S08.E24: Live Top 6 Eliminations

[jjjmoss]

Interesting to see how everyone besides Winner Sawyer has theoretically been in danger now:

Meghan lost her Battle.

Koryn lost her Knockout and had to get her coach's save for the Playoffs.

Joshua lost his Battle and needed an Instant Save.

India's needed two Instant Saves.

[Padma]

Good thing Sawyer had the spirit to choose Pharrell rather than (more likely) Adam. At least a win for Pharrell will be good for him/good for the show.

[Noreaster]

Question: do you guys feel that Pharrell is doing any actual coaching (picking songs, offering useful tips)? From the little that I've seen of the pretaped packages and the coach commentary, Pharrell doesn't seem to do much. He doesn't seem to be very involved in song selection (letting the contestants pick, deferring to producers) and his comments seem vague and inspirational rather than specific and constructive. Not that this isn't a valid coaching strategy for this game, but I'm just curious. Last season, he seemed actively involved with song choices but his team didn't get very far with that strategy.

On a separate note, I tried watching Monday's episode to see the coaching stuff that I've been missing, but once I realized the mother theme, I switched it off. Barf. I hate this backstory sentimental shit. This is what The Voice has turned into? There was always a little bit of this before, but full-blown getting the mothers in rehearsals and the dedication crap?

[Padma]

I think we can credit Pharrell with the go-go dancers. :).

 

No way to tell, but it seems to me that he's been more engaged this season than last during the coaching parts. I'm pretty sure his clout would have been needed to clear "Shine" and it impresses me that he would approve it, even though he knows Sawyer is in no jeopardy of going home. 

 

I kind of resumed a bit of "Pharrell love" last week when he shut down Carson for suggesting it "hurt" to see his former teammate Meghan doing well on Blake's team. I -love- how he refuses to play into the "I'm fighting to beat them!" theme Carson was going for and instead continue his image of peaceful encouragement to all, joy when -any- musicians are succeeding, etc.  I have no way to know if it's genuine or not, but either way, I'm a fan of that approach!  (And can't help wondering if it's influenced the absence of competitive by-play between Adam and Blake in the lives this season. If so...even better!) 

[SunnyBeBe]

I really liked Kimberly's personality and style, but her vocals just weren't there for me.  Of course, the soul isn't there in India, though, I like her vocals.  She is likely to go next.  And Koryn after her.  

 

I guess I'm too picky as I don't care for many of the songs they perform.  It just gets annoying after a while.  

 

I have to keep reminding myself to not get too invested in Sawyer winning.  I mean, what does it mean anyway?  Is it going to help him do what he wants to do in life?  I doubt it.  I know there have been some meager success stories with previous winners, but they just don't have much of a record to boast about.  Is there any money for the winner or is it just the record deal?  It seems like that record deal really doesn't have any value.  

Edited May 6, 2015 by SunnyBeBe

[Potato511]

(barring a withdrawal to a return to the sect, I have Sawyer winning this). 

 

Um, explain please? What "sect"?

[Noreaster]

No way to tell, but it seems to me that he's been more engaged this season than last during the coaching parts. I'm pretty sure his clout would have been needed to clear "Shine" and it impresses me that he would approve it, even though he knows Sawyer is in no jeopardy of going home. 

Based on the interviews with May Erlewine (including the article that someone linked to in the media thread), I don't think Pharrell had anything to do with clearing "Shine On".  The artist is an independent singer/songwriter who was surprised that her song was even being requested.  Also, it reads like she was concerned about the impact it would have on Joshua's path on the show, but she talked with Joshua and his wife and they were in full support of May giving Sawyer approval to do the song.  

 

This is not to say that Pharrell wasn't involved in the song choice process (and I admittedly have been skipping most of this season's episodes so I have no clue), but I think it's always questionable how involved these coaches really are in song selection. Obviously the show tries to sell the idea that the coaches are making all the decisions, but I've read a lot of contestant interviews over the seasons and it's a mixed bag. Varies by coach, by contestant, by season.  The word that everyone likes to use is "collaboration".  But we've seen that sometimes it's the contestant pick (approved by the producers of course), sometimes it's coach's pick, and then other times, it's really the producers pulling the strings.  I remember Caroline singing "Leaving on a Jet Plane" in season 5.  It was presented as Caroline's pick on the show, but in interviews, she emphasized how it was really a "collective" decision.  Since it was also clear that Cee Lo was unhappy with the song choice, I think it was really the producers' call. 

 

Anyway, I was wondering if there were more explicit clues that Pharrell was the one choosing the songs this season. For example, I think we can usually tell when Adam is doing it.  He's pretty self-centered so he likes to talk about why his song picks are such great choices or why he's allowing the contestants to do their own song choices.  When he says neither thing, then I suspect it's more of a producer choice.  

 

Last season, I felt pretty sure Pharrell was involved because there was a very specific song strategy for his entire team. Older soul songs. However, I don't think Pharrell was giving much actual coaching advice in rehearsals.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Noreaster

[MaryPatShelby]

Man, it makes me lament the talent this show used to draw.  Mostly pros plus a few truly outstanding youngsters.

I was just looking back at all The Voice songs I've purchased (and there are a lot) and lamenting that the last two seasons I haven't felt compelled to buy any. Is it me? Is it the songs? Is it the fact that there are so many youngsters and I am partial to adults? I don't know, but it kind of saddens me.

[viajero]

I was really surprised Koryn made it through; who is voting for her? Is it teens?

 

I would be if they allowed those of us outside the US to vote.  With Kimberly and Hannah gone, she's the only remaining contestant that really interests me.

 

Watching Vicci Martinez (who I thought had the best performance of the returnees) really brings home how much this show has changed since Season 1. The likes of Vicci or Beverly McClelland wouldn’t have a chance of getting even close to the final these days, when voters clearly prefer to reward the bland over anything even mildly alternative.  The fact that Joshua was not in the bottom 2 after giving one bad and one thoroughly mediocre performance says it all.

 

I fully expect that India and Koryn will go home next week to assure us the blandest of Wonder Bread finals. Oh I’m sure we’ll hear a lot of claims that they’re just screamers, never mind that the biggest screamer of the season will sail right through into what now seems like an inevitable second place.  I guess the message is that it's all right to scream if you`re on Blake's Team and you throw in a church hymn. 

 

Oh well, I knew my musical tastes were far from mainstream.  After all, currently my favorite new artist in the process of breaking out is Meg Myers, who couldn't be further from Middle-America. 

[mercfan3]

Pharrell is letting his contestants chose this season. It's worked for Sawyer and Koryn, but "Miss You" is probably what sent Mia home.

 

That's not a bad way to do things, but he does need to learn to step in. And Pharrell is doing much better than last season. 

 

Has this show really ever been about the alternative? People like to wash away the first two seasons, but even if you don't..two very bland guys won. Cassadee and Terry were bland. Interesting contestants like Amanda and Melanie went home the same time as Kimberly. Season 4? Okay..there was Michelle. But Usher and her made sure she was relatable to middle America..and of course Danielle and The Swons..once again not really alternative. 

 

Tessanne? She's a diva. A great diva. But she sang diva songs. Jacquie started off cool and different..a bluesy rock flavor..but ended up singing Diva songs. Not alternative. 

 

Season 6? Okay, Grimmie was something different. But I really don't know how far she gets without her huge fanbase. And Josh Kaufman and Jake Worthington were very white bread. 

 

Last season..The Finale consisted of a WGWG, an old school R&B singer, a guy who wanted to be an old school R&B singer but Adam wouldn't let him, and a country singer. once again..white bread. 

 

I thought this season consisted of two eliminations that shouldn't have happened..which is rare..(Mia and Kimberly). Usually the eliminations make sense..even when Schuler or Brown were eliminated it was after a not so great performance. But I think that's actually a reflection of people being really really good this season. Sure, Team Blake stuck around longer than it should (as always..and by Team Blake I mean Corey.) But I also don't think people give Joshua and Sawyer enough credit because of the demographics they appeal too. Meghan..I don't know how I feel about  her. Can she sing soft? Like..once? Head voice? does she have that? Koryn is interesting to me..but she needs to stop being so passionate..she shakes..and it's the same emotion every time. India? She's the blandest of the bunch to me...and she should have been the one to leave this week. She starts off good, but then the song just goes south. 

Edited May 7, 2015 by mercfan3

[Palomar]

I recognize that Kym is probably one of the most talented of the six, but I have to say I am not too surprised she was the one eliminated.  I feel that she is always trying to showcase her voice (with over-the-top singing) instead of singing the song with true emotion.  Add some ill advised song choices....Free Falling definitely not for her.  I find myself looking forward to Sawyer's and Koryn's performances every week.  Not sure why, but those are the ones who I feel could make a career of this.  I enjoy Meghan some of the time but feel she is a little bit of a ringer. 

[Padma]

I think what I'm appreciating about Joshua and Sawyer is that when they sing a song it isn't saying, "Look at my amazing voice!!! Here's what I can do with it! Wow!" 

 

Now this may well be because they don't have powerful voices and they don't have a big range. Maybe this is forcing them to tone it down, and focus on delivering the song. (Sometimes I admit not always "musically" great. But at least they aren't overshadowing every darn thing with yelling, screeching power notes that start early on and just never stop.)

 

Some subtlety would go far in helping Koryn, Meghan and India to bring more emotion ("emotion" being "soft" as well as "loud")

[viajero]

I think what I'm appreciating about Joshua and Sawyer is that when they sing a song it isn't saying, "Look at my amazing voice!!! Here's what I can do with it! Wow!" 

 

Now this may well be because they don't have powerful voices and they don't have a big range. Maybe this is forcing them to tone it down, and focus on delivering the song. (Sometimes I admit not always "musically" great. But at least they aren't overshadowing every darn thing with yelling, screeching power notes that start early on and just never stop.)

 

Some subtlety would go far in helping Koryn, Meghan and India to bring more emotion ("emotion" being "soft" as well as "loud")

 

One of the reasons I like Koryn better than the other remaining women is that she has shown an ability to be more soft and subtle in her vocals at key moments during some of her performances, even if admittedly she's never subtle about the emotion with which she performs.  That's one the reasons that Make it Rain remains my favorite performance of the season.  The one who seems to have forgotten how to be subtle is Meghan.  Lately I feel like she has started screaming at me every performance.  Even Amazing Grace was shouted out at full volume and I was left wondering what so many others seem to have seen in that performance.

 

I also don't need an artist to have a powerful voice to appreciate what they are doing.  What differentiates Sawyer from Joshua for me is that Sawyer has a kind of charisma that keeps your attention even when he's singing the softest songs.  Plus he does have some power in his vocals.  Neither is true of Joshua.  While I did like his version of that Sting song from last week, most of his performances in the live shows have either bored me or made me wince because at his lack of range.  We`ve have had much better versions of Joshua in previous seasons (Cole Vosbury comes to mind) and I think it would bean injustice if he were to make the final over any of the other semifinalists.

[mercfan3]

Want another shocker..

 

I'm about 90% sure that Sawyer's range is bigger than Meghan and Kimberly's. No one would ever guess it, but I'm pretty sure Meghan's range (much smaller than I initially thought..but it's because she's so powerful) is A#3-G5 ...I really can't believe this, but I have yet to find a performance where she sings lower than that A..and Kimberly's is E3-E5. Once again, I figured she was more..but they're both just so powerful I assumed their range was bigger. Meanwhile, Sawyer's range (From performances on the show) seems to be G2-A4. (Confident about the G2..it sure seems like he could sing higher than the A4, but he hasn't on the show.) 

 

I will say, in Meghan's defense..Blake doesn't pick songs that show off a singer's range. But even still, she changes notes in a song to avoid singing lower than the A#3, which means, at the very least, she's not confident in singing lower. 

Edited May 8, 2015 by mercfan3

[Noreaster]

Has this show really ever been about the alternative? People like to wash away the first two seasons, but even if you don't..two very bland guys won. Cassadee and Terry were bland. Interesting contestants like Amanda and Melanie went home the same time as Kimberly. Season 4? Okay..there was Michelle. But Usher and her made sure she was relatable to middle America..and of course Danielle and The Swons..once again not really alternative. 

 

Tessanne? She's a diva. A great diva. But she sang diva songs. Jacquie started off cool and different..a bluesy rock flavor..but ended up singing Diva songs. Not alternative. 

I'm assuming by the way the words "bland" and "interesting" are being used, other finalists in season 1 and season 2 would qualify as interesting.

 

That said, I don't think it makes sense to compare to seasons 1 and 2 because the show's format was incredibly different.  The coaches had control throughout the game and there were team quotas.  Contestants who made it far then might not have lasted as long under the current format.  

 

Looking from season 3 on (when control shifted entirely to the public starting Top 12), I do think there have been certain trends. Without using words like "bland" and "interesting" which are entirely subjective, I'll say that country and pop seem to be better represented in the finals, while rock and indie are less represented.  

 

Kimberly falls into the same category as Amanda Brown, Kat Robichaud, and Kat Perkins: female rockers who didn't make it to the finals.  For male rockers, Terry McDermott placed 2nd but otherwise no others made it far (unless we want to include Matt McAndrew and Craig Wayne Boyd).  The indie artists, mostly young females with soft voices, have left the game relatively early.  Melanie, Caroline, Reagan, Jessie.  Not sure if it makes sense to include Michelle as indie when she did big pop songs on the show.  She also did benefit from professional experience and a more powerful voice. Maybe Christina Grimmie fits as indie. Have there been any male indie artists? Maybe Matthew Schuler, Taylor John Williams?  

 

I agree about the Season 5 songs. My favorites all ended up doing well that season but I felt so dissatisfied because of the overdone song choices.  It was as if the show/coaches determined that this was the winning formula (for ratings and votes).  I thought Adam and Christina were much more creative/risky in prior seasons.  

 

I think what I'm appreciating about Joshua and Sawyer is that when they sing a song it isn't saying, "Look at my amazing voice!!! Here's what I can do with it! Wow!" 

 

Now this may well be because they don't have powerful voices and they don't have a big range. Maybe this is forcing them to tone it down, and focus on delivering the song. (Sometimes I admit not always "musically" great. But at least they aren't overshadowing every darn thing with yelling, screeching power notes that start early on and just never stop.)

 

Some subtlety would go far in helping Koryn, Meghan and India to bring more emotion ("emotion" being "soft" as well as "loud")

I agree with this. There's actually a big difference in genres/styles between the males and the females.  It's like apples and oranges. Which is why the arguments that certain contestants are more "deserving" than others to move on don't really make sense to me. Joshua/Sawyer can't do what Koryn/Meghan/India can.  And vice versa. 

 

I think every one of the remaining contestants is rather one-dimensional. Question is what dimension do you like?

[mercfan3]

I would actually be willing to bet that Koryn could do what Sawyer and Joshua do. Actually, she has. Her best performance of the Season came on a WGWG style song. Now, she belted the last part of it, but she can clearly sing in a subtle way. 

[rollerblade]

What song are you refering to? Make It Rain doesn't feel very wgwg-esque. A wgwg song by Ed Sheeran would be something like A-Team or Give Me Love.

 

In the name of SYTYCD, Sonya Tayeh will be the choreographer to Make It Rain; while Travis Walls will do something with Give Me Love.

[mercfan3]

Ed Sheeran is a WGWG. Not in the negative term people can use..but he literally does what WGWG are supposedly good at. (Singer/songwriter..takes popular songs and makes cool acoustic arrangements of them. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to his arrangement of "Drunk In Love") So any song anyone sings of his counts, IMO. (Especially considering Matt sang that last season.) 

 

Now, I think Koryn is best at her pop/rock lane. But if she wanted to be subdued she could. (In a way that I don't think Meghan or India could.) 

[Noreaster]

I disagree about Koryn.  She has been at a full blast 10 on practically every performance.  The exception is "Make the Rain" where she managed to dial back to a 7-8.  It was the only performance of hers that I actually liked (it helped that the song required some intensity).  Joshua and Sawyer are more like a 1-3 on the intensity scale. 

 

To add on to the Joshua/Sawyer discussion...they represent the folk/indie genre that hasn't seen much exposure on The Voice as far as I remember. There have been other male singer/songwriter types like Nicholas David and some of the guys in season 5, but they were more soul or rock. This relative "uniqueness" (plus all that other reality TV stuff like backstory, looks, etc) may explain Sawyer's immense popularity.

 

The thing I find appealing about Joshua/Sawyer is their performances are not really straight covers. I understand that people might find them boring, but they do try to embody their songs.  For Sawyer, it comes somewhat naturally because of his tone, but I think he also made changes to the phrasing and can play with dynamics well.  Personally I still can't get over the age and stage presence thing and can only think of him as a good imitator, but I can see why people like him. In another few years after he gains some actual life experience, I'd be curious to hear the music he puts out.  

 

For Joshua, there is a certain texture and rasp to his voice. He also plays around with the arrangements and phrasing quite a bit.  I think Blake's comment a few weeks ago following Joshua's "America" performance was apt. Joshua performs these songs like he wrote them himself.  I'm not trying to convince anyone to like him, but I think it's clear that he has worked hard on his craft and the end results are really effective for me. I'm quite curious about his original material.

[mercfan3]

I don't think Koryn is like Meghan. Meghan's verses are almost full belt, Koryn doesn't start that loud. She builds up to it..(and builds up to it quickly) but she's still capable of subtle. 

 

To me, Joshua is kind of vanilla. Sure, he's folk..but he's also not expressive in any sense of the word. Like, there's no emphasis in any of his lyrics. He rarely gets louder or softer in his songs. And..and this is probably why I struggle with him, it's rare that I know his songs. But that's not to say I don't think he's good. I think he's very skilled, but perhaps not the most talented.  I just have a preference for other performers. That being said, it's easily foreseeable that I might enjoy a Joshua album more than some of the others. 

 

But with Sawyer, I would say it would be tough to say he's not unique. Sure, he's not the best performer in the world. But there are plenty of performers that sit and play the guitar and that's what they do. But his tone is so different, particularly coming from someone so young. Up until this season, we've only had three teens in the finale (and only two that should have been in the finale..) so even if he's not the best contestant (it's hard for a teen to be) the fact that he's always somewhere between really solid to good is impressive in itself. Explosive contenders like Bria Kelly ended up not being able to do that. And then..who he is..he's a homeschooled kid that grew up on a farm. Sure, there are a lot of people that eat that up...but that is an unusual circumstance to find someone like that. In fact, that last person on a singing show in a similar circumstance was Carrie Underwood. 

 

That all being said. Kim's elimination still hurts. I'm all in for Sawyer..and the competition is essentially over. But Kimberly was one of the best contestants the show has ever had, and I wanted her around for entertainment purposes. 

[viajero]

The thing I find appealing about Joshua/Sawyer is their performances are not really straight covers. I understand that people might find them boring, but they do try to embody their songs.  For Sawyer, it comes somewhat naturally because of his tone, but I think he also made changes to the phrasing and can play with dynamics well.  Personally I still can't get over the age and stage presence thing and can only think of him as a good imitator, but I can see why people like him. In another few years after he gains some actual life experience, I'd be curious to hear the music he puts out.  

 

For Joshua, there is a certain texture and rasp to his voice. He also plays around with the arrangements and phrasing quite a bit.  I think Blake's comment a few weeks ago following Joshua's "America" performance was apt. Joshua performs these songs like he wrote them himself.  I'm not trying to convince anyone to like him, but I think it's clear that he has worked hard on his craft and the end results are really effective for me. I'm quite curious about his original material.

 

I would argue that Koryn and Kimberly have rearranged most of their songs at least as much as Joshua has.  Koryn tends to come in each week with a definite idea of how she wants to approach each song she picks (and they've almost all been her own picks).  For me, her arrangements of Make it Rain, Girl on Fire and Stronger (just to name three) were all much more radical that anything Joshua has tried to do.  More importantly, Koryn's rearrangements have tended to work.  My problem with many of Joshua's rearrangements is that they actually take a lot of the umph out of the song without replacing it with anything that is equally dynamic.  This is the issue I had with his version of In My Life.  While he certainly made it his own, he also made it much sleepier song compared to the original Beatles version.  I pretty much thought the same thing about America.

[Noreaster]

Right, so this is mainly personal preference. What Joshua does, it doesn't work for some folks. But that doesn't mean he doesn't work hard or doesn't take risks or doesn't deserve to get exposure just as much as the others on the show.

Comparing Koryn with Joshua still doesn't make sense to me. They're so different. If I were to make comparisons, Koryn vs. Kim would be more apt. More similar genres/styles. I think Kim is a better entertainer who knows how to control her voice and utilize the stage. For me, it sucks that amateur Koryn is outlasting Kim. Koryn has a ton of work to do in my view. Hey, maybe it's the Christian/gospel support! (I'm kidding.)

Edited May 9, 2015 by Noreaster

[Noreaster]

But with Sawyer, I would say it would be tough to say he's not unique. Sure, he's not the best performer in the world. But there are plenty of performers that sit and play the guitar and that's what they do. But his tone is so different, particularly coming from someone so young. Up until this season, we've only had three teens in the finale (and only two that should have been in the finale..) so even if he's not the best contestant (it's hard for a teen to be) the fact that he's always somewhere between really solid to good is impressive in itself. Explosive contenders like Bria Kelly ended up not being able to do that. And then..who he is..he's a homeschooled kids that grew up on a farm. Sure, there are a lot of people that eat that up...but that is an unusual circumstance to find someone like that. In fact, that last person on a singing show in a similar circumstance was Carrie Underwood.

This is basically saying that Sawyer deserves extra credit for having strong potential and being good at a young age. I mean, I suspect this is exactly what some people think and why they feel compelled to root for him. (To be clear, I'm not suggesting all of his supporters feel this way and I'm sure some people simply love what he's doing now.) But I prefer to judge on the current performances. Not the potential. Sawyer is too underdeveloped for my tastes.

This is partly a professional vs. amateur argument. I heavily favor the pros. Just my personal preference.

Edited May 9, 2015 by Noreaster

[ToxicUnicorn]

I recognize that Kym is probably one of the most talented of the six, but I have to say I am not too surprised she was the one eliminated.  I feel that she is always trying to showcase her voice (with over-the-top singing) instead of singing the song with true emotion.  Add some ill advised song choices....Free Falling definitely not for her.

 

I didn't like Free Falling either.  It's her weakest performance (that I can remember).

 

I think she's made a lot of progress in singing more sincerely, however.  I've believed her for a weeks, now.

 

Kym had become my favorite and I'm sorry to see her go.  I hope she got the exposure she needed and will get a major career boost.  That might be all she needs out of this.

 

I don't think anyone has expressed my immense surprise that Kym lasted this long.  With all this talk about conservative America voters (whether that's a thing or not), I thought Kym was so assertive and unique that voters in general would not support her early on.  Glad I was wrong about that.

[viajero]

This is basically saying that Sawyer deserves extra credit for having strong potential and being good at a young age. I mean, I suspect this is exactly what some people think and why they feel compelled to root for him. (To be clear, I'm not suggesting all of his supporters feel this way and I'm sure some people simply love what he's doing now.) But I prefer to judge on the current performances. Not the potential. Sawyer is too underdeveloped for my tastes.

This is partly a professional vs. amateur argument. I heavily favor the pros. Just my personal preference.

 

While I don't want The Voice to turn into amateur hour (we've got AI for that), I have always appreciated those few amateurs who can hang in there with the pros.  In my opinion, the Jacquie Lee's and Amber`s have added a lot to this show.  This season we had several (Sawyer and Koryn for sure, as well as possibly Hannah and Mia Z) who proved they could hold their own against much more experienced competitors.   I personally am not predisposed to favor either amateurs or professionals.  After all, Kimberly was my favorite this season.  But now that she's gone, I would be quite happy to see both Sawyer and Koryn make the final.  This isn't just because of they've shown a lot of potential (which they have).  It's simply that I find Sawyer is already superior to Joshua and I've enjoyed most of Koryn's performances more than most of Meghan's.  It helps that I´ve come to really enjoy the iTunes studio versions of many of Sawyer's and Koryn's songs.  Those are the ones that I find myself listening to most often.

[mercfan3]

This is basically saying that Sawyer deserves extra credit for having strong potential and being good at a young age. I mean, I suspect this is exactly what some people think and why they feel compelled to root for him. (To be clear, I'm not suggesting all of his supporters feel this way and I'm sure some people simply love what he's doing now.) But I prefer to judge on the current performances. Not the potential. Sawyer is too underdeveloped for my tastes.

This is partly a professional vs. amateur argument. I heavily favor the pros. Just my personal preference.

 

I feel like they do because so few youngsters have been able to. And the only reason why I say that for them is because contestants like Danielle and Sawyer are not only full of potential, but they also are consistent. I wouldn't say that if he was stinking up the place but showed a few signs of potential. But he's not..he's a good performer every week, which really can't be said for everyone. 

 

Is Kim better? Yes. Objectively yes. But that's probably a little unfair...how many contestants were as good as Kim? 

[AwesomO4000]

But with Sawyer, I would say it would be tough to say he's not unique. Sure, he's not the best performer in the world. But there are plenty of performers that sit and play the guitar and that's what they do. But his tone is so different, particularly coming from someone so young. Up until this season, we've only had three teens in the finale (and only two that should have been in the finale..) so even if he's not the best contestant (it's hard for a teen to be) the fact that he's always somewhere between really solid to good is impressive in itself. Explosive contenders like Bria Kelly ended up not being able to do that. And then..who he is..he's a homeschooled kid that grew up on a farm. Sure, there are a lot of people that eat that up...but that is an unusual circumstance to find someone like that. In fact, that last person on a singing show in a similar circumstance was Carrie Underwood.

 

Admission time. Okay, I'm older so this is going to sound so, so lame (TM Cartman)... I was listening to the radio and "Mmmm Bop" came on, and this got me to remembering Hanson  (don't scoff... okay scoff, but really they are actually good)... and I looked up and played my favorite Hanson song, "This Time Around." The reason why I'm mentioning this is that it suddenly hit me that the closest to Sawyer I can think of is Taylor Hanson (listen to the beginning of "This Time Around") who I think at the time of that song was also similar in age (within a couple of years) to Sawyer and was even younger than Sawyer on their first label album (Try "Weird" or "I Will Come to You"). I think he sounded more like Sawyer on "This Time..." when he was 17 or so though than when he was 14/15.

 

The Hanson brothers were also home schooled and generally sported the long blonde hair, too. Something about Sawyer had seemed slightly familiar to me, and I guess this was it. Which might explain why I like him and his voice, because despite being waaay beyond the age of when I should have liked Hanson, I generally enjoyed their music - better than the grunge stuff (exempting Nirvana) that was coming out about the same time. Too bad they got somewhat screwed by the record label merger, or they might've had longer success.

 

 

Side note: Also interesting is that from what I read in an old article I found online (People), some record companies turned them down at first, because they thought it was a hoax - that it couldn't possibly be kids - at least one not even a teen yet - playing all those instruments and sounding like that. Then a record exec went to see them playing at a fair, I assume said or thought "Holy crap" and immediately signed them.

[viajero]

Now that you mention it, I can see why Sawyer might remind you a bit of the Hanson brothers.  I knew he reminded me of someone, but couldn't pin it down until now.

 

Though I was never much of a Hanson fan, I was just reminded of them the other day after reading about this relatively new group called Haim, who I guess have been called a female version of Hanson.  Haim is a pop-rock group out of the San Fernando Valley with a kind of throwback sound, made up of three sisters who write all their own songs and play their own instruments (the middle sister is one heck of a lead guitarist).  Though initially they made it much bigger in the UK where their first album went No. 1 and they had four Top-40 singles, they are raising their profile back home in the US.  They were nominated for this year's Grammy for best new artist (losing to Sam Smith) and are now opening for Taylor Swift on her latest tour.  I originally discovered them when I kind of accidentally came across this impressive cover of a Fleetwood Mac classic (which admittedly is not very Hanson like), before moving on to checking out their own stuff.

 

Edited May 10, 2015 by viajero

[Noreaster]

While I don't want The Voice to turn into amateur hour (we've got AI for that), I have always appreciated those few amateurs who can hang in there with the pros.  In my opinion, the Jacquie Lee's and Amber`s have added a lot to this show.  This season we had several (Sawyer and Koryn for sure, as well as possibly Hannah and Mia Z) who proved they could hold their own against much more experienced competitors.   I personally am not predisposed to favor either amateurs or professionals.  After all, Kimberly was my favorite this season.  But now that she's gone, I would be quite happy to see both Sawyer and Koryn make the final.  This isn't just because of they've shown a lot of potential (which they have).  It's simply that I find Sawyer is already superior to Joshua and I've enjoyed most of Koryn's performances more than most of Meghan's.  It helps that I´ve come to really enjoy the iTunes studio versions of many of Sawyer's and Koryn's songs.  Those are the ones that I find myself listening to most often.

I can appreciate the youngsters but over the seasons, I found that my favorites tend to be the seasoned professionals.  Song choices may have something to do with it.  I often feel that the youngsters are singing material that they can't possibly relate to and their voices don't fit well enough (lacks texture/grit/rasp/whatever).  

 

For example, I liked Jacquie Lee in season 5 early on, but at some point she started singing songs that were not age-appropriate and I just found myself getting annoyed.  One of my favorites on the show ever was Melanie Martinez but she seemed further along than a typical 17 (?) year old.  Also her song choices seemed more age-appropriate and I found her performances credible.  I also liked Caroline Pennell quite a bit.  Now, it seems like the contestants are skewing younger than ever (the sheer number of 15-16 year olds) and with genres like folk and blues, I can't buy the performances by Sawyer and Mia.  Koryn likewise comes across way too young for me.  I also require some sort of vocal consistency from the contestants or I stop rooting for them. Reagan from last season falls in this category.  Deanna this season too.  I was interested in them early on, but their technical issues started overshadowing the "interesting" aspects of their voices/performances for me.

 

Professionals usually know how to make songs work more effectively and not expose their weaknesses. They are also usually more involved in the song choice process.  They tend to entertain me more.  

 

I feel like they do because so few youngsters have been able to. And the only reason why I say that for them is because contestants like Danielle and Sawyer are not only full of potential, but they also are consistent. I wouldn't say that if he was stinking up the place but showed a few signs of potential. But he's not..he's a good performer every week, which really can't be said for everyone. 

 

Is Kim better? Yes. Objectively yes. But that's probably a little unfair...how many contestants were as good as Kim? 

Sure, Sawyer is consistent. He pretty much does the same thing every week.  If you like what he's been doing and feel entertained, then you'll probably continue to like him.  It's not a fact that he's a good performer every week. It's an opinion.

 

For me, he consistently lacks stage presence, he consistently has shown technical issues, he consistently delivers performances that are not credible.  

 

This is what I meant earlier when I said every one of these contestants is one-dimensional.  These contestants are pretty much showing the same strengths and weaknesses every week.  I don't think we've seen much versatility from any of them.  

 

I don't really know what's unfair about explaining my personal preference regarding Kim vs. Koryn.  All this stuff is subjective. 

Edited May 10, 2015 by Noreaster

[mercfan3]

By unfair, I just mean that I think 99% of the contestants that have ever performed on the show come up short when comparing them to Kim. :) She wasn't my favorite, but she's damn good. If I was ranking the "total package" contestants (Ie..great singers and great performers) she'd be near the top. 

 

And I think "good" is an opinion..but at the same time, there's some objective criteria to that. He's not butchering a song every week..to the point where he's taking someone else's spot unfairly.. is really what I mean. Reagan James, for example. That's a young kid who truly butchered a few songs before her exit. I wouldn't want her to stay around just because she was clearly full of potential because she wasn't performing well. 

 

 

And yes, Sawyer reminds me a bit of Hanson, like he's their long lost little brother or something. Totally a fan of there, twenty years later (or whatever it is). They essentially wrote a mo-town record when they were like, ten. That's cool.  I actually think Sawyer would do well with a few of their newer, piano driven ballads. (Or even an old one like "Song to Sing.") They've got some truly beautiful songs. 

 

[Padma]

Speaking of Jacquie Lee, I liked her so much as a contestant (although I didn't think Xtina was a good coach for her, basically teaching her to go loud and oversing/overdo the runs, etc.

 

When I saw her on The Voice this week, I was so disappointed. Her singing was awful, screechy, strained, where did her voice go? I guess a more simple vocal style has fallen into disfavor but imo she would -so- benefit from it. Vickie Martinez' voice, by comparison, sounded so pure and refreshing.

[mercfan3]

That particular song is very difficult to sing, and for whatever reason, the Voice band sped it up. (The difficult part of the song is the breath control so speeding it up made it worse.) I thought she was good once she got to the bridge, but the verses were a problem. 

 

My thing with Jacquie is I'm not sure the music she's getting is what she should be singing. She sounds phenomenal on her slowed down acoustic version of Sia's "Chandelier" or Beyonce's "Pretty Hurts"..I think she needs a little more soul and blues and a little less electronic pop rock. But they seem to be marketing her towards the disney fanbase, and that's probably what they'll eat up. 

[ToxicUnicorn]

Re: Jacquie

 

I think she needs a little more soul and blues

 

I agree entirely.  That was where she was such an anomaly and she could show off the grittier side of her voice.  In this pop-rock vein, she's just another (very beautiful) princess.

 

I find myself completely uninterested in the rest of the competition, now that Kim and Hannah have been eliminated.  Not sure I'm going to finish the season.