy of her talent. Grade: C+
So, if you look at those rankings, at least the winner of the show had the best final performance. I do expect all four singers to maintain some level of success in the future and Frampton seems likely to be the biggest seller when all is said and done. It’s understandable since she’s the youngest and the most contemporary of the finalists. I do wish them all well.
I also wish this train wreck of a show well despite my complaints. For all of its mistakes, blunders and bad choices, it was solid entertainment and crowned a good winner. I wonder how it will do holding up against the vastly superior American Idol in the winter. We shall see. But if they want to do well, they had better take these suggestions:
1- Get rid of the social media room, twitter crap and that Alison blond correspondent. They’re all an annoying and terrible waste of time. .
2. Give Carson Daly a good talking to. He needs more energy. He should care about what he’s doing and the contestants. He shouldn’t act like he’s on a telethon. And he should be more informed. What moron who ran TRL for years pronounces one of the biggest writer/singer/producer’s name wrong? Seriously, it’s Ryan TEDDER, not Teeter, you dingbat Carson!
3. Keep the emphasis on the singers. Sure, the coaches were interesting (when they weren’t egotistical or grating) and they gave some good direction. However, the show is about finding the one true NEW voice. It’s not about these former hitmakers.
4. Streamline the audition process, battle rounds and competition rounds. It seemed like the show was making it up as it went along. Figure out what you’re doing NBC!
5. Continue to focus on diversity and honest storytelling and blind casting. That was one of the strongest facets of the show. (Yay for the gay finalists, the wide range of age in competitors and the racial diversity among the singers.)
6. If you’re going to do a results show, don’t just plan it the day before. These results shows were boring, uninspired, featured pretty lame performances and a lack of drama.
I could probably go on and on, but I need to write my So You Think You Can Dance recap (now that’s an amazing reality competition show that is executed incredibly well). So, I will leave you to your own thoughts about this fascinating and flawed show. Will you come back for season two of The Voice? Or are you more excited for the new musical drama Smash, starring American Idol’sKatharine McPhee, that will accompany it like me? Sound off below…. And enjoy winner Javier and Stevie Nick’s great “Landslide” duet as well.
Finally we have some more new blood making waves on the Pop Charts! Last week Bad Meets Evil ended Adele’s run at # 1 and this week, we have another new chart topper from Jill Scott with her latest The Light of the Sun. It marks her first # 1 as well and leads four other debuts from Bon Iver, Pitbull, Justin Moore and Weird Al Yankovick…. And speaking of Pitbull… After months of women, specifically Adele, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Katy Perry, ruling the Hot 100 Singles chart, a man, rapper Pitbull, hits the summit with his latest “Give Me Everything Tonight”. The song is also his fourth top ten this year following “Hey Baby”, “On the Floor” with Jennifer Lopez and “I Like It” with Enrique Iglesias…. Also making news are the coaches and competitors of The Voice as several of the finalists debut with songs on the Hot 100 while Adam Levine with his group Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera debut in the top ten with their new single “Moves Like Jaggar”. Interestingly it’s the first Hot 100 top ten for the group since 2007 (“”Makes Me Wonder”) and for Aguilera since 2008 (“Keeps Getting Better”). We’ll see how the show affects the charts next week after its big finale show tonight…. For more on all the charts, head to Billboardhere and check out the new top tens below.
Top Ten Albums:
1. The Light of the Sun- Jill Scott (debut)
2. Bon Iver- Bon Iver (debut)
3. 21- Adele (last week~ 3)
4. Dream With Me- Jackie Evancho (lw~ 2)
5. Outlaws Like Me- Justin Moore (debut)
6. Hell: The Sequel- Bad Meets Evil (lw~ 1)
7. Planet Pit- Pitbull (debut)
8. Born This Way- Lady Gaga (lw~ 4)
9. Alpocolypse- Weird Al Yankovick (debut)
10. My Kinda Party- Jason Aldean (lw~ 5)
Hot 100 Top Ten Singles:
1. “Give Me Everything”- Pitbull w/NeYo, Nayer & Afrojack (last week~ 2)
2. “Rolling in the Deep”- Adele (lw~ 1)
3. “Party Rock Anthem”- LMFAO (lw~ 3)
4. “Last Friday Night”- Katy Perry (lw~ 4)
5. “Super Bass”- Nicki Minaj (lw~8)
6. “The Edge of Glory”- Lady Gaga (lw~ 6)
7. “E.T.”- Katy Perry w/Kanye West (lw~ 5)
8. “Moves Like Jaggar”- Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera (debut)
9. “The Lazy Song”- Bruno Mars (lw~ 9)
10. “How to Love”- Lil Wayne (lw~ 13)
The Voice Hot 100 Debuts~
52. “Fix You”- Javier Colon
54. “Losing My Religion”- Dia Frampton
68. “Dog Days are Over”- Vicci Martinez
92. “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved”- Xenia
And here’s the new # 1 song in the nation: “Give Me Everything” by Pitbull with NeYo, Nayer and Afrojack
As you readers know, I findThe Voiceto be a confounding disastrous mess of a show. It’s incredibly annoying but I can’t stop watching. The show completely threw out its original concept of just finding one amazing voice and has become a giant crazy commercial for NBCUniversal and their music affiliates. It’s all about consumerism and social media and crappy telethon like TV. Oh, and did I mention it’s about the coaches more than the contestants? I mean why else would the judges perform twice just like the contestants? And will we actually remember the contestants when all is said and done? Well, let’s take a look at my rankings of last night’s performances below and see who deserves to stay locked in our memories…
The Voice Finale Performance Rankings: 1. Beverly McClellan & Christina Aguilera “Beautiful”: this was simply gorgeous and astoundingly, well, beautiful. The two singers melded wonderfully together displaying great chemistry and harmony on this ballad that clearly spoke to their own personal struggles. Nothing else even came close to the emotional wallop this incredible performance delivered and added with Beverly’s awesome solo should land her the crown… Should… 2. Beverly McClellan “Lovesick”: Beverly destroyed the other soloists with her first single, this rocking 80′s Vixen meets Lita Ford love lament. Her vocals, as they have been throughout the competition, were pitch perfect and she slayed the crowd with this high energy and fantastic showcase. Loved it! 3. Vicci Martinez & CeeLo Green “Love is a Battlefield”: oooh dancing kids, fireworks and eyeliner galore! CeeLo and Vicci were on fire with this awesomely entertaining cover of Pat Benatar’s 1984 classic. And yes, Cee Lo said it right~ Vicci totally could be today’s Pat Benatar. Just great. 4. Vicci Martinez “Afraid to Sleep”: Vicci gave Beverly a run for her money on her first single, this 80′s style rocker in the vein of Bonnie Tyler and Laura Branigan’s hits from the era. It was a great song with a great vocal, but was the song too dated for today’s audiences? 5. Javier Colon & Adam Levine “Man in the Mirror”: tackling Michael Jackson’s iconic # 1 classic from 1988, Adam and Javier gave a wonderful performance with strong vocals. This is the kind of song Javier should’ve sung throughout the competition in fact. 6. Dia Frampton “Inventing Shadows“: Dia has arguably the most contemporary voice and style of the finalists and this first single suited her very well. In fact, it’s already outselling her competitors and it does seem pretty radio friendly. However, the shadow dancers in the background were annoying and her voice is certainly an acquired taste. 7. Javier Colon “Stitch by Stitch”: yes, it was a good vocal. Heck, Javier is a fantastic singer. However, this just felt a bit underwhelming and I still don’t see what type of songs Javier would record. He’s done pop, rock, ballads and a little R&B, but who the heck is he? 8. Dia Frampton & Blake Shelton “I Won’t Back Down”- Um, this was fine…. That’s all I got. 9. The Coaches “Under Pressure”: sorry, but their styles just don’t really work well together. Christina seems like she was in an entirely different performance and a little annoyed to be there. The song was too big for Adam’s voice and Blake seemed a little scared with his crazy eyes.
Now that I’ve ranked the contenders, just how will it all play out with the results tonight? Looking at who votes more for these type of shows, I’d say the youngsters will be able to push Dia to the top. She and Javier have gotten the most pimping since the start of the show and they’re selling the most on iTunes. However, will older voters and the viewers who don’t care about buying the music help push the more deserving Beverly or Vicci into the winners circle? And how can we really choose a winner after they’ve only performed like 5 times? (On the vastly superior American Idol, contestants sing a million times by the finale. I’m just saying…). So who could take it?
My Predictions~ Will win: Dia Should win: Beverly Spoiler: Javier
My Rankings:
1. Beverly
2. Vicci
3. Javier
4. Dia
So, that’s what I thought of last night’s final performances on The Voice. I’m bracing myself for disappointment with tonight’s results because I fear my girl Beverly (or my runner-up girl Vicci) won’t get the crown she most rightly deserves. And so it goes with reality competition TV… But who do you want to win? And who do you think will win? Tell me about it below.
And here’s some more from the woman who should win it all…
Beverly McClellan “Lovesick”
Beverly McClellan & Christina Aguilera- “Beautiful”
Well, at least The Voice is improving… That was my biggest reaction after watching last night’s semi-final of the singing competition where seven of the eight contenders delivered very strong performances. The renewed focus on their talent and the fact that they are, for the most part, somewhat compelling artists is giving credence to the show that overall, is still, a bit of a mess….
Let’s take a look at the positives:
1) the singers are actually good and I could see several of them make a hit song
2) Cee Lo is perhaps the most entertaining and interesting star presence among the judges
3) Adam is playing the game and making smart choices (Hello, THANK YOU for picking Casey to stay instead the over-hyped and under-whelming Jeff)
4) the show has wonderfully diverse singers and focuses on them equally whether they’re straight, gay, black white, short or tall (take that Idol)
And now the negatives:
1) Carson Daly is a boring, atrocious, clueless, tired host
2) the “Social Media” aspect of the show (while thankfully scaled back a bit) is an incredibly irritating waste of time. It is not interesting or fun to watch people talk about whose “trending” and that correspondent girl is astoundingly annoying
3) the show remains ridiculously overproduced and manipulated (yes, we know you want Dia or Javier to win producers… you’re lucky they’re good)
4) The graphics and stage are so cheap and tacky. For season two, please get an upgrade
5) there is too much focus on the coaches~ the show is fast becoming about their voices and not the contestants… Plus, their banter is a bit obnoxious (mainly Xtina) and lord, someone teach them about brevity. They need to learn how to give a soundbite
6) there are no real critiques~ the coaches need to man up and actually give some constructive criticism instead of just effusive praise (especially if the performance is bad like the country guy from last week or those cute twin girls)
Now, that I have noted the good and bad things about the show, I do have to admit one more thing: the show remains very watchable. And with 8 well-chosen contestants, we have a real horse race on our hands. (By the way America chose Javier from Adam’s team and Vicci from Cee Lo’s team while Adam’s choice was Casey and Cee Lo’s was Nakia all moving forward). So, just who may be ahead to win the whole thing? Let’s look at my rankings from last night for a clue.
The Voice Performance Rankings 6/21/11: 1. Vicci: slaying Florence + the Machine’s recent hit “Dog Days are Over”, my favorite contender remains a force to be reckoned with. She had the most entertaining performance as well with lots of energy, good vocals and the drum group. 2. Nakia: giving a rocking spin to Adam Lambert’s top ten hit from 2010 “Whataya Want From Me”, Nakia almost grabbed my top spot. With Vicci and Nakia delivering such strong numbers, America and the CeeLo will have a Sophie’s Choice moment choosing which deserving singer will hit the finals. 3. Javier: performing what I consider to be one of the best songs of all time, Coldplay’s ”Fix You”, Javier gave us arguably the best vocall of the night. He reigned in the vocal gymnastics for a pure translation of this great song. However, I did feel a slight emotional disconnect from him. The song’s emotional power won me over more than he did. 4. Casey: with the biggest emotional wallop of the night, Casey surprised the heck out of me with a lovely rendition of Whitney Houston’s # 1 smash from 1992 and Dolly Parton’s # 1 country hit from 1974 “I Will Always Love You”. Her take on it landed somewhere in the middle of those two classics and I really enjoyed it. In fact, of all the numbers, it was the one I was most tempted to download. 5. Dia: the queen of song reinterpretation on The Voice (and possibly the front-runner thus far) slayed R.E.M.’s # 4 hit from 1991 “Losing My Religion”. She remains very original and a sweet smooth presence. However, her voice is not my fave. She kinda sounds like a less polished Jewel… 6. Beverly: with another fantastic vocal on B.B. King’s 1969 classic “The Thrill is Gone”, Beverly proved she has the chops to make it to the final. I just wish it had been a bit more memorable or explosive on a night of strong performances. 7. Frenchie: it pains me to put two of my faves, Frenchie and Beverly, so low on the list, but that just goes to show how well everyone did. And it’s no knock to Ms. Davis who delivered a polished take on Madonna’s iconic 1989 # 1 “Like a Prayer”. I especially enjoyed the end when she took us to church! 8. Xenia: ok, yes, she’s a lovely girl with a great tone to her voice. But let’s be honest. She’s kinda terrible. She has no stage presence and her voice is actually really weak. The teenager’s take on The Script’s 2009 debut hit “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” was easily the worst of the night. She should’ve been sent packing last week. Sorry.
And now My Predictions.. Just who will garner the most votes from America, plus enough points from their coach to move forward?
Safe: Vicci, Javier, Beverly, Dia Going Home: Casey, Nakia, Frenchie, Xenia
(However, Nakia could pull out a shocker and take Vicci’s spot).
And there you have it, my latest take on the fascinating conundrum that is The Voice. The show is sort of concentrating on finding one true great voice, but still needs some work. We’ll see how things go in next week’s finale. And tune into NBC tonight for the results show. Who are you rooting for?
And here’s Vicci’s great “Dog Days are Over” performance.
So sorry for the delay in posting this recap for last night’s somewhat underwhelming episode of The Voice. I had a late rehearsal so I didn’t get to watch the show til late, and I totally had to watch the finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars too. (Um Raven, you were robbed!)… Anywho, I’m all caught up and still confused why everyone seems to be in love with Cassadee Pope. She’s selling like crazy on iTunes and certainly does a good job, but really, what is the mass appeal? She’s no Kelly Clarkson. But I digress…. So, just who do I think really has “the voice”? Check out my rankings below.
