Past Contestants, Future Stars

[viajero]

I almost wish it were about beer.  The lyrics couldn't be any less trite.  And judging by the live versions of the song that have been put up, her voice hasn't gotten any better.  Of course they fix a lot of that in the studio recording. 

 

The sad thing is that there are a lot of much better young female country singers out there who are completely unknown, including a few who have even been on The Voice.  But for some reason Blake and Miranda decided to get behind RaeLynn. 

[Cramps]

I LOVE a good twang. I just thought Raelynn was shrill and off key.

[photo fox]

Oh, I don't disagree. There have definitely been much more talented and deserving female country singers on the show. I just think country radio right now is in such a bad place that she doesn't stand out to me as especially awful.

*still meh from watching the dreadful CMAs*

[treebyleaf]

Whoa, did anyone else see the pics of Josh Kaufman in Pippin? He looks completely different. That's astounding.

 

Also, Playbill says Sasha Allen (from Season 4) is starring in the national tour of the show (completely different cast than the Broadway version). Theater success for all! 

Edited November 8, 2014 by treebyleaf

[mercfan3]

wow. He kind of looks like Neil Patrick Harris from that angle. 

[viajero]

At least one Voice alumni has a label that's going all out to increase her visibility.

 

http://www.elle.com/news/culture/jacquie-lee

[hincandenza]

At least one Voice alumni has a label that's going all out to increase her visibility.

 

http://www.elle.com/news/culture/jacquie-lee

I wonder how much Xtina is involved; she did seem to like Jacquie a lot (as did I).  She's young too, still only 17 (I still think of her season as being "a couple of years ago", yet the Live rounds of her season were literally less than one calendar year ago), does have an exceptional voice, and is photogenic.  And I just now listened to the link on the previous page with her "Broken Ones" track, and her voice is very interesting: she's putting that gravel in there but in tasteful amounts.  During her season her voice would be gorgeous but sometimes too perfect, and it seems she's fixed that. 

 

She's what you would call a "five tool player", however I wouldn't call her a breakout star by any means but still more of a prospect.  I wish her well, but until she or any Voice alum starts to even sniff the same space as Kelly or Carrie this show will still have zero cred when it comes to actually making stars.  Josh, for example, could have gotten a Broadway lead without this show.

[mercfan3]

I don't think Christina is a part of Atlantic so I don't think she's that involved. From what I've read, the CEO of her label essentially saw her sing "Cry Baby" and is determined to make Jacquie the first big star from his label. (300, which is a branch off of Atlantic.) They seem to be building her up the way that Ariana Grande was built up. (through web and social media presence.) We'll see if it works. She really did have a strong E.P. debut. 

Edited November 9, 2014 by mercfan3

[kj4ever]

I wonder how much Xtina is involved; she did seem to like Jacquie a lot (as did I).  She's young too, still only 17 (I still think of her season as being "a couple of years ago", yet the Live rounds of her season were literally less than one calendar year ago), does have an exceptional voice, and is photogenic.  And I just now listened to the link on the previous page with her "Broken Ones" track, and her voice is very interesting: she's putting that gravel in there but in tasteful amounts.  During her season her voice would be gorgeous but sometimes too perfect, and it seems she's fixed that. 

 

She's what you would call a "five tool player", however I wouldn't call her a breakout star by any means but still more of a prospect.  I wish her well, but until she or any Voice alum starts to even sniff the same space as Kelly or Carrie this show will still have zero cred when it comes to actually making stars.  Josh, for example, could have gotten a Broadway lead without this show.

I don't know about that. ..Josh was tooling aroundo Indianapolis playing bars before the voice. That's a loong way from Broadway.

[viajero]

I don't know about that. ..Josh was tooling aroundo Indianapolis playing bars before the voice. That's a loong way from Broadway.

 

I also doubt Josh would have had a shot at that role without the visibility he gained on The Voice.  Sasha Allen is a more interesting case because she did have the lead  role on Hair a few years ago, but her career seemed to be drying up by the time she went on The Voice.  I wonder if there is any relationship between her stint on the show and the fact that she's now headlining the national tour of Pippin?

 

I wish her well, but until she or any Voice alum starts to even sniff the same space as Kelly or Carrie this show will still have zero cred when it comes to actually making stars.

 

 

By that criteria, i don't think any of these shows have much cred these days.  The music industry has changed a lot since the early AI years and I just can't see anybody coming out of these shows gaining that level of success, no matter how good they are.

Edited November 9, 2014 by viajero

[jjjmoss]

In another one of those "what is the world coming to" moments, RaeLynn's nauseating "God Made Girls" has made it on to Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

So far 4 post-show singles have made it, all country singers from Team Blake - her, Danielle, Cassadee, Swons.

 

That's much more impressive than the # of times he's won the show, the fact that people he's mentored have actually made at least some impact in the industry.

[mercfan3]

I think Blake has more pull than most people...and the people he have mentored have all been in his lane (that he's helped.) Blake has a lot of pull in the country world. Pull that, probably only Pharrell has outside of country. 

[MelsW]

Whoa, did anyone else see the pics of Josh Kaufman in Pippin? He looks completely different. That's astounding.

I'm just happy to see him without that stupid pork pie hat. He looks like poor man's Joshua Jackson in this photo:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/tm-photos-production/96978.jpg

[pivot]

Whoa, did anyone else see the pics of Josh Kaufman in Pippin? He looks completely different. That's astounding.

Also, Playbill says Sasha Allen (from Season 4) is starring in the national tour of the show (completely different cast than the Broadway version). Theater success for all!

That's great news for Sasha. She remains my favorite contestant of all-time. Glad to see she's having some success.

So far 4 post-show singles have made it, all country singers from Team Blake - her, Danielle, Cassadee, Swons.

That's much more impressive than the # of times he's won the show, the fact that people he's mentored have actually made at least some impact in the industry.

I had to go look up how Vicci Martinez's song, Come Along, did because I was so sure it charted on the Hot 100. It surprisingly didn't. Our radio stations in the Twin Cities had that song on a constant rotation for months. I guess they were the only ones.

I am more interested to see if any of Blake's female stars get a hit off their second album. Country music is a really tough industry for women not named Miranda, Carrie or Taylor. Women are getting 1 hit song and that's it. There have been no new female artists who are getting hits on their follow-up albums. I think Cassaddee is the one most likely to break that curse, but we'll see.

Edited November 11, 2014 by pivot

[kj4ever]

That's great news for Sasha. She remains my favorite contestant of all-time. Glad to see she's having some success.

I had to go look up how Vicci Martinez's song, Come Along, did because I was so sure it charted on the Hot 100. It surprisingly didn't. Our radio stations in the Twin Cities had that song on a constant rotation for months. I guess they were the only ones.

I am more interested to see if any of Blake's female stars get a hit off their second album. Country music is a really tough industry for women not named Miranda, Carrie or Taylor. Women are getting 1 hit song and that's it. There have been no new female artists who are getting hits on their follow-up albums. I think Cassaddee is the one most likely to break that curse, but we'll see.

Oh I just loved Sasha too!

 

They played Vicci's song on a ton of radio stations here in Chicago too!

[pivot]

Maybe it was a midwestern thing then?

The song did chart in the top 20 Adult Alternative and Adult Pop Billboard charts. So that is something anyway.

[jjjmoss]

I am more interested to see if any of Blake's female stars get a hit off their second album. Country music is a really tough industry for women not named Miranda, Carrie or Taylor. Women are getting 1 hit song and that's it. There have been no new female artists who are getting hits on their follow-up albums. I think Cassaddee is the one most likely to break that curse, but we'll see.

In fact, only one other new female this century led multiple country radio T10s, and Gretchen Wilson's been mostly irrelevant for the last 9 years.

[pivot]

Wow, I didn't realize only Gretchen Wilson had done that. That is truly depressing. It might be too much to ask one of The Voice women to break that streak then.

[Mattipoo]

Does anyone know what happened to the little bearded guy on Blake's team in season 5? Cole? He was my favorite that season. Also, James Wolpert the hipster who worked at Starbucks. Have either of them released anything of note or done anything significant after the show?

[Minim]

I was just listening to Cole today as it happens - his version of ‘Let’s Get it on’ is actually seductive, unlike Luke’s last night. I don’t know if he’s writing his own music, but he seems to be getting bigger/better/more gigs as a lot of the contestants do post-show even if they’re not becoming big stars.
Here’s Cole playing to what looks like a sizeable audience.

Still doing covers, but he sounds great and he’s a really good guitarist (apparently so is the rest of his family).

He seems to prefer bluesy rock - if that's what he does for original music, I may well buy what he's selling. The stuff Blake had him do on the Voice, not so much (I liked his own choices though - Let Her Go and Adorn).

[Mattipoo]

Great thanks for those updates about Cole. I love his voice and he is just so cute and adorable with his little beard and hat. I hope he gets more success as time goes by. His rendition of "Let Her Go" is still in heavy rotation on my iPod.

[Cramps]

Cole is wonderful. I'm a huge fan. But damn, what about his grandmother (shown above)? Praised by Elvis and Les Paul! I wish they'd have let her play with him on The Voice. So cool!

[mercfan3]

I don't know if she'll ever be huge in the business industry..but Jacquie Lee's improvement is huge. She's going to be unbelievable in a few years. 

 

[hincandenza]

She is very good, although at times she added a little too much vocal "quirk" to her voice.  Still, even when she was on the show I thought she could have and should have won her season... if Christina hadn't pushed her harder and harder into this belting diva thing, almost as if she was trying to break Jacquie's voice.

But yeah, she's the total package: extremely photogenic and still young (she's like 18 at this point?), very talented yet at her age she hasn't even begun to peak, and of course a stunning clear voice and pinpoint control.  Even her original song linked earlier from the EP was pretty good.  A little more seasoning, and she might quietly build a solid career in the industry.

[dbell1]

I'm still bitter about Cole's path on the show. CeeLo had checked out and Blake didn't seem to give a crap. Handing him older country instead of what he preferred, not letting his guitar skills shine, and not showcasing his talents. I follow him on Twitter and Facebook, and he's getting ready to release a single soon. Can't wait to get it. His original music is really good.

[viajero]

Interesting interview with Josh about his stint on Broadway.  I like the part where they had him training under his 6 year old daughter`s ballet instructors back in Indianapolis before he headed for New York.

 

http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/11/26/the-voice-josh-kaufman-pippin-broadway/

 

Edited to add that you can find a video of Josh performing one of the songs from Pippin here:

 

http://www.rickey.org/josh-kaufman-performs-corner-sky-pippin-thanksgiving-parade-video/273170/

Edited November 28, 2014 by viajero

[glow]

hey voice fans,

 

here is judith hill giving an interview with a youtuber, shameless maya

[kj4ever]

CWB debuts at #1  http://www.people.com/article/the-voice-winner-craig-wayne-boyd-tops-charts

[jjjmoss]

Hmm currently God Made Girls is one of 2 country female songs in the iTunes T100. Based on itunescharts.net, the 4 post-show songs that have hit the Hot 100 have spent the following number of days in the iTunes T100:

171 Wasting all These Tears, 76 God Made Girls, 15 Heart of Dixie, 5 Later On.

 

I am not here for Raelynn overshadowing Danielle.

[pivot]

The only country artist that I've liked on The Voice is Kristen so I am pretty indifferent to all of the country winners, but I think it is great that Rayelynn is overshadowing Danielle. Danielle seems like a lovely girl, but she is such a generic pagant bot that it is nice to see someone with some more personality succeed post-show. It didn't help that the post-show songs that Danielle was given were completely generic and devoid of personality.

[hincandenza]

Wasn't sure where to post this, but it showed up on Reddit a few days ago, thought I'd share.  Someone made this incredible mash-up of six country songs (3:55)- including one from our own Blake Shelton- that really shows how formulaic the modern country-pop scene is.  No wonder the RaeLynns or Danielles can somewhat thrive when releasing dreck like "God Made Girls" (sorry, just my opinion).

 

I think the only difference between myself and a successful country songwriter at this point, is that I can feel shame. :)

[photo fox]

A short article about the Swon Brothers starting their tour with Brad Paisley tonight. http://kticradio.com/abc_music-co/brad-paisley-superfans-the-swon-brothers-ready-to-hit-the-road-with-their-hero-tonight-abcid35187688/

[mercfan3]

I don't think that's fair to say about Danielle. 

 

The show made her out to be a bot and put her in princess dresses (because that's what gets you to win..) And her songs on her album are more generic (that's what happens when you get it out quickly..) But she's definitely got her own, non bot, personality that is evident post show and IMO, she's starting to develop her own sound. She always had a pretty voice though. Her cover series really impressed me. 

 

And I'm not here for Raye Lynn beating out anyone. She's a worse singer than Jake Worthington and that "God Made Girls" song is just awful. I'm glad Maddie & Tae are around to counter it. 

 

I do agree that Kristen was one of the best country singers on this show. (Her and Amber.) I wish Blake would help her out some, as Shakira isn't really in the position too. Her cover of "I Will Always Love You" is magnificent.

Edited January 19, 2015 by mercfan3

[pivot]

Are Maddie and Tae that tone deaf duo who got beat out by that mumbly country singer Audra? Lord, they were awful.

The show didn't suck Danielle of any on-stage personality. She arrived and left that way. I have yet to see one performance of hers that isn't completely robotic. Contrast Danielle with Carrie Underwood who was a total bot on her season of AI and got saddled with the worst song ever recorded in "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and she has managed to evolve and have a personality on-stage and she can inflect incredible emotion into her songs. Danielle sounds like she is doing scales every time she sings. No emotional connection at all. I am not even sure if she knows what the songs she sings are about.

[mercfan3]

Danielle's only 17, Carrie in her early twenties had just as much (or little) personality on stage. Danielle's a lot better now than she was on the show. I preferred Amber and Michelle that season, but Danielle was damn good for being so young. I think Shakira or Usher would have done Danielle a little good on The Show though. As Blake isn't really the guy to teach someone how to perform better. (Of course, she wouldn't have won..but there would have been improvement in that area.) But she'll learn over time. Even three or four years after Idol Carrie looked stiff on stage, and people who attended her concerts often said she was pretty boring. 

 

But I don't think that's "bot." That's just inexperience. "Bot" was dressing her up like a pageant contestant and making sure to talk about what a sweet all american girl she is. 

 

No, Maddie and Tae were never on The Voice. (I do remember that duo. And I remember thinking they were awful.) They are like, the first women (Not named Carrie, Miranda, and Taylor) to get a number one in the past ten years. They are the girls with the song that pokes fun of bro country. I honestly want to give those girls a standing O every time I hear that song. (I mean, come on.."I ain't your tan legged Juliet." How awesome of a line.) 

 

 

I was just pointing out that they are around to counter Raelynn's "Women are decorations for men" mess. 

[BogoGog24]

I don't think age has anything to do with whether an artist can perform or not. There are many singers Danielle's age or younger that have plenty of personality and stage presence. Every artist just develops at their own pace and some blossom later than others. She came in with a great voice, the performing part and connecting emotionally to songs are a work in progress for her. I think it has more to do with her shyness than anything. The Voice helped break her out of her shell and all the performances and touring she's done since have kept doing that for her, but I think it will be another few years before she really feels comfortable onstage. Again, it's nothing to do with age, but just that every artist develops at different paces. I also think she just needs more life experience in general. 

 

I also really hate that RaeLynn song. All I got out of it was that apparently girls were made to wear skirts and cry. The Maddie and Tae song is so much better and the video reminds me a lot of Pink's "Stupid Girls."

[viajero]

I don't think age has anything to do with whether an artist can perform or not. There are many singers Danielle's age or younger that have plenty of personality and stage presence.

 

Beginning with Reagan James this past season, who had personality and stage presence to spare.  Too bad Reagan didn't have Danielle´s vocal ability.

 

I also get a kick out of the Maddie & Tae song.

[mercfan3]

Sort of. 

 

People can be natural performers and have natural stage presence (just like they can be naturally great singers), but they need experience to really grow. And part of that is age. Jacquie Lee had emotion drip out of her when she performed (literally shook at times), but she wasn't in the least bit polished, and that's all about experience. So sure, she's farther along than Danielle, but she still has work to do. And to me, part of that is about age. Because typically (not always) someone who is 26 is going to have more experience than someone who is 16. 

 

And for Danielle (like Carrie) it didn't come natural for her, so the fact that she is 16 and had limited experience plays a huge role in how she came off. I absolutely adore Michelle, she's my favorite contestant on The Voice, ever. But I remember thinking it was so unfair to compare her stage presence to Danielle's. We're talking about one person who had been a part of a band for three years (a band that was successful enough to perform at Lollapalooza), went to a music program in college, and was ten years older than a kid who had essentially only performed in her bedroom prior to blind auditions. I think Michelle likely always had more of a natural presence about her than Danielle (there are only so many people who can get on stage with Usher and not be overshadowed..), but to compare the two was just completely unfair. 

 

And IMO, there's a huge jump in Danielle's performance ability (and ability to connect to songs) from two years ago. 

 

Also, speaking of Kristen, her EP is available. I don't love country and no songs stuck out to me, so I'm not sure if I'll get it. But they seemed like solid songs. 

[BogoGog24]

I do agree if you compare Danielle's blind audition to even Born To Fly and especially to her most recent performances, you can see a huge difference in her confidence level. It's like night and day. And a lot of that is obviously because she gained a lot more experience since The Voice.

[pivot]

I think Danielle has more confidence on stage, but she still can't connect emotionally to her songs and that makes her a bot to me. At this point, I don't think that is going to change. She just doesn't get it.

I liked that duo's song. Nice to see some pushback on the dreadful bro country music trend.

Edited January 22, 2015 by pivot

[BogoGog24]

I think it really just depends on the song. I'm not sure how well you can expect an 18 year old to connect to songs like Shake the Sugar Tree or Please Remember Me. But I think she connects very well with songs like Who I Am, Try, Human, and her own songs like My Day and Dance Hall. She has to be able to relate to the content in order to sound connected and there's just not a lot that an 18 yo can really relate to. I also think because singing is so easy for her that she doesn't sound like she's trying all that hard and that can make it sound as though she's not emotionally invested.

[mercfan3]

I agree with that some too. And even her own songs, I mean..how much could she really connect to "Heart of Dixie"? Sure, she told a good story, but it's not like she's had anywhere close to the life experience of that story...and it wasn't a particularly emotional song to pull at her heart strings.. 

 

And actually, I think part of why people think Danielle can't emotionally connect is because of an improvement she needs to make improvements in. Carrie remained, doe eyed and stiff for the first few years of her career. But one thing she did that Danielle doesn't do as well is use louds and softs (vocal dynamics) as part of her songs. Danielle doesn't get too soft (I'm not even sure she knows where she should do that..) and her belts aren't nearly as strong as Carrie's. And that ability can really make people feel what you are singing (and feel like you are connected) But once again, that's an area she's improved on tremendously since the show and somewhere she can get better on. 

[BogoGog24]

I agree. I do wish she would experiment more with dynamics. She mainly belts all the time and rarely uses her head voice. Hopefully the people she works with, band, Blake, writers, etc. can give her some advice in that area. Maybe she just doesn't know how or when she should do it. Or maybe she is working on it behind the scenes but won't do it in public until she's got it down solid.

[gunderda]

The Swon Brothers performed a free concert at our state fair last summer.  I wasn't really into them during their season but my friend was so she wanted to go see them so I went with her.  and OMG the concert was seriously awesome.  I became a fan after that.  My friend bought their album and she was going to give it to me load into my itunes but then she went and got deployed before I could get it from her lol  so now i have to wait until she gets back.

 

The night before the Swon Brother's concert we also went to the Florida Georgia Line concert and the Swon Brother hands down put on a better concert. Granted they say a lot of covers but it was really REALLY fun. They sang one of their own songs and I really liked it. 

[Kromm]

Former contestant Tess Boyer goes missing... then later... unmissing.

 

Missing: http://www.rickey.org/the-voice-contestant-tess-boyer-missing-according-to-friends-on-twitter/277962/

 

Unmissing: http://www.eonline.com/news/636878/the-voice-s-tess-boyer-is-not-missing-i-needed-to-take-a-break-to-get-back-to-where-god-s-purpose-for-me-is

[ToxicUnicorn]

A short article about the Swon Brothers starting their tour with Brad Paisley tonight. http://kticradio.com...-abcid35187688/

 

The Swon Brothers performed a free concert at our state fair last summer.  I wasn't really into them during their season but my friend was so she wanted to go see them so I went with her.  and OMG the concert was seriously awesome

 

I'm very impressed with these two remarks.  I've seen Brad Paisley, he's a lot of fun in concert.  And he's big time.  I bet he'd be fantastic to work with.  Maybe I'll try to catch them all if they come to town.

 

I thought Amber wiped the floor with everyone that season, but I am perfectly happy that the Swon Brothers are finding success.

[viajero]

Former contestant Tess Boyer goes missing... then later... unmissing.

 

Missing: http://www.rickey.org/the-voice-contestant-tess-boyer-missing-according-to-friends-on-twitter/277962/

 

Unmissing: http://www.eonline.com/news/636878/the-voice-s-tess-boyer-is-not-missing-i-needed-to-take-a-break-to-get-back-to-where-god-s-purpose-for-me-is

 

There is something really strange about this whole incident.  Grimmie and Bria Kelly were really freaking out at the way Tess just upped and disappeared, as were Tess's college friends.  They also initially were not willing to take her family's word for it that she was okay.  Plus, Tess does not look at all good in that YouTube video she released.  She looks like she's lost a lot of weight and in general, seems to be in pretty bad shape.  The video isn't exactly reassuring.  I just hope she gets past whatever crisis she seems to be going through.

[Padma]

Sounds like Tess has some good friends who are very concerned about her, including Bria. If she needs help of whatever sort, I hope she gets it. That situation did seem concerning, but I'm glad she seems to be okay.

 

Re: Danielle. She's one of the most "love her/hate her (performances)" of any winner on this show, imo. For me, I still think she's got the potential to become a big country music star but "Heart of Dixie" was a terrible song to saddle a 16?..17?.. year old with. If she gets a good song, she will likely be a breakout star "overnight". I will be very surprised if it doesn't happen.

 

As for RaeLynn...congrats! You have tied with Carrie U. and "Jesus Take the Wheel" as having one of my most hated country songs! I know Blake is very proud of her success, but that is a "message" song and it is eye-rolling, stereotyping treacle. Much as I like Blake as a coach and singer, I can't say I'm impressed by his musical taste. (Come to think of it, I wish he'd choose better songs for himself.)

 

I still have hopes for Danielle's career.

[Amy Beth]

Vedo from S4 is charting. #50 on the Urban chart, but hey!

[mercfan3]

There is something really strange about this whole incident.  Grimmie and Bria Kelly were really freaking out at the way Tess just upped and disappeared, as were Tess's college friends.  They also initially were not willing to take her family's word for it that she was okay.  Plus, Tess does not look at all good in that YouTube video she released.  She looks like she's lost a lot of weight and in general, seems to be in pretty bad shape.  The video isn't exactly reassuring.  I just hope she gets past whatever crisis she seems to be going through.

 

Her response seems odd. If you were going to take a break from the world (essentially) wouldn't you let your friends know? Plus..her explanation...seems to be almost at the cultish level of religion.