Before getting into discussing last night’s top six on The Voice 2012, I just want to acknowledge the show itself. One of the things I really enjoy about it is that it’s clear — the coaches care about the artists. (Even Christina Aguilera, but I’ll get to that.) It is the one vocal talent show where there seems to be genuine respect for the talent that they are collectively mentoring. Of course, the talent level that’s been on The Voice certainly helps. In that department every year they seem to find great and unique voices. This year they raised the talent bar yet another level and so The Voice Season 3 has a top six with a diversity of sound, styles and levels of experience that is refreshing from what other shows tend to offer.
WHO’S GONNA GO….
Still, sadly, two performers will be leaving on the result show tonight and after watching the only thing feel I can safely say is that it’s anyone’s game. If you haven’t seen The Voice 2012 top six performances and want to be surprised – leave now. The rest of this article is a definite SPOILER.
Could one performer leaving be Nicholas David? This has nothing to do with preference, I will likely be downloading his version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” However, with the level of talent and performance he was competing against he really needed a knockout performance. In his notes to Nicholas, Cee lo Green agreed with fellow coach Blake Shelton about Nicholas needing to run with the chorus on the Earth, Wind & Fire classic, “September.” Thinking back to last week’s “What’s Going On” – or even back to the battle rounds doing Hall & Oates “She’s Gone,” I could see what Cee Lo’s thinking was. However, due to illness Cee Lo didn’t coach Nicholas this week. Without Cee Lo pushing and guiding him Nicholas chose to play it safe in both performances. This was not the week to play it safe, so we’ll see.
Next up was Cassadee Pope. She’s pretty, consistent, sings well and her style is both popular and familiar. It was no surprise to me that one of her all-time favorite songs is by Avril Lavigne. Avril Lavigne, Taylor Swift, Michelle Branch, Meredith Brooks, Leah Andreone…there’s an entire line of pretty girl pop/rock singers that Cassadee Pope is heir to. Some like Taylor Swift and Avril Lavigne became huge stars. Others had an album or song that did well and had nice things said about it – and that was that. Which is Cassadee? I have no idea, but I do know that the sound has a definite market. Being that a goal for season 3 of The Voice is to have a breakout star Cassadee’s in the final four – no question.
Overall The Voice issue for Amanda Brown is that you can’t say she sounds exactly like Aretha Franklin or Tina Tuner…or a female Lenny Kravits She’s not Steven Tyler or Adele either. Amanda has the powerful voice and presence that legends are made of. Unfortunately, no one is quite sure how to market the makings of a true legend. In deference to that, Amanda made could be brilliant song choice. “Natural Woman” is a song that cuts into the areas of both Trevin and Nicholas while showcasing her incredible voice. It’s also as iconic a song as “Dream On”, and hopefully will get her into the iTunes top ten. While I’m not sure who is going to be eliminated, it’s unlikely that person will be in iTunes top ten bracket. Adam Levine’s choice of White Snake‘s “Here I Go Again” let her be a total rock star, which (as Christine pointed out) really is her heart. While I didn’t think it was vocally as good as last week’s spin on Adele’s “Someone Like You” it certainly couldn’t be called a bad performance. It was a good contrast for “Natural Woman” and did (as her coach pointed out) remind viewers of that rockstar presence she that is. Still, if she doesn’t manage to break that iTunes top ten, she’s likely to be gone.
Speaking of rock, Blake’s call to strip down Foreigner‘s “I Want to Know What Love is” was musical brilliance. Upon hearing the song choice, I wasn’t thrilled. It brought back way to0 many memories of junior high – but I got chills listening to Terry’s version There’s no doubt that Terry McDermott‘s the rock guy. The question is: are there enough fans of Journey and Bon Jovi out there willing to take on a new rocker? If there are, and they put him in that top ten for iTunes, then he’s in. Either way, the first thing Terry needs when The Voice is done – win or lose – is a band. I’m pretty sure he’ll be getting one though, and I look forward to his first album.
Trevin Hunte is lucky he did two songs tonight, because his “Walking on Sunshine” was more like him walking on eggshells. He tried, but his body language wasn’t really free and easy. Like Nicholas, I could see where Cee Lo was thinking of taking it, but without Cee Lo there to really put the soul into that song Trevin was at a loss. Could Trevin have pulled it off if Cee Lo had been in? We’ll never know, but luckily, Trevin did seem to have learned a few things over the season and used the knowledge to great advantage. Singing the female R&B anthem “And I Am Telling You” does have a certain risk to it, but within reason. Risk is good. Especially when it’s a risk that will play into your strengths. Trevin”s choice went back to roots of what got him on The Voice in the beginning. I think with Nicholas’s stumble, it’s going to pay off well for him. Plus, let’s face it, when has anyone done that song well and been sent home for it?
Finally, there is young Melanie Martinez. Both singers on Team Adam have the gift/curse of being very unique. Melanie is a true artist with the passion and drive to be exploring her creative artists no holds barred. She’s poised to be an indie music darling as well as a nice change from the generic teen stars coming out of the Disney and Nickelodeon factories. I love how Adam corrected Christina about where the creative set ideas have been coming from.
Now, before you think I’m getting ready to jump all over Christina, I’m not… necessarily. Remember, she’s a product of Disney and at 17 she’d had she her creative life shaped for her. It’s possible that it just never crossed her mind that the ideas were coming from Melanie. Then there’s also the cynical side of me, which wonders if Christina’s been given a directive to be the one to “bring the drama.” After all, this does still fall under the term “reality television.” While I do believe some of her comments come from her particular taste in music, others seem to be designed to inflame viewers sensibilities and manipulate the audience a bit. A month or so ago Adam was heatedly defending Christina to the press over some body image comments. Are we really supposed to believe the snarky attitude she had with him and that they hate each other now?
Going back to Melanie and the staging: if Christina hadn’t been harping on how cute they were and how someone else had come up with the ideas would we even have known that Melanie has been working with Adam to come up with the designs? Earlier this year Cee Lo was asked his opinion about some sniping occurring on between judges on a different vocal talent show. His response was basically that he felt the producers had manufactured the feud to draw attention to the show and that it’s the kind of thing that’s done all the time. Gee, Cee Lo, how do you know that? You have to admit, people love talking about how “awful” Christina is….
Anyway, last night Melanie was clearly upset with Christina — and Christina noticed. I didn’t see who it was directed to because the camera wasn’t on her, but she said, “she won’t even look at me.” Christina then proceeded to give the gentlest, most useful, constructive criticism Melanie’s gotten from anyone all season. Her comment about not needing to have a big voice or be loud to be saucy, and to play with rifts was excellent. Christina even gave examples that were totally in Melanie’s vein of sound and artistry. This is why I started this piece out by saying the judges really do care about the artists on the show — even Christina. Other shows have let their younger contests crash and burn on stage for effect, leading to talk about the pressure of business being too much. Say what you want about Christina, but she noticed when she needed to dial it back — and she did.
Does that mean I think Melanie will make the final four? It’s hard to say. Once again, a lot will come down to the iTunes charts. The one person everyone knows is safe- – Cassadee. She’s still got songs from other performances on the charts, and has a huge fan following. I would say the next two spots will be whoever breaks onto the iTunes charts top ten. However, that last spot might come down to actual voting numbers, which will come down to fanbase. Why? We don’t know how close the actual votes between the performers have been. For example. Say singer “A” breaks the top ten, but is in the bottom of votes with 100 votes (I’m keeping the math simple), while singer “B” gets 1010 votes, but doesn’t break through on iTunes. In a scenario like that singer B would win…or, maybe I’m just being hopeful because Amanda has been just missing the top ten on iTunes lately.
In any event, I’m sure people know who they’d like to see leave tonight. No, you can’t choose Christina – even if you really, really want to. Feel free to post who you think will end up being the top four on The Voice 2012!
>> Get the latest music from The Voice season 3 at iTunes here!
>> NEXT: The Voice 2012 Season 3 Recap: Top 6 Elimination Results
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