S09.E27: Recap: Live Final Performances / S09.E28: Live Finale, Part 2

[jjjmoss]

Well, The Weeknd already has 2 #1 hits, so it's definitely an old age thing.

[Dandesun]

I'd never heard of The Weeknd but I thought he was amazing.

[Kromm]

Yeah, to me The Weeknd did one of those Sting/Eminem gambits, where he thought something sounded cool when starting out but he's probably going to eventually regret it.

 

I'm supposing it's actually a pun.  Think "The Weakened" rather than "The Weekend'.

Why I think that I don't know. I just think his singing is somewhat emotive, and that first version of being weakened by something or someone is far more emotive than celebrating the endcaps of the calendar week.

The spelling with the double e could just be there to confuse/make it less implied. I mean he left out a third e anyway.

[dbell1]

Super sad that I missed Ricky Skaggs last night, I turned in at random times. I saw him live years ago. Best show ever, he actually stayed after the show and met with everyone who was lined up. Very sweet man, super talented.

Saw the car part, and would have run over Barret if I had the chance. Bring on next season!

[Noreaster]

i don't understand people who can never give Adam credit as a coach. He did a great job with his final three this year just as he did with his final three season 7. He is a good coach

Yep, same old same old.  Adam deserves no credit and all the blame.  

 

Based on this clip, Adam appeared to be heavily involved in the song selection process this season:  

http://www.nbc.com/the-voice/video/behind-the-voice-top-9-picking-the-song/2949320?onid=241241#vc241241=2

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

The Voice Ends With One Winner, Three Losers, And A Little Misdemeanor
The Voice crowns its ninth champion; Missy Elliott reminds us what genius looks like.

[Archery]

I tuned in and saw Jordan and Usher' s duet on "Without You," a song I don't love, then turned the show off because I knew every performance after that would be a disappointment.

Edited December 17, 2015 by Archery

[Noreaster]

From USA Today:http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2015/12/16/voice-winner-plans-next-music-challenge/77405494/

Thanks for the link.  I thought the following part where Adam mentions the record label is interesting.  Republic Records really hasn't done much with any of the non-country contestants.  

 

Levine issued a challenge to the record labels that handle the post-Voice careers of Smith and other winners, reiterating earlier comments to Howard Stern. Although The Voice is an Emmy winner and TV's top-rated singing competition, it has yet to produce a big recording star.

“There have been some shortcomings on the other side of the fence,” he said, adding that Smith is well situated for stardom. “Jordan has had more success on iTunes than most artists ever have. … At every level, this guy deserves the most success imaginable. We bring everybody to this beautiful point where there are cameras and everyone wants to know this guy and everyone wants to hear more music from this guy,” Levine continued. “So, the baton has been passed to the record label and hopefully they’ll do right by Jordan Smith. Right, Republic Records?”

[yourpointis]

I thought it was very telling or funny, however you look at it that during the re-broadcast of the final performances that Pharrell's quip about hoping Jordan is signed to a label that is willing to work with him and the kind of music he wants to make rather than giving him chart-chasing music was edited out. I wonder why.

[bluepiano]

Okay show. What point are you trying to make putting all the people of color who got the boot (which is ALL of them) in the same "ex-contestant performance"?

 

Wow, did that really happen? Glad I missed it.

 

Is there anything this show can do in the future to not be so completely white bread?

Edited December 17, 2015 by bluepiano

[DownTheShore]

I thought that was a bit odd, that they were grouped together like that. Is it possible that they asked to sing as a group?

I thought it was unintentionally amusing how all members of that group were trying to out-run and out-trill each other. And how it reinforced the reasons why they were cut.

[MaryPatShelby]

So, all these artists that you say were lip-synching (I can never tell, even when I watch closely!), what is the deal with that?  Is a mega-hit recording artist really and truly unable to sing ONE song live?  What about concert tours?  At the price that a ticket to a concert commands, the naivety in me would be seriously bummed that "live" concerts are faked. 

[Morgan of Hed]

Concert tours often have lip-synced performances, especially the ones that are big spectacles. Sometimes it's just partial though.

Edited December 17, 2015 by Morgan of Hed

[poppy-]

So, all these artists that you say were lip-synching (I can never tell, even when I watch closely!), what is the deal with that?  Is a mega-hit recording artist really and truly unable to sing ONE song live?  What about concert tours?  At the price that a ticket to a concert commands, the naivety in me would be seriously bummed that "live" concerts are faked. 

 

Depends on the artist.  My favorite of the night was Missy, and she's not someone I'd expect to perform totally on mic.   But her voice isn't the point of her show at all; it's all about her wit.  Her stage show is ridiculously clever and entertaining. 

 

I think Pharrell was live.  He's a snooze as a coach, and his vocal range is nothing. But he is always good  onstage, and so generous.  I'm surprised no contestants ever want to duet with him.   I guess they can't if he's a rival coach, but, of all the stars on there, he's the one I'd sing with.  Gwen draws focus, Adam'll hold you back, Blake is not  versatile.

[Kromm]

Good on Adam for calling out how pathetic the post-show promotion has been for the winners (with the notable exception of the Country ones). Cut on Idol and the UK X-Factor all you want, but they both eventually found ways to promote their winners (even if that eventually fell off with Idol). The Voice doesn't even seem to try. The one big moment I recall was Tessanne Chin getting invited to one of those White House performances they do for various musical genres, but that invite probably came FROM the White House and wasn't likely the label deliberately trying to promote her.

That said, Adam is not one to talk. He has his own label and he's been sitting on the one same signed artist (Rozzi Crane--who's actually incredibly talented) for like four years.

[dizzyizzy01]

I can't entirely blame the label for the lack of success these artists have.  I think Adam is full of it on that end.  He can point fingers all he wants, but the Voice is clearly primarily a TV show; they aren't really interested in developing stars.  If they were, they wouldn't be starting the next season before the current winner even has a chance to put anything out.  They'd try to build something like a tour post-show (which they've tried and pretty much failed).  They wouldn't focus the majority of screen time on the coaches instead of the contestants.  They would have past contestants come and promote more.  There's lots of things the show does a crappy job of in developing "stars".  That said, everyone's having a lot of trouble breaking out.  It's been a few years since Idol or XFactor has had a true breakout star.  The days are long gone where you get instant success post reality show.  Furthermore, the labels just haven't figured out how to operate in the new world of streaming, digital media consumption, on demand, etc.  Old distribution models don't work.  Radio play doesn't work the way it used to.  It's just a different more fragmented world out there that makes it much harder to "manufacture" a breakout star.

[Shades of Scarlet]

So, all these artists that you say were lip-synching (I can never tell, even when I watch closely!), what is the deal with that?  Is a mega-hit recording artist really and truly unable to sing ONE song live?  What about concert tours?  At the price that a ticket to a concert commands, the naivety in me would be seriously bummed that "live" concerts are faked. 

 

On tour, at least these days, you can generally expect that the artist/band is actually performing on-mike.  There may be supplemental performers underneath the stage and there may be occasional backing tracks, but in these social media days that is also thankfully less frequent than it used to be.  

 

In a "live" performance by a non-house band or artist on a TV show, though, all bets are off.  Take Coldplay, which I mentioned above just in the last day or so.  That's at least twice now that they have shown up on The Voice with their core four performers doing a song where the sound coming through the speakers was completely incompatible with the visible instrumentation.  (Chris Martin's vocal may or may not have been live, and the drummer was assuredly playing along lightly to maintain the veneer, but nothing else was live, either time.)  As for Bieber, there's no question in my mind - and I'm happy to agree to disagree with anyone who feels differently - that he prerecorded the vocal just for the show, thus enabling him to edit as needed and avoid anyone saying, "wait, isn't that just the studio version?"  They know how to make prerecordings that sound live.  Sometimes they even build in a few tiny "mistakes" or "glitches" in the sound so people will be convinced that it couldn't have been anything but live.

 

On The Voice, this particularly annoys me because the house band is so good.  (Apart from the loudness relative to the artists, which isn't really the band's fault, but the crew's.)  They have backup singers, they have two guitarists, and two keyboardists with about five sets of keys each.  This should enable them to play just about anything, and it does.  So when other artists show up and are clearly lip-syncing or faking playing their instruments, it bugs.        

[buckybruce]

The one big moment I recall was Tessanne Chin getting invited to one of those White House performances they do for various musical genres, but that invite probably came FROM the White House and wasn't likely the label deliberately trying to promote her..

 

I saw that special, I believe it was on PBS, and it was called "Women of Soul". She sang "Last Dance" by Donna Summer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeUiq1ODKz8. She was great.

 

However, I saw her in concert at the Sony Centre in Toronto later that year, and while she was excellent, the local promoters made a big mess of it. Terrible opening acts, terrible sound, terrible lighting...they even had a raffle draw onstage between acts, like it was in a church basement.

 

If an artist as good as her can't get record company support, well, what hope is there for other Voice winners?

[Noreaster]

I agree the business environment has changed and the labels may not be entirely to blame.  However, it seems like there was zero promotion for the non-country Voice winners.  What happened to Jermaine, Tessanne, and Josh?  I think other finalists (Matt and Chris from season 7) had also signed with Republic (does Republic have right of first refusal?) but were subsequently dropped.  

 

It's one thing to argue that these winners are not likely to have much commercial success anyway.  But shouldn't the record labels be trying to support them in some way?  There's something not right here.  These coaches are being paid a ton of money to play these TV characters and support the show.  If they're starting to vocalize these issues publicly (Adam in interviews, Pharrell with his comments to Jordan), then there probably is some conflict with the label.  Is Republic holding up their end of the deal?  Are they even trying to leverage these contestants' TV exposure and promote them?  Or just doing the bare minimum to satisfy their contract with The Voice and the contestants?

[Shades of Scarlet]

That said, Adam is not one to talk. He has his own label and he's been sitting on the one same signed artist (Rozzi Crane--who's actually incredibly talented) for like four years.

 

Not really.  First of all, he created the label especially for Rozzi - and you're right about her talent IMO.  He had some other artists signed, like Matthew Morrison from Glee and Tony Lucca from S2 or whichever season it was, but his label, 222, signed an affiliation deal with Interscope (with is Maroon 5's label) in 2014, a common arrangement meaning (simplifying a bit here because it's tangential to my point) that any 222 artists are also signed to Interscope.  

 

I think the reason for all of this is The Voice's success, because 222 was founded in 2012, a few months after the show began.  The show quickly became a breakout hit, and I think that removed Adam's need/desire - as well as the resources and time - needed to become a record mogul.  It's not impossible for current recording artists who tour regularly to have their own labels with other acts, but affiliation deals are a lot easier, and that's true even when the head of the label is not a major television star, as here.  

 

So, as often happens, the Adam blame here - and I know you're not one of the prime movers in that area, so no offense - is misplaced.   

 

 

 

I can't entirely blame the label for the lack of success these artists have.  I think Adam is full of it on that end.  He can point fingers all he wants, but the Voice is clearly primarily a TV show; they aren't really interested in developing stars.  If

 

Adam's point - well-expressed, I think - is that The Voice does what it needs to do as a television show, and does it well.  The rest of the picture requires record labels to pick up that ball and run with it, capitalizing on the artist's success on TV.  The Voice is a television show, not a record label.  Adam is saying that the affiliated label, Republic, is completely failing in its contractual duties to promote the artists afterwards.  

 

Now, NBC and The Voice's producers may well not care about any of this; there's evidence for and against on that point.  But to say that Adam is "full of it" about this misses the mark and is - not to repeat myself too quickly - symptomatic of the fact that Adam just can't win with a large segment of the PTV posters on this forum.  The guy goes out of his way (twice now that we know of) to express a completely legitimate criticism that he didn't need to make and can't really do anything about, and he's "full of it."  Sigh.   

Edited December 17, 2015 by Shades of Scarlet

[Padma]

I thought that was a bit odd, that they were grouped together like that. Is it possible that they asked to sing as a group?

I thought it was unintentionally amusing how all members of that group were trying to out-run and out-trill each other. And how it reinforced the reasons why they were cut.

Was that "Love Train"?  I came in in the middle of it, at first glad to see some soulful singers back, then thinking it was very strange.

 

I assumed that...maybe...those 5 African American contestants had all become great friends and Carson (in the intro I had missed) explained they wanted to perform together.  But I still came here to post about it two days ago (then deleted in case I was jumping to conclusion out of context).  Because, even if that were the case and the singers wanted just to sing together, why were ALL of the back up dancers (at least 10 people) ALSO only African American?  On a show that already risks having too little diversity, THAT choice really seemed like, "Okay, all the black singers and dancers can have one number....you, over here."

 

Especially since the song was about spreading love to all countries and nations around the world. Would there be something "wrong" with having white (etc) dancers backing up an all black group of singers?  Or to see some integration happening there in that performance, especially when you have a song about cultures coming together?  Even if the singers just wanted to perform together... it was still 15 singers and dancers, ALL of them black, on a show that skews so heavily white year after year. I just thought it was a really weird decision.

Edited December 17, 2015 by Padma

[dizzyizzy01]

The guy goes out of his way (twice now that we know of) to express a completely legitimate criticism that he didn't need to make and can't really do anything about, and he's "full of it."  Sigh.   

He's full of it in that he's claiming this show is some great amazing platform that automatically sets the contestants for success as a recording artist.  The show sets itself up as a successful television show for ratings.  It's centered around the judges more than the contestants.  People barely remember the contestants names once the season wraps.  Not to mention the deal the show has negotiated with the label is supposedly only worth $100k.  That might cover the cost producing one song, it's not even close to what it'd cost to produce an album.  IMO, I just don't think the show is really interested in developing stars.  The show and the contracts they've arranged would be structured differently if that was a real goal.

[Padma]

From what I've read of the awful contract that Idol gives its "winners", a lot of contestants would rather have the exposure but lose and keep control of their career afterwards.  It's too bad that winning a singing show is no longer a likely route to a big career, but it's a tough business and anything that improves your exposure and chances of getting a record out or touring with someone is a good thing. There's just not the same kind of popularity stirred up as there was when "Idol" was new and exciting.  But, based on the contracts they gave, it may be just as well for winners to have less fame but a lot more control. 

[Noreaster]

He's full of it in that he's claiming this show is some great amazing platform that automatically sets the contestants for success as a recording artist.  The show sets itself up as a successful television show for ratings.  It's centered around the judges more than the contestants.  People barely remember the contestants names once the season wraps.  Not to mention the deal the show has negotiated with the label is supposedly only worth $100k.  That might cover the cost producing one song, it's not even close to what it'd cost to produce an album.  IMO, I just don't think the show is really interested in developing stars.  The show and the contracts they've arranged would be structured differently if that was a real goal.

I think maybe this is overstating Adam's comments a bit.  He said there are shortcomings in how the label has handled things and hopes that it does right by Jordan.  Which is the problem at hand.  The record label hasn't done much.  We could argue that The Voice doesn't properly set up the contestants for post-show success all we want.  But we'll never know if the labels aren't bothering to promote them at all.  I mean, I think I understand your other points just fine and it's basically a business justification for the labels to not take the risk and to not invest in the contestants.  But is that fair?  I bet the labels are not violating their contract with the show outright, but they certainly don't seem to be fulfilling it in spirit.  If they have trouble with the show's execution and their way of "developing stars", are they communicating that to the show?  My guess is no, if the coaches are openly expressing their frustration with the label. 

 

I have to say, I also don't think it's fair to say that Adam is "full of it" either.  Yes, the show is about ratings and largely focused on the coaches.  But the show also gives the contestants exposure and hopefully puts the contestants in a better position than before they went on the show.  If the label does nothing with that, then the label deserves some criticism.  

 

Regarding the $100k, I'm not entirely sure on this, but I thought that was the cash prize for the winners.  Not the value of the record contract.  

[Muffyn]

I find myself going back to what Blake said to Barrett about the show giving you exposure and the chance to do produced and stylized numbers on a large stage seen by millions of people.  After the show, that goes away.  Then you need to try to work your way back to that level.  I don't fault the judges for calling out the record label for not supporting the artists after the show ends.  Prior winners have made the same complaints.  If people win this silly show, I would hope it would give them a better chance, even if they are winners I don't particularly enjoy.  

[DownTheShore]

Every new season the previous winner should be invited back to sing a song. I don't want to see Grimmie hawk Kohl's merchandise. I want to see how the previous winners are doing .

[Padma]

Every new season the previous winner should be invited back to sing a song. I don't want to see Grimmie hawk Kohl's merchandise. I want to see how the previous winners are doing .

Yes, that's where I fault the show much much more than regarding the record deal, which could be attributed to a tough, very competitive business and a profit model that doesn't favor artists.

 

But The Voice can give past winners new exposure every year. I was glad they invited back Sawyer, even though I turned off his song. I know most winners haven't been brought back and its kind of disgraceful, imo, given the "heart" of the show compared with Idol, where being dismissive of singers wouldn't be surprising. I also think they should bring them back during the finale week, when supposedly more people would be watching (and would be watching for past favorites if they knew to expect them).

 

I'd much rather have seen Tessane Chin, Javier Colon (he won, right?), or Jermaine Paul (going back), even CWB, than Justin Bieber.

[Noreaster]

I think most winners and many finalists have been brought back at least once. I also think this can't be at the expense of celebrity guests. Finale ratings are high in part because of the celebrity performances.

[dizzyizzy01]

I think maybe this is overstating Adam's comments a bit.  He said there are shortcomings in how the label has handled things and hopes that it does right by Jordan.  Which is the problem at hand.  The record label hasn't done much.  We could argue that The Voice doesn't properly set up the contestants for post-show success all we want.  But we'll never know if the labels aren't bothering to promote them at all.  I mean, I think I understand your other points just fine and it's basically a business justification for the labels to not take the risk and to not invest in the contestants.  But is that fair?  I bet the labels are not violating their contract with the show outright, but they certainly don't seem to be fulfilling it in spirit.  If they have trouble with the show's execution and their way of "developing stars", are they communicating that to the show?  My guess is no, if the coaches are openly expressing their frustration with the label. 

 

I have to say, I also don't think it's fair to say that Adam is "full of it" either.  Yes, the show is about ratings and largely focused on the coaches.  But the show also gives the contestants exposure and hopefully puts the contestants in a better position than before they went on the show.  If the label does nothing with that, then the label deserves some criticism.  

 

Regarding the $100k, I'm not entirely sure on this, but I thought that was the cash prize for the winners.  Not the value of the record contract.  

 

Adam was more diplomatic in this latest interview, but I don't think I'm overstating what he has said in the past.  He clearly thinks the show does this amazing job of setting up the contestants for success and the label screws it up.  From the his Howard Stern interview:

 

“The rollout of all that is still such a mess,” Levine said. “And by the way, just to clarify, this has nothing to do with what happens on NBC or with the people. In that time, we do so much great s— for these singers, and then they go to a record label that I won’t mention. But they go to a record label that f—s it up.”

 

And if you listen to the interview he straight up says the show does a great job and contestants fails because nobody picks up the slack on the end of it.

I mean, I agree that the label doesn't do much to promote these winners, but I also contend that the way the Voice is structured is ultimately not about the contestants.  Adam's just delusional to think the label is the only reason these artists don't succeed and winning the show should result in some instant success story.  Blake has a much more realistic view point.  The show gives you exposure but in the end you have to take that exposure and build on that.  It's not instant success even if you win.  The days of even AI making stars are long gone.  

 

ETA:  I didn't realize the $100k was a straight up cash prize.  At least the winner gets that much to take home then.  

Edited December 18, 2015 by dizzyizzy01

[Sammich63]

The only winner I thought was promoted a bit was Danielle Bradbery. She had an endorsement with Skechers. She was also supposed to have a song played during the Summer Olympics, but I only heard Philip Phillips's song. Cassadee has also had some promotion, but that's it for the winners. Hopefully it will change with Jordan's win.

[Noreaster]

Adam was more diplomatic in this latest interview, but I don't think I'm overstating what he has said in the past. He clearly thinks the show does this amazing job of setting up the contestants for success and the label screws it up. From the his Howard Stern interview:

And if you listen to the interview he straight up says the show does a great job and contestants fails because nobody picks up the slack on the end of it.

I mean, I agree that the label doesn't do much to promote these winners, but I also contend that the way the Voice is structured is ultimately not about the contestants. Adam's just delusional to think the label is the only reason these artists don't succeed and winning the show should result in some instant success story. Blake has a much more realistic view point. The show gives you exposure but in the end you have to take that exposure and build on that. It's not instant success even if you win. The days of even AI making stars are long gone.

ETA: I didn't realize the $100k was a straight up cash prize. At least the winner gets that much to take home then.

I thought there was more to the Howard Stern interview where Adam was also talking about how the contestants have to continue to work hard and that it's not just the label. But anyway, I agree that Adam could be way off on the chances these contestants have even if they got record label support. Thus making him potentially delusional like you said and not really "full of it" which suggested something else to me.

Anyway, moving on...

I was wondering about the show's decision not to do original songs this season. When they started that for season 7, I thought it was a really good idea and was intended to help set up the finalists for post-show success. Basically set up the finalists/winner with a radio-ready single that they could promote right out the gate. And the songs were actually decent, especially Matt's. But I guess that didn't work out so well for Craig. Did it get any radio play?

Then in season 8, it didn't even seem like there was any promotion of the "originals". I wonder why they didn't do anything with Sawyer's.

So I wonder what the show was thinking this season. Did they discontinue the experiment of original songs because of the lack of commercial success in prior seasons? Or maybe they considered this pool too weak to execute originals? Certainly there was less pressure on this group overall since they never had to learn more than one song per week except for the finals. And performing well-known Christmas songs is probably easier for the contestants (and maybe the band). I don't know. Just thinking out loud. Maybe costs were a factor?

Edited December 18, 2015 by Noreaster

[Shades of Scarlet]

I thought there was more to the Howard Stern interview where Adam was also talking about how the contestants have to continue to work hard and that it's not just the label. But anyway, I agree that Adam could be way off on the chances these contestants have even if they got record label support. Thus making him potentially delusional like you said and not really "full of it" which suggested something else to me.

 

 

No, Adam said pretty much what you summarized.  I don't think he believes that anyone can be launched into insta-stardom if the gosh darn label would just get its act together.  He's saying that the TV show is pretty successful, that it showcases the artists, and that from there, the label fails to do what it should.   

 

If anyone wants to criticize the show for not showcasing the artists more, they should do so.  No one should blame Adam for being a part of it (particularly when he's speaking out against the label's intransigence, which is getting pretty obnoxious).  He isn't running the show, literally or figuratively.  In fact, I bet Adam would support any changes made to favor more showcasing of the artists on the show, whatever those might be.     

[Kromm]

Adam's a lot of things (including rolling in dough thanks specifically TO this show--I'm sure his and Blake's salaries have skyrocketed as the show's gone on). But I do think his outrage and reactions on this are real.  He's a bit of a loose cannon in certain aspects and I think it's not out of character at all for him to vent on behalf of the artists on the show.  

 

BTW: My point before about Rozzi Crane though was more along the lines of how totally they've failed to launch her career in any meaningful way. I know Adam himself is very loyal to her (she not only took on Christina's part of "Moves Like Jagger" when Maroon 5 was on tour, and not only was pretty much their permanent opening act, but Adam even got her on The Voice itself last spring, although that didn't seem to boost her long term prospects much either).

[jjjmoss]

I think most winners and many finalists have been brought back at least once.

 

All the returning contestant performances I found:

S9: Sawyer & Cassadee. S8: Chris Jamison featured in Wiz's song, Matt McAndrew, Jacquie Lee, Vicci Martinez, Craig Wayne Boyd, Avery Wilson. 

S7: RaeLynn & Christina Grimmie but not Josh which is a Hmm. S6: Gwen Sebastian featured in Blake's song, Jacquie Lee, Will Champlin, Tessanne Chin.

S5: Xenia featured in Blake's song, Swons, Danielle, Michelle, Cassadee. S4: Juliet Simms featured in Cee Lo's song, Gwen Sebastian featured in Blake's song, Cassadee Pope, Nicholas David, Tony Lucca, Terry McDermott.

S3: Jermaine Paul, Juliet Simms, RaeLynn, Chris Mann. S2: Javier, Dia, Vicci, Beverly.

 

Multiple times: 3 Cassadee (Blake)

2 Jacquie (Christina), Vicci (Cee Lo), RaeLynn (Blake), Gwen Sebastian as a guest (Blake), Juliet (Cee Lo) inc as a guest.

Finalists who haven't returned: S6 Josh Kaufman, Jake Worthington, S7 Damien...S8 Meghan Linsey, Josh Davis, Koryn Hawthorne

Non-finalists who have: Avery (Cee Lo), RaeLynn (Blake), Gwen Sebastian (Blake), Xenia (Blake). So the general rule is, if you don't make the finals, you should hope you are a Team Blake female if you wanna come back.

 

Looks like this season was an anomaly in having so few people back. Maybe some will pop up next season who should have been here?

I'm thinking Danielle will be poised to drop her second album and will be back too.

 

Hits Daily Double is estimating that with all the song sales, Jordan's Complete Season 9 Voice Collection will be T10 on the Billboard 200. He possibly has the #s 2, 6, 9, and 11 songs of the week on the sales chart based on kworb.net's estimates (while Emily has #s 5 and 16).

Edited December 18, 2015 by jjjmoss

[Guest]

I know nothing about the music business but it seems like a lot of the superstars write hits.... Adele, Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, etc.  Or they're so charismatic the record label puts on writing camps to get them hits written (Rihanna, Christina).  Though songwriting ability is never even mentioned on the show so maybe it's totally irrelevant?  I think Blake, Shakira, Miranda, Pharrell, Gwen and Adam write most of their own stuff, right?  It makes me wonder if these winners aren't writers and the record label isn't about to "waste" hits on them?  

[jjjmoss]

Kinda underscoring people's complaints about the season being so Christian:

Braiden Sunshine is now a #1 Billboard artist.

Fifteen-year-old Sunshine, from Old Lyme, Conn., bows atop Hot Christian Songs...as the high school student's rendition of "Amazing Grace" starts with 31,000 downloads sold, according to Nielsen Music...With Sunshine's coronation, a Voice contestant controls Hot Christian Songs for a fourth straight week. Smith led the Dec. 5 and 12 charts with "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" and followed Dec. 19 with his version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."

 

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6812870/braiden-sunshine-shelby-brown-the-voice-christian-charts

 

As one might guess, Christian music is generally not a big digital seller; even today, if you look at the top Christian songs on iTunes, Great is Thy Faithfulness is #5 and #41.

 

Meanwhile, Jordan a week after being the first Voice contestant to have a #1 seller (or even T2) gets a 2nd #1 seller, with Mary Did You Know pushing 161k edging out Adele's Hello. But on the flip side, her concert special pushed 21 back to the T10, pushing Jordan's Season 9 Collection to #11...

Edited December 21, 2015 by jjjmoss

[viajero]

I thought the finale results show was actually somewhat entertaining.  Certainly more so then the performance show.  For me, the highlights were:

 

Best Vocals - Tori Kelly
Best Instrumental performance - Ricky Skaggs (plus it was nice the way they seamlessly integrated a couple of The Voice Band members)
Best Performance while actually singing - The Weeknd.
Best lip syncing performance - Missy Elliot
Best Duet - Jordan and Usher
Best Group Performance - Jordan and friends

 

Now that I’ve had a chance to get a little perspective on the season and re-watch many of my favorite performances, I’ve come up with the following Top 12:

1. Jordan Smith - Somebody to Love   ((Semifinals))
2. Jeffery Austin - Believe   ((Semifinals))
3. Jordan Smith - Chandelier   ((Blind Audition))
4. Madi Davis - A Case of You   ((KO Round))
5. Emily Ann Roberts - Burning House   ((Final))
6. Andi & Alex vs. Chance Peña - Wherever You Will Go    ((Battle Round))
7. Amy Vachal - Hotline Bling   ((Top 12))
8. Jeffery Austin - Make It Rain   ((Semifinals-Results))
9. Madi Davis - Songbird   ((Playoffs))
10. Jordan Smith - Mary, Did You Know   ((Final))
11. Jeffery Austin - Stay   ((Final))
12. Madi Davis - Love Is Blindness   ((Top 11))
13. Jordan Smith - Hallelujah   ((Top 10))

14. Barrett Baber - I’d Just Love To Lay You Down   ((Top 10))
15. Madi Davis - Girls Just Want To Have Fun   ((Top 10))

 

I would still argue that this season had the lowest overall level of talent of any season so far.  For example, perhaps only the top 4 or 5 listed above would have made my Top 15 list for Season 8 and that wasn’t even the strongest season so far (which for me was Season 3).

[jjjmoss]

It seems to be their most lucrative season yet though. Yes, thanks mainly to Jordan Smith, who is according to the record label the biggest seller ever during a Voice season. 

But still; if you look at the 15 highest charting covers that were at least T20 in sales, it goes:

S9 Jordan's Somebody to Love, S9 Jordan's Mary Did You Know, S3 Cassadee’s Over You, S9 Jordan’s Great Is Thy Faithfulness, S3 Cassadee’s Stupid Boy 

S7 Matt’s Blower’s Daughter, S5 Matthew’s Hallelujah, S5 Tessanne’s I Have Nothing, S9 Emily's Burning House, S2 Tony’s 99 Problems 
S7 Craig’s That Old Rugged Cross, S3 Cassadee’s Cry, S9 Jordan’s Hallelujah, S8 Sawyer’s Old Man, S5 Tessanne's Bridge Over Troubled Water

 

Which is 5 S9, 3 S3 & S5, 2 S7, 1 S2 & S8.

If you knocked off the top contender from each season to look at how full a season would be without them, that would leave 1 each for S9 & S5 & S7.

Edited December 22, 2015 by jjjmoss

[sydneyjane]

 

It's one thing to argue that these winners are not likely to have much commercial success anyway.  But shouldn't the record labels be trying to support them in some way?  There's something not right here.  These coaches are being paid a ton of money to play these TV characters and support the show.  If they're starting to vocalize these issues publicly (Adam in interviews, Pharrell with his comments to Jordan), then there probably is some conflict with the label.  Is Republic holding up their end of the deal?

 

Maybe they have tried. I mean, it's one thing to do a really great cover of a really great song that was made famous by someone else.  Another thing all together to take an original song that no one has heard before and make it something special.  Maybe they have tried to write songs for the winners and nothing jelled, or they couldn't find people to write songs for them.  Basically, maybe they determined that it just wasn't worth the investment. 

 

As for Adam's comments, didn't he sign Christina Grimmie to his label?  And, didn't she come out with an original song a year or so ago?  With her huge YouTube following, you would have thought it would have sold gangbusters, but it didn't.  I loved Sawyer last year, but I can't even remember the song he did this season and have no interest in it.  So, it's not that easy, once the season is over. Maybe if Jordan had someone like David Foster in the old days when he wrote for Whitney, write a song for him, it would be different. But, it's going to be difficult to do anything with Jordan these days, outside of Christian music.

[Noreaster]

Maybe they have tried. I mean, it's one thing to do a really great cover of a really great song that was made famous by someone else. Another thing all together to take an original song that no one has heard before and make it something special. Maybe they have tried to write songs for the winners and nothing jelled, or they couldn't find people to write songs for them. Basically, maybe they determined that it just wasn't worth the investment.

As for Adam's comments, didn't he sign Christina Grimmie to his label? And, didn't she come out with an original song a year or so ago? With her huge YouTube following, you would have thought it would have sold gangbusters, but it didn't. I loved Sawyer last year, but I can't even remember the song he did this season and have no interest in it. So, it's not that easy, once the season is over. Maybe if Jordan had someone like David Foster in the old days when he wrote for Whitney, write a song for him, it would be different. But, it's going to be difficult to do anything with Jordan these days, outside of Christian music.

Sure, it's possible the record labels tried. Though it's now been multiple contestants where seemingly little promotion has been done and coaches are now expressing their frustrations publicly. And I'm happy to be corrected on this if I'm wrong, but I think Tessanne put out an album and Jermaine had a finished album that was never released. So lack of songs is not really the issue for them.

Christine Grimmie signed with another label and not Adam's. It might have been a right of first refusal thing there but I'm not sure. She was subsequently dropped from her label.

No question the music industry is a tough one and plenty of artists face issues of not releasing anything or getting sufficient promotion after getting record contracts. I just think the coaches' gripes are understandable. These contestants arguably have a leg up after receiving TV exposure. If the record labels are not trying to capitalize on that, then the show's/coaches'/contestants' efforts seem all for naught. Sure, maybe that's simply the business reality. Maybe the reality singing world is over saturated. Maybe some of these winners are deemed unmarketable and not worth the effort. But I also think the coaches' frustrations are understandable.

[viajero]

While I do get the impression that Republic has done very little to promote past Voice winners, it is somewhat understandable.  Just compare what's currently on the charts (and not just the pop charts) with the kind of songs and performances that win the Voice.  There was no way that the likes of Jermaine, Tessanne or Josh were ever going to be current or marketable.

 

Not that labels can't "manufacture" successful artists out of reality show contestants.  Look for example at Fifth Harmony.  While on X-Factor they mostly did the usual covers of classic songs or ballads.  Their post-show success has required a radical shift to current commercial pop dance music, to the point where they are almost unrecognizable. The key was that Simon Cowell and LA Reid were willing to invest in them.  But I suspect only because they were young, malleable, and represented a different demographic than most current pop groups.  Few if any Voice finalists seem to offer the potential for following Fifth Harmony's example (even assuming a record company were willing to put in the effort).

 

One of the secrets to Melanie Martinez's relative success is that she also moved quite radically away from the image and music she did on The Voice into something much more unique and avant-garde.  But the kind of thing Melanie is doing pretty much has to come out of the artist herself.  "Cry Baby" is not the kind of thing that can be manufactured by a record label.