S11.E22: Live Top 10 Results

[Noreaster]

Two contestants are eliminated.  

[Court]

I've never cared for the twitter save. I would love to know who is actually getting the lowest votes. Based on the commercial results, I'm going to be mad in a minute. When someone is continually in the bottom,they need to go. Not be saved again. 

I would have put Josh in the bottom 3 instead of Austin. Then Aaron and Courtney would have gone home. Pretty much any combination would have pleased me if it included Aaron. 

That being said, Blake is good to his artists and I wouldn't be surprised if he takes Austin on tour with him. Or helps him out as he's done for his other artists. Winning the show doesn't really mean all that much anyways.

 

I also think Adam's "Aaron deserves to stay" was calculated. He wanted Austin to go because he feels that the country vote would be split less this way. 

Edited November 30, 2016 by Court

[Valny]

Ouch, Blake gets two wiped out of three left standing.

Aaron is the cockroach of the Voice. I do like how happy Miley gets each week seeing him survive.  But I don't think he'll make it too much further, the competition is getting tougher.  But then again, he's the cockroach!

[Quickbeam]

I thought any combination would have been fair as long as it included Courtney. 

[Padma]

Courtney deserved to go based on last night's performance (also, the camera people shouldn't photograph her like that--under and up her nose isn't flattering for anyone.). Aaron, too. I thought going into it-- his version of Rocket Man started out interesting enough, but did not keep -enough- of the melody.  But, shows the power of the save because  I really liked his "Don't Think Twice".  He changed it, but not too much and nice guitar accompaniment. It was my favorite performance of his all season. 

Austin's song choice wasn't very good but I'm still surprised--both on looks and on talent and on genre--that Aaron outlasted him.  So much for the "people vote for Blake", "there's a country army that puts singers through" and for the "fantasy boyfriend" theories!   But I don't doubt Austin's going to get better gigs, better crowds and better pay when he goes back to work.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Padma

[Noreaster]

2 hours ago, Court said:

That being said, Blake is good to his artists and I wouldn't be surprised if he takes Austin on tour with him. Or helps him out as he's done for his other artists. Winning the show doesn't really mean all that much anyways.

I also think Adam's "Aaron deserves to stay" was calculated. He wanted Austin to go because he feels that the country vote would be split less this way. 

Who knows what Blake will do but I haven't heard him helping any of his artists since season 4.  

Regarding Adam's commentary, I didn't watch it (I only watched the instant save performances on youtube) but if he supported Aaron, that seems pretty consistent with his comments on the regular performance shows.  Also, I don't see Adam caring about splitting the country vote.  Adam seems to care the most about Billy and Brendan and the least about Josh.  So, if anything, Austin staying might be more beneficial to Adam's team.  Austin potentially splits with Sundance who has been charting extremely well lately and poses a much bigger threat.  

Overall though, this is probably just overthinking.  Adam likely just said what he really thought.  Aaron's genre and song choices are very much to Adam's tastes.  

1 hour ago, Padma said:

Austin's song choice wasn't very good but I'm still surprised--both on looks and on talent and on genre--that Aaron outlasted him.  So much for the "people vote for Blake", "there's a country army that puts singers through" and for the "fantasy boyfriend" theories!   

I agree that all those theories are overstated.  However, tonight doesn't really prove/disprove the Blake one.  There's potential vote-splitting with the two Blake members.  

Edited November 30, 2016 by Noreaster

[ProudMary]

1 hour ago, Padma said:

Courtney deserved to go based on last night's performance. Aaron, too. I thought his version of Rocket Man started out interesting enough, but ... geez, Aaron... no matter how edgy you are, please preserve some of the melody in your next song (since, sadly, there will be one), okay?

Austin's song choice wasn't very good but I'm still surprised--both on looks and on talent and on genre--that Aaron outlasted him.  So much for the "people vote for Blake", "there's a country army that puts singers through" and for the "fantasy boyfriend" theories!   But I don't doubt Austin's going to get better gigs, better crowds and better pay when he goes back to work.

I think it's been made pretty clear from the last three weeks of voting that the army that matters right now is Miley's 31.2 million twitter followers.

[Court]

I could be wrong, maybe that's just my wrong impression. I listen to country so I tend to notice when the voice artists are on my radio. 

Zach Seabaugh and Emily Ann have been on my radio. But that very could be because he lives here. 

Either way, I wanted Courtney/Aaron to go but would have also been happy to see Josh go.

I do think you have two sets of different people voting in the instant save. My mom for example barely know what twitter is and can't tweet. But she does vote on her phone. People who don't tweet and people who do. Those people may not be voting the night before.

How many people are eliminated next week? 

[jjjmoss]

It looks like it's 4, then finale the next week. The 20th is Xmas specials time with Tony Bennett and Michael Buble.

[JMarie99]

Why are Aaron's Twitter Save performances so much better than his performances in the regular competition?  I thought he totally ruined Rocket Man -slurring through it and didn't even hit some of the high notes - and then he comes out and slays one of my favorite songs of all time, and I fall in love with him all over again. (Not in a "boyfriend" way - he's much too young for me lol.) Anyway, based on yesterday's performances Austin should have won, but based on their Twitter Save performances, I think Aaron deserved the win.  Of course I'm prejudiced because Austin did the type of song that makes me dislike country music - comparing his girlfriend to a bottle of liquor. Lol. But he is seriously talented and I hope he ends up with a good career in country music. 

Courtney's performance tonight was much better than last night's, but last night was really bad. Looking back I don't recall any of her performances being all that special. Glad she's gone. 

Edited November 30, 2016 by JMarie99
Changed "hate" country music to "dislike" - don't want to piss off the country fans!

[Court]

Just now, jjjmoss said:

It looks like it's 4, then finale the next week. The 20th is Xmas specials time with Tony Bennett and Michael Buble.

So,hopefully we can be rid of Aaron then. 

I can see Alicia having two in the finale. I've grown to really love Christian. 

[JMarie99]

I love Christian too. He makes bad songs good (Roseanna) and had me in tears this week. I'm hoping maybe he's this season's dark horse. I would love to see him win the whole thing. 

Edited November 30, 2016 by JMarie99

[Gel]

It's the guitar. Austin should've brought his guitar.

It's also getting kind of funny watching Aaron and Miley try to come up with new last parting words as demanded by the formula. 

[metalgod1971]

I thought any combination would have been fair as long as it included Courtney and Josh and he was the one going home. Why does the people keeps voting him through??? He's so Bad :-( He should have gone 3 weeks ago maybe more. Austin is a million time better than him and should not have been gone tonight :-(

[PhD-Purgatory15]

If you actually listen to country radio like Sirius's The Highway and are just a fan of current country music, your Cole Swindell's, Chase Rice's, Brett Eldredge's....Josh has a voice like that. Outside of the unicorn Chris Stapleton, voices like Sundance and Austin are much more rare.

So I get his appeal on some level (and argued in a previous post somewhere that it wouldn't shock me if he's the only finalist from this season to taste s small amount of mainstream, non-Broadway success after this season ends).

And fwiw, on Real Good Man I thought he was about as strong vocally as he's ever been in the entire competition.

 

Still feels 75% of the finale is set. We (uggh), Billy, and Sundance (almost has to be a lock now that he's Blake's sole survivor). Then it's a toss up between Brendan, Christian and maybe a slight outside chance for Ali on that last spot. Aaron and Josh will almost certainly be culled off next week.

[Jabu]

Team rosters/cheat sheets for the top eight:

Team Adam
Brendan Fletcher (saved by America's vote)
Billy Gilman (saved by America's vote)
Josh Gallagher (saved by America's vote)

Team Miley
Ali Caldwell (saved by America's vote)
Aaron Gibson (saved by Twitter vote)

Team Alicia
Christian Cuevas (saved by America's vote)
Wé McDonald (saved by America's vote)

Team Blake
Sundance Head (saved by America's vote)

[Michel]

6 hours ago, Valny said:

Ouch, Blake gets two wiped out of three left standing.

Not the first time, either.  He lost Hannah Kirby and, happily, Corey Kent White at the top eight in season eight.  Both were sent packing over India Carney, who was on Christina's team.

Adam keeps his team intact.  Again.  And based on Josh's performances, undeservedly so.

Meanwhile, I don't know why the artists were included in Dolly Parton and Jennifer Nettles's performance if all they were going to do was harmonize with them.

I did love Miley, Dolly, and Pentatonix's performance, though.

I wasn't too surprised with Austin and Courtney landing in the bottom three.  Austin could've been saved any time when Carson had reached the second and third groups who were safe.  When he was in neither group, I knew he was in the bottom.  And it was already clear Courtney would be, too.  Question was just going to be whether Aaron or Josh joined them.

Aaron survives three Twitter saves in a row and is the first Voice contestant to do so!  Great job, Aaron!  Great job, America!

Ironically, after being the first two coaches to take hits, Alicia and Miley are both doing better than Blake in terms of numbers.

Prediction for next week: Sundance, Billy, and either Wé or Christian get instantly voted into the finale, with the other singing for the Twitter save with Brendan and Ali.  I think time's up for Aaron and Josh next week, with no Twitter save.

ETA: Great minds apparently think alike, @PhD-Purgatory15, because I had pretty much the same predictions as you!

Edited November 30, 2016 by Michel

[bluepiano]

3 hours ago, Gel said:

It's also getting kind of funny watching Aaron and Miley try to come up with new last parting words as demanded by the formula. 

Ha. Good one. But Aaron's "Don't Think Twice" was for me easily his best performance of the season, and maybe (I'm a huge Dylan fan) my favorite by anyone. Everything worked. His guitar, his voice, even a knowing little smile that was perfectly timed with the lyric. Where has he been hiding that performance skill? He was also suddenly warm and likeable, as opposed to what some posters have called his serial killer look.

Maybe he was also helped in the Twitter save by singing a song that hasn't been done to death. I feel like I hear "Tennessee Whiskey" about every other week, but that may be because it was also done a lot on other talent competition shows. I guess it's super popular, but to me it's not an interesting song. Two chords back and forth over and over. It's basically a country version of "I'd Rather Go Blind."

Color me surprised that Josh outlasted Austin in the country dude sweepstakes. And Josh isn't even needing a Twitter save. I guess it's what Blake's said, that he sounds like he's already on the radio. So country fans feel very comfortable with him.

Four people being eliminated next week? That's brutal. I think that Sundance, Billy, and We are locks for the final three. Brendan seems to be picking up momentum and might get that fourth spot over Christian.

Edited November 30, 2016 by bluepiano

[TaraS1]

I like Jennifer Nettles and I know she's in Dolly's TV movie, but she so wasn't needed in that song.  She just seemed really off to me, like she could never get in sync with what Dolly was singing, and it was really distracting.

Also, I'd heard of Penatonix but never seen them before, and while they sounded good, I wasn't sure why they were there either.  Dolly is perfectly capable of singing her songs by herself, Voice.  (But what the heck was up with Miley and the extra heapin' helpin' of twang during that song?  I've grown to like her so much this season, but I thought she was doing some parody version of country at first lol.)

I don't have any real favorites this season, although I like Brendan, Christian and Ali well enough.  Mainly, I just want Billy and We to go home, but I don't see that happening.

And on a non-musical note, when Carson mentioned the fires in Tennessee, I was hoping they might put up some disaster relief info on the screen re: how to help, where to donate money, etc.  Particularly since that's Dolly's home county.  I don't live too far from there and they desperately need assistance.

[Court]

@TaraS1 I was too. It's horrifying. I just heard the fires were intentionally set too. That's one of our favorite places.

[SunnyBeBe]

• I haven't developed any real favorites this season, but, man.....imo, Adam had two remain on his team that are much less talented than Austin.  Initially, I didn't care for Austin, but he sort of grew on me.  I can't believe that he would go before some of the others, especially, Josh.  There are so many other country singers on the charts who are  better then Josh.  He really is so similar in appearance, style.  I don't get it.  It's just not even amusing to me. Does Adam actually listen to country music? 

I loved the musical performances last night. I had a dress similar to the one Miley wore in that performance with Dolly...in 1977! lol 

I thought the extra people with Dolly complimented her nicely.  I was impressed that Dolly's voice is still so strong.  She's one of my all time favorites. 

[Sharpie66]

1 hour ago, TaraS1 said:

I like Jennifer Nettles and I know she's in Dolly's TV movie, but she so wasn't needed in that song.  She just seemed really off to me, like she could never get in sync with what Dolly was singing, and it was really distracting.

Also, I'd heard of Penatonix but never seen them before, and while they sounded good, I wasn't sure why they were there either.  Dolly is perfectly capable of singing her songs by herself, Voice.  (But what the heck was up with Miley and the extra heapin' helpin' of twang during that song?  I've grown to like her so much this season, but I thought she was doing some parody version of country at first lol.

Pentatonix and Dolly have a version of Jolene that hit the country charts last month and gave Dolly the distinction of having a Top 20 song in the country charts in six decades. IMO, the artist who wasn't needed was Miley, who wrecked the tight harmonies Dolly and PTX have. And I agree the twang she had was really bad. Miley has a really pretty version of Jolene on YT in the Backyard Session in which she was much better than last night.

[Noreaster]

9 hours ago, Court said:

I could be wrong, maybe that's just my wrong impression. I listen to country so I tend to notice when the voice artists are on my radio. 

Zach Seabaugh and Emily Ann have been on my radio. But that very could be because he lives here. 

Either way, I wanted Courtney/Aaron to go but would have also been happy to see Josh go.

I do think you have two sets of different people voting in the instant save. My mom for example barely know what twitter is and can't tweet. But she does vote on her phone. People who don't tweet and people who do. Those people may not be voting the night before.

How many people are eliminated next week? 

I'm happy to be corrected on the Blake helping his artists thing.  It's just that over the seasons on this board, people keep bringing that up and citing the season 2-4 artists.  I always wonder, what has he done lately?  Is he really different anymore from the other coaches who might keep in touch with a couple contestants here and there?

Regarding the instant save voting, I'm not sure how to think about it.  I always assumed that it was a subset of the regular voters.  People who have twitter (so maybe this would skew younger than regular voters?) and who are able to watch the instant-save performances live (so only viewers in the Eastern and Central time zones).  Then throw in some of the more motivated/invested viewers who can't watch live but will keep track via twitter.  I could be wrong about this though.  And I have no idea how many people vote to begin with on the regular shows.  Viewers total about 10 million but what percentage actually votes?  

One thing I haven't seen mentioned this season is the performance order for the instant saves.  We've reverted back to the last performer winning every week.  

[jmonique]

1 hour ago, TaraS1 said:

Also, I'd heard of Penatonix but never seen them before, and while they sounded good, I wasn't sure why they were there either.

As Sharpie66 noted, Pentatonix and Dolly released a new version of "Jolene," which is what made it more timely than normal. The video is up to 17 million views. I highly recommend watching as much Pentatonix as possible. They're amazing.

And while I could live with Miley's unnecessary twang, given how she's covered the song as well, the hoedown-ish lifting of her skirt and foot tapping was awkward AF.

[saber5055]

Seeing Dolly reminded me of how great she is, and how many younger singers can't compare to her. And how fantastic she has been over all these decades. She STILL rules IMO. That aside, what Courtney said before she was eliminated, that the show allowed her to feel better about herself (I paraphrase, what she actually said was much more poignant) made me feel bad about ranking on her. Plus she said something real as compared to the standard "this means everything to me" cr*p everyone else spouts when asked what the experience means to them. Like Aaron keeps saying every week to Miley.

[Sharpie66]

Quote

Sorry about that--couldn't delete the quote box!

Anyway, what I meant to post was--Winston9-DT3, come join us at the Pentatonix thread in the Sing-Off forum, and we'll discuss an example where they did sing with a band and why it was a bad idea.

For The Voice, I was really surprised that Aaron pulled off the save, but losing Austin wasn't a blow because his performance this week was forgettable at best.

[Ketzel]

Aaron's version of "Don't Think Twice' was maddening to me. It's bad enough when singing show contestants mess around with the melodies of classic, beautiful songs with the puerile justification of "making the song their own" (as if this song could ever be anyone's but Dylan's, no matter how well it's covered.) But when they start to flim-flam the melody because they actually can't sing the song as written, then I get really annoyed. Aaron raised every low note in the melody to bring it up to his more limited range and, imo, seriously muted the emotional impact of the song in the process. 

I like Aaron's voice. I think it's interesting. With the right song (his duet with So'Rayeh, for example) he can be very expressive. But I dislike the way he keeps glomming on to songs that he is not designed to sing well, and I really don't like his attempts to twist the songs into something he finds approachable. I don't think it works and I don't think his coach is doing him any favors by suggesting them or by not vetoing them or by whatever the coach actually does with respect to the singer's song choices.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Ketzel

[realdancemom]

I think Aaron gets saved because of Miley's Twitter followers and I think young people are the ones tweeting.  I also agree that I think Aaron's twitter save performances are better than his regular performances.  He will be gone next week though.

[MaryPatShelby]

21 hours ago, ProudMary said:

I think it's been made pretty clear from the last three weeks of voting that the army that matters right now is Miley's 31.2 million twitter followers.

UO:  I believe that people vote for the contestants; I don't believe that the bulk of the votes are for the coach.

[limecoke]

Forgive me, but I just do not get Aaron's appeal.  Whatever.  Apparently, the camera figures a few of Miley's tears would help save Aaron.  I'm pretty sure production did not want her team down to one.  Not implying funny business but they do love her tears.  I just hope his rather weak and, for me, terrible voice doesn't win it all.  It is called The Voice after all.  

[TheGreenKnight]

10 hours ago, Ketzel said:

Aaron's version of "Don't Think Twice' was maddening to me. It's bad enough when singing show contestants mess around with the melodies of classic, beautiful songs with the puerile justification of "making the song their own" (as if this song could ever be anyone's but Dylan's, no matter how well it's covered.) But when they start to flim-flam the melody because they actually can't sing the song as written, then I get really annoyed. Aaron raised every low note in the melody to bring it up to his more limited range and, imo, seriously muted the emotional impact of the song in the process.

"Make the song your own" has been code for "change it to hide the fact you can't really sing that well" for quite a while now. Hearing a song sung the way it should be has almost become a rarity, unfortunately.

[hincandenza]

I'll admit, when I saw the 40/39/21 split (by the way, producers, you are worse at making proportionate bar graphs than USA Today!) that I was greatly amused at the possibility Aaron would skate by for a third week... and then let out a laugh when he did!  I feel bad for Austin- although I didn't get around to watching his performance on Monday's show- as I thought he'd go further, but I do think he'll do well outside of this show even if Blake doesn't deign to help him.  Courtney has been drowning for weeks, despite her initial strong start, so I guess the performance anxiety she alluded to really has been a hindrance to her career.

I enjoyed the PTX/Dolly/Miley performance, although it did feel like they weren't all in sync rhythm wise.  PTX could be argued as proportionately the most successful of the singing show winners.  Yes, the Kelly Clarksons et al have had more album sales and Grammy success... but they also came from early seasons of AI when it was a juggernaut drawing in tens of millions of viewers.  As one of the couple of dozen people who actually watched "The Sing-Off" religiously and was a fan of PTX even then, they've sure gone a long way off winning a reality competition show with viewership numbers comparable to that of a medium-sized city's cable public access channel.

[Padma]

For any Amazon prime members who want to sample Pentatonix, lots of their albums are available to download for free. Not Jolene, but a lot of others, including the Christmas albums. 

[Noreaster]

8 hours ago, TheGreenKnight said:

"Make the song your own" has been code for "change it to hide the fact you can't really sing that well" for quite a while now. Hearing a song sung the way it should be has almost become a rarity, unfortunately.

To each his/her own.  I find the straight covers more boring.  I might as well just listen to the original artists.  

[MaryPatShelby]

8 hours ago, hincandenza said:

8 hours ago, hincandenza said:

 ....if Blake doesn't deign to help him....

 

This comment made me curious - what is the expectation (not of you, Hincandenza, but of America) when it comes to coaches helping their former contestants?  I have seen comments and commentary like this before, but this show is in its 11th season, and I find it unrealistic to expect that all the coaches help the careers of all their team members - and what's the parameter here for who they are expected to help....top 10?  Top 8?  Final 3? In addition to the demands on coach time just by being on The Voice (and yes, I know they are paid very well for that) they are all trying to record albums, write songs, perform, tour, etc., and to expect them to also mentor for every Voice participant seems like a little too much, especially when we all end up saying things like "I hate X because he never has his contestants tour with him".   

[Noreaster]

I think it's because of the early seasons when the show was very new and all the coaches did try to help out their contestants (at least the finalists) after the show was over.  Touring, collaborating on projects, signing a couple to their own labels, etc.  It was kind of cool to hear that the coach/contestant relationships portrayed on the show actually continued in real life.  

I agree it's unrealistic to expect that anymore.  With 12 contestants per team multiplied by however many seasons, how much can these coaches do?  I think there are one-offs here and there like Pharrell working with Mia Z on a song, but overall the market is saturated with reality show contestants and the music industry overall has its struggles.  

My expectation is that the coaches do what they can to help the contestants maximize their exposure on the show.  Then it's really up to the contestants to do what they can afterwards.  I do read that some contestants keep in touch with their coaches or their coaches' "people" but what does that really mean anyway.  

[Ketzel]

3 hours ago, Noreaster said:

To each his/her own.  I find the straight covers more boring.  I might as well just listen to the original artists.  

Some of the straight covers ARE boring. But a real artist can bring his or her unique style to a song without resorting to either karaoke or re-writing the melody. I can think of a few examples from the universe of AI or the Voice, but this is one of my favorites:

Here's Brook Benton singing the original hit version of "It's Just A Matter of Time." It's a smooth pop version, with a subdued blues shuffle rhythm underneath and his persona is very cool - the woman he's singing to may have called him a clown, but he's shrugging it off. She's coming back and he knows it.

Here's Randy Travis, making the song "his own."  He sings it note-for-note, not shying away from the deep low notes, which he hits accurately (although he seems to have to work a bit harder to hit them than Brook does.) But it's clearly a country song, as he does it, and his persona is heartbroken and kind of bitter. The woman he's singing to called him a clown and it really hurt; he's putting on a good face, but he really doesn't believe she's coming back.

There's a difference in style, a difference in arrangement, a difference in point of view and a difference in interpretation, to my ears. That's what makes each version interesting and worthwhile for a listener, even if Randy's cover didn't vary the melody. (In fact, I think it's especially so because he didn't vary the melody. This song is a display piece for a man with a strong baritone and that's one thing both of these singers have in common.)

[vibeology]

1 hour ago, Noreaster said:

I think it's because of the early seasons when the show was very new and all the coaches did try to help out their contestants (at least the finalists) after the show was over.  Touring, collaborating on projects, signing a couple to their own labels, etc.  It was kind of cool to hear that the coach/contestant relationships portrayed on the show actually continued in real life.  

I agree it's unrealistic to expect that anymore.  With 12 contestants per team multiplied by however many seasons, how much can these coaches do?  I think there are one-offs here and there like Pharrell working with Mia Z on a song, but overall the market is saturated with reality show contestants and the music industry overall has its struggles.  

My expectation is that the coaches do what they can to help the contestants maximize their exposure on the show.  Then it's really up to the contestants to do what they can afterwards.  I do read that some contestants keep in touch with their coaches or their coaches' "people" but what does that really mean anyway.  

And there are probably things happening behind the scenes that coaches will never get credit for. Getting someone's name on a list so they can go to a party and network. I'll never know that happened but it certainly is helpful. Same with passing along phone numbers so someone can make connections or talking someone up to a radio DJ or listening to a demo and giving feedback but we'll never know about any of those things. I'm sure some coaches do more than others and do more for certain contestants than others but that's life. The only thing I think a coach has to do is work hard during the show for each contestant. Anything else is gravy.

[bluepiano]

15 hours ago, TheGreenKnight said:

"Make the song your own" has been code for "change it to hide the fact you can't really sing that well" for quite a while now. Hearing a song sung the way it should be has almost become a rarity, unfortunately.

What constitutes "good" singing could be debated from now to eternity without resolution, because in truth it's highly subjective. There are technically flawless singers who might strike some as boring, because they don't have a distinctive character or personality. While singers who have highly distinctive and personal styles (Tom Waits or Joe Cocker for a couple of examples) tend to be polarizing, because people either love them or hate them.

Dylan's an interesting case, because I've always loved his singing. But when I was younger, there were a lot of people who said that Dylan was a great songwriter but they hated his voice, and preferred to hear his songs done by people with conventionally "good" voices, like Peter, Paul, and Mary or Judy Collins. While to me, those covers were boring and lacked the integrity, conviction, and emotional impact of Dylan's originals.

I agree with Noreaster that if you're slavishly imitating the original than what's the point? A big part of the art of singing is interpretation. I liked Aaron's interpretation of "Don't Think Twice" and think he had a consistent vision throughout. As opposed to some of Darby's performances, where she was all over the map trying to make the song "her own."

Being different for the sake of being different is not a good thing. Like when someone take an up tempo song and slows it way the hell down, as if that's all it takes to be an "artist." But to me it usually feels like a gimmick. On the other end of the spectrum is when Adam Lambert totally reimagined "Ring of Fire" on AI. I love the original, but to me it was exciting to hear such a completely different interpretation. I'm sure some Cash fans were horrified, but it's not like he was trying to replace the original. (And if you try to sing it exactly like the Johnny Cash original, you are always going to suffer by comparison).

There have probably been a relatively small number of singers over the years who tick all the boxes, combining flawless technique with a personal style and interpretative ability. Frank Sinatra comes to mind. (You may not like his genre, but I would be willing to say that anyone who doesn't recognize him as a great singer doesn't know jack about music.) But bottom line, it's all about who moves you emotionally when you listen to them. Billie Holiday never fails to move me, and that's why for me her version of almost every song she recorded is the definitive version. The same songs done by singers with more conventionally "perfect" voices leave me cold.

So getting back to Aaron, I connected with his performance of "Don't Think Twice," even while being aware of his technical flaws. Billy Gilman might've sung it flawlessly, but I don't imagine it would've had much emotional impact.

(Sorry for the long diatribe. As a musician for many years who only recently started singing in public this is a big topic for me. I was always afraid that I didn't have a "good voice." But what I discovered is that knowing your limitations, and picking appropriate songs, is more than half the battle.)

Edited December 1, 2016 by bluepiano

[hincandenza]

7 hours ago, MaryPatShelby said:

This comment made me curious - what is the expectation (not of you, Hincandenza, but of America) when it comes to coaches helping their former contestants?  I have seen comments and commentary like this before, but this show is in its 11th season, and I find it unrealistic to expect that all the coaches help the careers of all their team members - and what's the parameter here for who they are expected to help....top 10?  Top 8?  Final 3? In addition to the demands on coach time just by being on The Voice (and yes, I know they are paid very well for that) they are all trying to record albums, write songs, perform, tour, etc., and to expect them to also mentor for every Voice participant seems like a little too much, especially when we all end up saying things like "I hate X because he never has his contestants tour with him".   

I think others already answered this really well in terms of the history of this show, and how early on people like Blake and Cee-Lo got a reputation for continuing to stay in touch with and help out their past contestants (from getting them appearances at Blake's own concerts, to just exchanging emails every couple of months, or a tip on how best to promote oneself- that's valuable advice).  

In particular relating to my comment Austin, it's not that Blake or these coaches owe them anything, it's that I think Blake liked Austin and would like him to do well, so may choose to help him a little after the show... even if that help is as simple as a phone call to the right person to give Austin a boost while he's still fresh in country fans' minds (hey, can you squeeze one more act into your festival?  hey, can you give a radio interview to this guy and his band, he was real good on The Voice this year?).

[Padma]

I remember Danielle saying that Blake had looked over her contract offers and given her some advice. Even help regarding the business end of it could be very valuable, and something we'd be unlikely to know about.  I know RaeLynn somehow became a country music success (with, I believe, help from Blake and Miranda among others), but even having Blake and Gwen personally throw you a bachelorette party with plenty of her newfound celeb friends there must be invaluable PR.

If I were looking for future career help as a singer on the Voice, I'd probably choose Miley. She seems very invested (of course it's her first season; later on she might see it become a bit overwhelming if she doesn't keep some distance). I think if you got into Top 10 on her team she probably wouldn't mind keeping in touch and might even find ways to help.  She seems quite sensitive, supportive and kind, not really what I expected when the season began.

[TheGreenKnight]

13 hours ago, bluepiano said:

So getting back to Aaron, I connected with his performance of "Don't Think Twice," even while being aware of his technical flaws. Billy Gilman might've sung it flawlessly, but I don't imagine it would've had much emotional impact.

That is debatable. Someone's range, power, ability to hold notes, etc. absolutely is not.

[Michel]

5 hours ago, TheGreenKnight said:

That is debatable. Someone's range, power, ability to hold notes, etc. absolutely is not.

Yes, it is.  If someone's unable to do it well, then yes, it's debatable.

[MaryPatShelby]

The other thing to consider with after-show career assistance is that not every coach will bond with his/her contestants; heck, they might not even like everyone that America votes in.  In that circumstance, it probably would be difficult to continue a relationship once the show ended.  

[amaranta]

I love Dolly Parton.  Dolly is magic.

[Noreaster]

Transcript of post-elimination conference call with Courtney and Austin:

http://starrymag.com/courtney-harrell-austin-allsup-the-voice/

[Gel]

I wonder why the show didn't mention Courtney's vocal injury when they were all over Kylie's? At least Courtney seems to have a very lovely and positive attitude about the whole experience, which was nice to see.

[Noreaster]

Probably because she already had an interesting narrative...a successful songwriter trying to make it as a singer.  

I thought there were a few interesting tidbits on song choices.  Courtney mentioned that her blind audition, knockout, and instant save songs represented who she was as an artist, but that the others did not.  They were more about showing off her vocal range.  

Austin meanwhile said all the song choices except for the last one were his own.  He fought back a bit on "Missing You". He also talked about how songs were chosen in part to support the narrative.  

Austin mentioned how he didn't really want to win the show because of the contract.  Seems fairly consistent with what we've heard from some other experienced contestants in the past (the ones that come to mind are Laith Al-Saadi and Joshua Davis).