sydneyjane

I was glad to see a coach other than Blake win, and I'm glad that it was Kelly. She's really "extra," as even she has said, and sometimes it gets on my nerves lol! But she brought new life to the show and is a great coach (I'd even say the best of the four) so I'm happy to hear she's coming back next year. Not so happy to see JHud coming back...but not sure who else could go in that seat... Brynn's original song kind of reminded me of Adele's Send My Love.

Wow, big changes on iTunes since the last update last night: 1 - Billy 2 - Sundance 5 - Josh 9 - Christian 11 - Brendan 12 - We 15 - Ali 44 - Aaron

Re Miley's possible appeal to country contestants, she can definitely talk the talk. I think one of the reasons that the other judges haven't been so successful in getting country artists is because they have no legitimate connection to it and don't seem to know much about it. And, judging by some of Adam's comments, I don't think he even likes country music. Miley has performed with her godmother, Dolly Parton, several times, so we know we can expect to hear her name drop Dolly throughout the season. And, she has done some country (check YouTube for Jolene and You're Going to Make Me Lonesome When You Go, for starters), although, I guess nothing was a chart hit. She knows the genre. She grew up with it. And, But, you're right, with the younger country artists, I think she will definitely be competitive, especially with females. Not so sure how much appeal she will have with the guys. As for Alicia, I'm not sure how she will be as a coach. She will probably get most of the R&B contestants. (But, didn't Miley just do an R&B/rap themed album most recently?) I'm just glad they're going with two females this year, and that one of them is not the typical white/blonde (nothing against white blondes, but it always bugged me that the female judge always was white and blonde). I'm looking forward to it. I'll definitely miss Pharrell, though, and hope they will bring him back.

Well, apparently, she is joining as a coach next season, so....I guess we need to get used to it. I think she will be fine, though. I do find some of her antics annoying, but it looks like she's giving the contestants some good advice during the knockouts. And, she knows her music.

TMZ is reporting that Miley will be a coach next season, replacing Gwen Stefani. Interesting. If so, maybe a woman will finally win this thing. I can see a lot of contestants wanting to pick Miley. And, she will probably definitely challenge Blake for some of the country artists.

I'm really going to miss Avalon and Lee. True, they weren't the best singers, but Avalon had a current sound that I could easily on today's radio. Same with Lee...and, he's a young black guy doing something. They both made me smile. Not sure who I'll root for now, but it's the final season, so I guess I'll keep watching, or at least come back for the finales.

Maybe it's because they HAVE watched the show that they DON'T pick the other coaches. In Blake, they have someone who truly likes and appreciates their style of music. Most of the other coaches have no idea what to do with a country singer, and really only seem to pick them because they want to get "a country singer." Shelby from last year is a good example. Girl had a great voice, but choosing Adam did nothing for her except to help pump Adam's ego; she's one that would have done better with Blake. Not saying she would have been in the top 3 or 4, but he would have coached her differently and helped her choose songs more appropriate for her voice and style of singing. It is unfortunate that most of them go with the same coach, but I think there's good reason, based on past seasons.

Maybe they have tried. I mean, it's one thing to do a really great cover of a really great song that was made famous by someone else. Another thing all together to take an original song that no one has heard before and make it something special. Maybe they have tried to write songs for the winners and nothing jelled, or they couldn't find people to write songs for them. Basically, maybe they determined that it just wasn't worth the investment. As for Adam's comments, didn't he sign Christina Grimmie to his label? And, didn't she come out with an original song a year or so ago? With her huge YouTube following, you would have thought it would have sold gangbusters, but it didn't. I loved Sawyer last year, but I can't even remember the song he did this season and have no interest in it. So, it's not that easy, once the season is over. Maybe if Jordan had someone like David Foster in the old days when he wrote for Whitney, write a song for him, it would be different. But, it's going to be difficult to do anything with Jordan these days, outside of Christian music.

And, we'd be stuck with - a bunch of Jordan's, and Jeffrey's, whispery voiced women with guitars, and Adele wanna be's, and probably still no minorities in the top 10. Something to look forward to... I'm not offended by other people's religions (and, I can't be in my line of work), so the holiday songs didn't bother me. I would have preferred that they stayed away from some of the highly religious songs, since apparently there are viewers whose heads explode at the mention of the G or J words; I guess, it would be like having a show dedicated to earth day and songs about the environment, and, well, who wants two hours of that. I guess the main reason for throwing the Christmas songs in was itunes sales. I would love it if they just decided to avoid all religious and political songs all together. Maybe do what Idol does and have everyone sing a Broadway show tune...er, unless some viewers find that horribly offensive. I think Jordan will and probably should win this season, but I think it's Emily Ann who will wind up with the most successful career of this season's contestants. Partly because of her association with Blake, but also because she's a pretty decent singer,and seems to check off all the right boxes for a country singer, as I think someone said earlier. As for Jordan, assuming he wins, I can see him doing the National Anthem circuit for various events, Christian music, of course, and possibly a CD of cover tunes (a la Susan Boyle). Maybe Weight Watchers will grab him for a promotion?? Barrett may wind up with a forgettable country CD; I can't see Jeffrey going anywhere, though.

It's true, we'll never know how well Shelby would have done if she had picked Blake over Adam, but Adam doesn't have a great track record when it comes to country artists and Blake does...for obvious reasons. If anything, I think Blake would have steered her in the direction of better song choices. Plus, I don't think Adam really likes contry music. Really interesting to see how the itunes numbers have changed. While Jordan has remained in the top spot from last light, and I think Jeffrey in second. The 3rd/4th/5th slots seem to be going back and forth between Amy, Emily Ann, and Madi. I hope to see Emily Ann, and then either Amy or Madi in the finals. Amy and Madi are a bit too similar to me - that "coffee house" sound - so I think having Emily Ann in the mix, along with Jordan and Jeffrey, and either Amy or Madi would be a nice variety of sounds. Unless Braiden spoils it all...

I love Somebody to Love, and no one can do it like Freddie. Jordan's was a nice way to close out the show, though. Surprisingly, I liked Emily Ann. Jeffrey, too. But, some of the other songs were just weak. Maddy was a disappointment. Amy was okay, and was in her element, but I didn't consider it a strong performance for her. I can definitely see Braiden and Zach in the bottom three with maybe...Shelby. Jordan will probably win, and I'm at peace with that, but I hate to see him give the win to Adam. Although, this is one of the situation where, whichever judge wound up with Jordan was going to win. Adam just lucked out. Similar to Sawyer last year.

Well, I hate to say it, but good job, Adam, especially with Amy. Great song choice for her. And, it looks like Adam has found a good formula for her, by giving her pretty current songs to perform (unlike Gwen and Braiden...ugh, I guess Gwen was going for the older, Baby Boomer votes). But, re Adam, reminds me of the year he had Grimmie on his team when she was taking popular songs, and putting her own spin on them. Although, Grimmie had more range than Amy. Jordan, on the other hand - that was curious song choice. Made me wonder if Adam is focusing more on Amy for the win. Either way, I can see both Amy and Jordan in the top 3-4. Shelby? Eh, Adam's dream of beating Blake with a country singer will not happen this year. (Although, I can see Adam maybe giving Amy a country song just to challenge Emily Ann on the country charts). Emily Ann surprised me. Best song of the season for her. Looks like she's really growing. But, I don't think Blakes choices for the two guys were really that good. I don't know, maybe after having three male winners in a row, they're really pushing the female contestants this year.

I dunno, probably thinks his chances of winning would be better with Emily Ann. I could see if Nadja was a Sasha level singer, but she wasn't. What bugs me more than Blake and his country mafia, as Gwen calls it, is Adam and this obsession he has about beating Blake with a country singer. I get the sense that Adam doesn't really care for country music, from some of his comments about how he doesn't want an artist to get "lost" in country music blah, blah (interesting I never hear judges say something like that to R&B singers; it's okay to be an R&B singer on the show and just do R&B). But, how soon before he has Shelby doing Adele - or maybe he's learned his lesson from before. I still think Shelby would have been better off with Blake. At the very least, he would have gotten rid of one of his two blondes.

I was so looking forward to Rihanna, based on the previews, and while she was definitely fun, I didn't think her suggestions were all that helpful. There were even a few suggestions where I wasn't sure what she was talking about. Maybe tonight will be different. Re Amy, some of her hand movements while singing creeped me out. It was clear she was uncomfortable without her guitar. I was disappointed she picked Adam over Blake, but not surprised. Although, the way Adam fawned over her brought back memories of Pharell and Sugar a few years back. And, Adam's comment from her audition about her being the most talented AND most beautiful contestant still bugs me. I don't know how far she will go, but she annoys me in the same way the twins did, with their sugary sweet voices (although, I was sorry to see the twins go this early). I know Amy is doing well on iTunes, but I just think people will tire of her after a few weeks. Re Jordan - I just like him. I downloaded his audition song, the only song I downloaded so far this season. If I had to name a winner now, it would be him. I just hope they don't talk about how important/special he is for the whole season the way they did with Michelle. Braiden - was it just me, or did he look like a school girl with that hair style and the funny collar?

Yeah, I agree. Seems to me like Pharrell played that card more this season, even asking for fans of Christian and gospel music to vote for his team member. And, that song that India sang (Glory), I wouldn't be suprised if current events had something to do with that choice, which has gospel overtones (undertones?). But, I don't know if there are many people who are going to go out a buy a song, or vote for a contestant, just because that contestant does a Christian or gospel song. It feels like the judges are more conscious of iTunes sales this year than they have been in the past. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing.