viajero September 8, 2014 Share September 8, 2014 Melanie Martinez's Carrousel is the first single released from the soundtrack of American Horror Story Freakshow and is also being used in the most recent official extended trailer. The music video for the song has been filmed and will be out in about a month. Meanwhile, the video for Melanie's previous single Dollhouse has surpassed 5 million views on You Tube; something I think only Cassadee Pope and Dia Frampton have achieved with their post The Voice music (and in Dia's case, only because her song Walk Away was a hit in Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia). 3 Link to comment
kj4ever September 9, 2014 Share September 9, 2014 Melanie Martinez's Carrousel is the first single released from the soundtrack of American Horror Story Freakshow and is also being used in the most recent official extended trailer. The music video for the song has been filmed and will be out in about a month. Meanwhile, the video for Melanie's previous single Dollhouse has surpassed 5 million views on You Tube; something I think only Cassadee Pope and Dia Frampton have achieved with their post The Voice music (and in Dia's case, only because her song Walk Away was a hit in Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia). I'm so happy to hear this! I really loved MM on the show and wish her all the success in the world. Link to comment
viajero October 7, 2014 Share October 7, 2014 Interesting interview with MIchelle Chamuel. Her new album is finally coming out in February. http://music-mix.ew.com/2014/10/06/michelle-chamuel-the-voice-face-the-fire/ Link to comment
glitterpants October 7, 2014 Share October 7, 2014 Interesting interview with MIchelle Chamuel. Her new album is finally coming out in February. http://music-mix.ew.com/2014/10/06/michelle-chamuel-the-voice-face-the-fire/ Thanks for the link, I like the single! Link to comment
angelita100 October 7, 2014 Share October 7, 2014 And Michelle is going on tour and I'll get to see her in SF in December. So looking forward to it. My favorite Voice contestant ever. 1 Link to comment
mercfan3 October 8, 2014 Share October 8, 2014 I'm going to see her too. Saw her in New York, she's fantastic. Her voice is incredible live. Plus, her songs are great. Melanie to me, is what so many contestants on these shows try to be. She's actually an "artist" or the creative type. Her voice is naturally small and interested without being affected. And she's obviously a great song writer. This is the second song I've loved from her, so I'm probably gonna have to look at buying her EP. Link to comment
viajero October 8, 2014 Share October 8, 2014 (edited) Melanie to me, is what so many contestants on these shows try to be. She's actually an "artist" or the creative type. Her voice is naturally small and interested without being affected. And she's obviously a great song writer. This is the second song I've loved from her, so I'm probably gonna have to look at buying her EP. I finally broke down and bought her EP and have been listening to it a lot. I really like Bittersweet Tragedy, perhaps even more than the two singles. There is something really ethereal and mesmerizing about her vocals, even if the lyrics are more than a little weird in places. Edited October 8, 2014 by viajero Link to comment
hincandenza October 8, 2014 Share October 8, 2014 I didn't like her on the show, but these are pretty decent songs with a somewhat unique "style". If she's actually building a career as a songwriter-singer then she's found her niche, then good for her. Maybe Adam was a bad coach for her, because she did get increasingly twee and precious as the weeks went by- remember the cutesy whimsical cardboard cutout parade during one of her songs? That was Adam's idea, I thought. As I went on about in the fix-the-show thread (at great great length, which I'll spare you here!), I think the show should be trying to attract more people like her, and to play up their actual unique talents... not just finding and/or forcing them to be little more than glorified karaoke singers. Most of these singers are simply forgettable and not noteworthy, with no exceptional vocal much less musical abilities. Indeed, half of them freely admit to having had no vocal lessons- which is like me trying out for the 2016 Olympics, because how hard can it be to learn the pole vault be, really? But hey, there's this idea out there now that if you can sing a famous song passably well, you should some day be as rich as the person who wrote and made popular the original. Except many these contestants rarely have an idea of just how mediocre they are, especially if they haven't had lessons to realize that singers better than themselves are a dime a dozen. Not that Melanie Martinez- or season 1's Rebecca Loebe, whom I still am angry at Adam for ditching in the battles over some dorky Kevin Covais-like pre-med wanna-be who could barely sing- is going to be the next "superstar". But change the philosophy to seek out and play up those people, and eventually you will start having a list of alumni that read like the lineup at Coachella. Link to comment
loveoutloud October 8, 2014 Share October 8, 2014 (edited) Season 2's Jamar Rogers is playing a show October 29th in NYC. I have the opportunity to interview him, so if anyone has any questions or things that you've wanted to about him, feel free to message me! And for those are not too familiar, here's his Blind Audition singing "Seven Nation Army." He was the first contestant that really drew me INTO this show (he had previously auditioned on Idol), and not just because of his back story (being HIV positive), but his incredible voice and spirit. http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzUxMTExOTY0.html Edited October 8, 2014 by loveoutloud Link to comment
viajero October 9, 2014 Share October 9, 2014 (edited) I still think Jamar had one of the best all time auditions on this show. He was really unlucky to be on the same team as Juliet back when they only allowed one member per team go to the final (I always figured he was one of the main reasons they changed that rule). I heard that he had signed with a small NYC based label and wonder how that's going for him. I did really like this single he released, even if didn't seem to get much traction. I downloaded it from iTunes and listen to it fairly regularly. I think it has a kind of Arctic Monkeys feel to it, but with a bit more soul. I wonder if that was intentional and if they are one of the groups he listens to. Edited October 9, 2014 by viajero Link to comment
kj4ever October 9, 2014 Share October 9, 2014 Is the bromance over? Tony Lucca is no longer with 222 Records and is now doing crowd funding on Patreon. Link to comment
sweetcookieface October 9, 2014 Share October 9, 2014 viajero, thanks for posting the Jamar video! Funny you mention his audition, I was just reading Michael Slezak's post on the top 20 Voice performance of all time, and he included Jamar's "Are You Gonna Go My Way." I was glad to see him get a nod, but in my view, Jamar's best performance by far was "Seven Nation Army." One of the highlights of that season, and one of the handful of voice performances I've downloaded from any season. And I, too, am bummed that he never made it to the finals because of that rule. I loved Juliet as well, but I actually think Jamar has more potential and versatility. 1 Link to comment
Padma October 9, 2014 Share October 9, 2014 Happy about Melanie, who I thought was repeatedly thrown under the bus (creatively) by Adam who saw the "look" as being "cutesy little girl" rather than "unique singer/songwriter". Juliet was excellent, but Jamar was one of my favorites. He's one of the reasons I want a "Voice Second Chance" or "Voice All Stars" bringing back fan favorites that didn't win and giving them a second chance at competing. (Jamie Lomo's another I'd like to see back. But there are many.) 1 Link to comment
Noreaster October 9, 2014 Share October 9, 2014 (edited) Cutesy was Melanie's own thing with her bi-colored hair and way of dress. Adam's last song choice for her was questionable (in that episode, he picked one song and she picked one song), but it seemed to me that he left her to her own devices for most of the competition. When she pushed for a song, he let her do it. It was a fairly successful strategy. Edited October 9, 2014 by Noreaster Link to comment
viajero October 9, 2014 Share October 9, 2014 I would say that Melanie's thing was to combine the cutesy look with rather dark songs (Bulletproof, Cough Syrup, Too Close, etc.). You can certainly see how she's continued playing with that dichotomy in her own music. The problem with Adam forcing her to do The Show, particularly with that staging, is that it took her away from what had been working for her. Link to comment
Noreaster October 9, 2014 Share October 9, 2014 Yep, agreed. That last song was a bust. I thought maybe the intent was to interpret the song ironically but the end product was a disaster. But this wasn't Adam "repeatedly" throwing her under the bus. It was one performance. Link to comment
kj4ever October 9, 2014 Share October 9, 2014 Man this thread is making me miss Season 2 & 3. Does anyone know if they stream it anywhere? I don't think Netflix has it... Link to comment
Padma October 9, 2014 Share October 9, 2014 (edited) Yep, agreed. That last song was a bust. I thought maybe the intent was to interpret the song ironically but the end product was a disaster. But this wasn't Adam "repeatedly" throwing her under the bus. It was one performance. Irony might have worked or just been really hard to pull off (dark visuals with The Show? Not sure how that would have worked, esp in attracting votes. But the rainbows and dolphins plus the lyric just made her seem insipid--the opposite of how she wanted to be perceived as an artist). Was that the only time he did it? Somehow I thought there were others, but maybe it was just Adam's comments after every performance that made me feel he saw "little girl with hair bow" and had no idea at all what kind of artist she wanted to be (and as usual, imo, didn't really care.) Edited October 9, 2014 by Padma Link to comment
jjjmoss October 9, 2014 Share October 9, 2014 (edited) Melanie's in my T4 from the show, along with Dia, Judith, and Danielle. I liked Dia's debut album but I've kinda forgotten her since then. Wiki says she was dropped and is in a band. Judith was in that documentary about backup singers. But otherwise... Danielle's debut album was wildly uneven in quality, and her second single flopped. Let's see if Mel will have some sort of success. Edited October 9, 2014 by jjjmoss Link to comment
mercfan3 October 10, 2014 Share October 10, 2014 Honestly, I don't think Adam really throws anyone under the bus. I think he likes to make "out there" choices. That's why he loved Grimmie so much (she's the same way)...but still..he went too "out there" with her with "Hide & Seek" (Which I personally loved, but killed her votes/itunes wise.) Link to comment
hincandenza October 10, 2014 Share October 10, 2014 (edited) Well, to be fair it does seem that several of the "out there" choices he made with Christina Grimmie were songs she'd already done covers of long before on her Youtube channel. I know that was a recurring observation on the old TWoP forums because Adam kept making a big deal on air how she "created" these new versions for the show. At least they were her versions; in general these shows too often neglect to give on-air credit when basically copying someone else's cover, choosing to laud the singer's "unique spin" they put on the song. I remember really not liking "Hide & Seek" at the time. Decided to rewatch it just now, and it was much better than I remember. Still, I think of it as one of those signature songs you don't want messed with- I guess kind of how the coaches thought of "Everybody Wants to Rule The World". Those self-harmonized vocals are very tricky, and Grimmie was a tiny bit off when she started. Then they built up to the patented "choir holding candles" gimmick these shows love so much, she had a nice moment with her soaring a cappella vocal, and then... it was over. It's too beautiful and languorous a song to snip it to the 2:30 minutes or so we got. I think some songs just won't make good truncated covers because they aren't repetitive enough to be easily edited down. Edited October 10, 2014 by hincandenza Link to comment
mercfan3 October 10, 2014 Share October 10, 2014 That's true. I just have a lot of respect for any individual who is willing to try and sing that song. I had heard Grimmie's covers (and yes, for Grimmie specifically, it had been stuff she had already done. But I think Adam was genuinely excited about her creativity, and thought she was better at showing herself off than he was) and knew those weren't new. My problem with Christina was always her belting. It hurts. But I didn't even mind it in that song. I think I was just so impressed that she was doing it.. Link to comment
photo fox October 13, 2014 Author Share October 13, 2014 I was never a Melanie fan, but good for her finding success! Also congrats to the Swon Brothers, whose debut album drops this week, including a track with Carrie Underwood on backing vocals, and another track they co-wrote with the guys from Lady Antebellum. Their first single is still hanging out in the top 15 of country airplay after over 30 weeks. They've performed at the Opry, opened for Rascall Flatts, sang a tribute to Underwood at the ACM Honors, toured all over the place this summer, and they'll be on the Today show this morning. Plus, they were nominated for a CMA award as Vocal Duo of the Year (admittedly, a thin category). They don't have a chance in hell of winning, IMO, but it's nice exposure for them, as I believe that virtually guarantees they'll have a performance on the broadcast. 2 Link to comment
mercfan3 October 13, 2014 Share October 13, 2014 Yea, that is great for them. In the next year or so, we could be saying that The Swon Brothers and Melanie Martinez are the most successful acts to come off The Voice. Who would have guessed that? From what I've heard, Carrie Underwood has taken them under her wing, somewhat. I"m pretty sure she was instrumental in getting them signed. (Probably helped that Carrie is such good friends with Miranda and Blake.) 1 Link to comment
kayma October 13, 2014 Share October 13, 2014 Danielle's debut album was wildly uneven in quality, and her second single flopped. I heard a Danielle song on the radio yesterday. Young in America or something like that. It was ok but nothing special. I'm kind of surprised her management doesn't seem to know how to package her. Link to comment
Padma October 13, 2014 Share October 13, 2014 The failure to find the right "sell" for Danielle is particularly surprising because she was showcased so well by song choices on the Voice. They showed her range and branded her (except for one or two) as young, with a young person's themes. "Young in America" is just lackluster, and "Heart of Dixie" was a terrible choice, a total disconnect. I still think she's just one good song away from becoming a star, but...we'll see. Meanwhile, very happy for the Swons. They benefitted more from the show imo than anyone else I remember. I didn't like them at all through the first half--wished they'd leave--but by the end, their personalities and their musicianship (which improved throughout) had won me over. Their building a very good career that they never would have had without this show. To me, they're really one of the big success stories. 1 Link to comment
Sharpie66 October 13, 2014 Share October 13, 2014 I've been watching this show since the first season, and have been disappointed by the lack of album sales by the contestants afterwards. It's great seeing here that some of them are using the show as a springboard for their own personal plans for their future--thanks for the updates, everyone!! Link to comment
mercfan3 October 14, 2014 Share October 14, 2014 I disagree completely about song choices with Danielle. She sang 90s, mid tempo country songs week after week. Most of them she clearly had no connection too. I'm sure part of it's improvement on her part, but I can't help but notice that even on the show, she looked far more engaged in "Who I Am" "Mean" and "I Want Crazy" than any of the songs Blake picked for her. He knew what the audience liked, but he didn't brand her the way you would a current country female. (Granted, who knows how to do that..) Her songs were really just generic. "Never Like This" was pretty, but not very special. From those youtube covers though, she's proven she can do a hell of a job with a great song, so I'm hoping she gets to writing and has help creating more marketable songs for herself. A generic country album is what you are going to get when you create it in three months. Link to comment
viajero October 16, 2014 Share October 16, 2014 (edited) Melanie's music video for Carousel is out. It's as weird as we've come to expect from her. Edited October 16, 2014 by viajero Link to comment
BogoGog24 October 17, 2014 Share October 17, 2014 Danielle's album is generic country pop, yes, but I still found it really enjoyable. Generally most artists' debut albums are going to be cookie cutter country or pop or whatever happens to be "in" because it's easier to break with. She didn't have a whole lot of time to put the album together, so all the songs were written by professional country writers. I also think they've done just fine marketing her as an artist and choosing the right singles. I thought Heart of Dixie was a decent first single. Sure, it's something she's never experienced herself, but I think she told the story well enough. It was catchy and something that hit people emotionally. Young In America was a great follow up, perfect for spring/summer, and more lighthearted, young, and radio friendly. The only thing she's missing is sales. And I feel like maybe it's just because generally people who watch shows like The Voice don't get super invested in anyone enough to follow them after the show. She had the most iTunes downloads of any contestant on the show in all 4 seasons yet her record sales were extremely low, less than 200,000. Clearly the people voting for her and buying her iTunes songs didn't buy the album for whatever reason. But she's gotten many great opportunities to open for big acts like Brad Paisley, Hunter Hayes, and now Scotty McCreery in the fall and a few select dates for Miranda Lambert. She's already working on her second album and starting to write with other songwriters. I think she and the label have realized her debut has run out of steam and that there's no point in releasing any more singles or trying to push for more sales. The best thing she can do right now is get started ASAP on a new album that she will have more involvement with. As much as I loved the songs on her debut, the thing that was missing was that she didn't have any of her own personal experiences in there to draw from. I think that's what makes the album sound hollow and generic. The 1 year anniversary of her debut is approaching next month, so hopefully by spring 2015 maybe her second album will be ready. And the DB Request line was a great idea as well. I think she and the label/management are realizing they need to expose her to more fans who maybe didn't watch The Voice or who have forgotten about her and trying to expand her fan base. At least they are taking the right steps to amend that problem. It's more than you can say for Javier Colon, Jermaine Paul, or Tessanne. Danielle's sales figures and popularity aren't spectacular by any means, but as far as Voice winners go, she's doing just fine. 1 Link to comment
Noreaster October 17, 2014 Share October 17, 2014 At least they are taking the right steps to amend that problem. It's more than you can say for Javier Colon, Jermaine Paul, or Tessanne. Danielle's sales figures and popularity aren't spectacular by any means, but as far as Voice winners go, she's doing just fine. I don't really follow the contestants after the show is over, but has there been any promotion at all for Javier, Jermaine, and Tessanne? Link to comment
BogoGog24 October 17, 2014 Share October 17, 2014 I don't really follow the contestants after the show is over, but has there been any promotion at all for Javier, Jermaine, and Tessanne? To my knowledge, no. Javier's album was a minor success in the R&B market but I'm not sure if he's done anything since. Jermaine never even released his album period. And Tessanne's was a "quiet release" (her words), I think the first week sales were only like 7,000 or something. She was part of The Voice tour and that's all I know. Link to comment
Noreaster October 20, 2014 Share October 20, 2014 (edited) The battle rounds this season made me think of the Jesse Campbell/Anthony Evans battle in season 2. They sang Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You". Their style of music is not my favorite (gospel, over-singing), but the sheer amount of talent on display was ridiculous in my opinion. This battle was probably one reason why the steal idea was introduced the following season. Anyway, that got me to wondering what these two artists were up to. I couldn't find much about Jesse Campbell (here's one article: http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2014/04/16/jesse-campbell-from-the-voice-in-detroit-for-perilous-times/). But for Anthony Evans, it turns out the Voice appearance led to some opportunities in LA and he is actually working for the show in season 7 as a talent producer. Interesting. http://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/houston-belief/article/Anthony-Evans-is-keeping-it-Real-5660478.php http://krnb.com/gospel-sunday/2014/09/28/dallas-anthony-evans-takes-the-gospel-to-the-voice/ Edited October 20, 2014 by Noreaster Link to comment
Cramps October 20, 2014 Share October 20, 2014 Jermaine never released an album?? I thought that was the prize!!! Link to comment
nextian October 20, 2014 Share October 20, 2014 Yup, jermaine never released an album. I guess technically the "record contract" is the prize, and I'm sure there is some kind of clause in the contract that protects the label if they decide not to release anything. It's ridiculous for sure. Link to comment
jjjmoss October 20, 2014 Share October 20, 2014 Yea, that is great for them. In the next year or so, we could be saying that The Swon Brothers and Melanie Martinez are the most successful acts to come off The Voice. Who would have guessed that? Maybe not the Swons. Hits Daily Double's estimate was that they'd debut with about 10k. If we look at reality shows, X Factor's 5th Harmony opened with 28k & Emblem3 opened with 46k. They didn't win. (Cassadee who did win Voice opened with 43k.) Link to comment
photo fox October 20, 2014 Author Share October 20, 2014 Ouch, that's rough. Hopefully they can build some momentum with the second single. Whoever decided to debut their album the same day as Florida Georgia Line's is incredibly stupid. 1 Link to comment
car54 October 21, 2014 Share October 21, 2014 I just saw this article, Josh is going into a Broadway show. http://www.mjsbigblog.com/voices-josh-kaufman-step-pippin-early.htm Link to comment
tmelange October 22, 2014 Share October 22, 2014 (edited) Ironically, Josh is playing a role that Ben Vereen won an award for, who is also Usher's godfather. Edited October 22, 2014 by tmelange Link to comment
Padma October 22, 2014 Share October 22, 2014 I'm happy for him, but why does Josh look so different? It's not just the lack of hat and glasses. Another question, re: upthread post. What's a "self-harmonized vocal"? Link to comment
tmelange October 22, 2014 Share October 22, 2014 AFAIK, a "self-harmonized vocal" is when an artist is in the studio and lays down multiple tracks that are then harmonized together. So the end effect is the artist's own voice is doing the harmonies. Mariah Carey does this a lot. And this is why Usher and Adam's live rendition of D'Angelo's "How Does It Feel" couldn't sound like the original recording. That record has D'Angelo singing his own harmonies. Link to comment
kili October 22, 2014 Share October 22, 2014 Whoever decided to debut their album the same day as Florida Georgia Line's is incredibly stupid. I disagree. For the last three weeks, Country artists have debuted at the top of the chart (Blake, Jason, FGL - all big names). This is a busy time for albums in general. So, unless they wanted to wait until things got slow in January/February (where album sales are very low), they were likely to be releasing an album the same week as a big country artist. Secondly, studies have shown that many people don't just go into the store or iTunes to just buy one item. Big albums are almost like loss-leaders (without taking a hit in the price). They get people into the store buying. While you are in there picking up FGL, is there any other albums you want to pick up? You're already making a trip to the store (even if it is the iTunes story) and carrying something to the check out. So, it may be advantageous to release an album in the same genre on the same day as a big act. The Swon Brother's sales are actually quite high for Voice contestants and better than many winners. They'll need a second single, though, if that album is to go anywhere and they are to keep their contract. Link to comment
dizzyizzy01 October 22, 2014 Share October 22, 2014 The Swon Brother's sales are actually quite high for Voice contestants and better than many winners. They'll need a second single, though, if that album is to go anywhere and they are to keep their contract. That's still pretty damning with faint praise. Better when compared to terrible sales is still terrible. They'll need a hit single, and fairly soon probably. Link to comment
photo fox October 22, 2014 Author Share October 22, 2014 So, unless they wanted to wait until things got slow in January/February (where album sales are very low), they were likely to be releasing an album the same week as a big country artist. My objection wasn't just because FGL is a huge act. They also are, on the surface anyway, a very similar act to the Swons, ie. a male/male modern country duo. It just seems like an odd choice. Your second point is a valid one, though. Looking back, The Voice promoted Cassadee's album with a video montage of her debut single the week her album dropped. I'm surprised they didn't do something similar for the Swons. Maybe the show is only invested in the winners? I'd assume they'll have them on at some point to perform their second single, although again, since they didn't win and there are more recent contestants to promote, maybe not. Link to comment
dizzyizzy01 October 23, 2014 Share October 23, 2014 Maybe the show is only invested in the winners? I'd assume they'll have them on at some point to perform their second single, although again, since they didn't win and there are more recent contestants to promote, maybe not. I think it's because the Swons are on a label (Arista Nashville) not associated with the show and Cassadee is. 1 Link to comment
viajero October 27, 2014 Share October 27, 2014 (edited) Jacquie Lee's EP is out on iTunes and is actually getting some promotion through on-line adds plus a live performance on the Today Show. The EP contains mostly original music, but does also include a complete re-imagination of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (because what she does to that song goes way beyond what anybody would classify as a simple cover). The EP can be previewed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/broken-ones-ep/id922730596 The official video to Broken Ones is also out and was announced today as MTV's Hit of the Week. Curiously, the first time I heard this song on the radio was a couple weeks ago while in an airport taxi in Santiago, Chile on the local Top-40 station. Have to admit I was more than a bit surprised, though I had heard that Radio Disney was starting to give it some airplay in the US. Edited October 27, 2014 by viajero Link to comment
mercfan3 October 28, 2014 Share October 28, 2014 (edited) It's a really solid EP from Jacquie. A little more pop than I thought she'd go. But it's really solid. "Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun" is amazing. And her label seems to be pretty invested. She's gotten a lot of promo for a new artist that hasn't had much radio success (yet.). Edited October 28, 2014 by mercfan3 Link to comment
viajero November 7, 2014 Share November 7, 2014 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. 1 Link to comment
Cramps November 7, 2014 Share November 7, 2014 (edited) Has her voice gotten any better? Raelynn's voice was awful her season. Never understood Blake and Miranda taking her under their wing. Edited November 7, 2014 by Cramps 3 Link to comment
photo fox November 8, 2014 Author Share November 8, 2014 She's got a heavy twang, for sure. My teenage niece actually loves the song, but there's such a dearth of young female country singers right now that there's not much competition. I don't love it, but I don't hate it. At least it sounds like country, and it's not about beer. Heh. Link to comment
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