Season 16 Discussion

[After7Only]

On 4/30/2019 at 9:05 PM, seacliffsal said:

I think that LB should have read the room and gone with Blake as he's getting most of his team through and has a strong likelihood to get them through to the next rounds.  Or, could LB only choose between Adam and John?

Anyway, I loved this outcome-that's what they get for changing up the Knockouts so much.  

I’m pretty sure both comeback artists were told to pick Adam by production.  There’s no way they would let him go into the top 13 with only one team member.   

I hated the outcome, but I agree that’s what they get.   Can’t imagine they’ll keep this format in the future.   When the get to the top 8 with 5 team Blake, 3 team Legend/Kelly and top 4 that is all team Blake, it will make for very boring shows.  There’s not much unique-ness on team Blake.

[Khadeeja82]

 I have been watching this show since the very first season and I’ve found myself growing more and more frustrated with a couple of things:

1) The way country is being pushed by the viewers, no matter how good or bad the respective contestants are. I am an avid country fan myself and The Voice has produced some really good country artists but I also really enjoy and appreciate other genres (some of my favorite former contestants were Alisan Porter, Matt McAndrew, Chris Blue or Terry McDermott). In comparison country just seems to be over represented when it goes towards the live shows - this season more so than ever. I just can’t shake the feeling that contestants of color have it so much harder to advance, even when they are undoubtably MUCH better. A lot of greatly talented people have had to leave the show in favor of yet another country act (with the rare exception of Spensha, country also equals white) that’s been trying to make it in Nashville for years and didn’t because he/she was just replaceable. It really frustrates me as I personally feel that it  takes away from the show -  if ten contestants perform and seven of them sing a country song then that’s not really entertaining.  Sure, if the American public votes this way, then so be it.  Nevertheless, I feel a sense of unfairness a lot of times when I watch the results shows.  I don’t know if R’nB, Gospel, Rap, Pop, Rock...fans just don’t watch the show / don’t vote enough or if it is simply the sheer mass of country fans that cannot be rivaled. In any case it makes me sad to see people like Beth leave that deserve to go through, when at the same time there are currently so many male country singers in the race that I cannot even remember their names.

2) Adam has to go, he’s definitely more than exceeded his half-life on this show.  What started out as a Bromance and entertaining fake feud between him and Blake has turned sour and awkward, even embarrassing at times and mostly out right annoying. They should replace him and find a fresh face - maybe Blake, too. Just to breathe some life back into the show. Who is not tired of looking at Adam “Track suit/Sweatpants” acting like he’s God’s gift to music (and the world)?

3) I am ambivalent towards the Comeback Stage.  While some artists just had bad luck and probably deserve a second chance, the way it all plays out is not really working in their favor. Because they have been off screen for so long, the viewers have no real connection with them and -  feel free to correct me if I am mistaken -  rarely has a comeback artist survived the next round. They usually get voted off again (or, don’t get voted through) right away,  so what’s the point? This season I found it especially mean and unfair to have LB compete against the comeback artist (whose name I can’t even remember). LB had just performed and was a fresh memory for the viewers,  a contestant they remembered and could relate to, whereas the comeback artist was a guy you had maybe seen in the blinds and did not remember at all.  The odds were stacked against him from the get go, I honestly believe that this guy did not stand the slightest chance of making it back into the show. And that was probably true for all the constellations, even if it had not been LB and one of the other contestants.  Why give that kid any hope to begin with when you’re just going to crush it.... Unfair IMHO.

[Wandering Snark]

10 hours ago, Khadeeja82 said:

What started out as a Bromance and entertaining fake feud between him and Blake has turned sour and awkward, even embarrassing at times and mostly out right annoying. They should replace him and find a fresh face - maybe Blake, too.

Love your whole post actually. As the Voice world spins on it's gotten very wobbly on it's axis in favor of Country with Blake's Voting Army. I always know that my favorites that aren't Country's days are numbered. The more unique and further from Country and Blakes team they are the less chance they have. (I point to Kendra this year as an example.) This was elevated this year due to the "Vote For Cross Battle Winners By Coach" voting layout they did for the Cross Battles that was a serious error.

It's not lost on me that the "feud" between the men on the outside chairs is the one thing that has remained from the start... and I think it is for different reasons BOTH should be given some time off at least as one is a hated doofus and the other is disproportionately loved. A clean slate would be interesting to watch again. Right now the show is in a major rut that just gets deeper. They changed everything this year and it only seems to have exaggerated the problems.

I've mentioned too that it's just plain on to often and churns through too many contestants we can barely remember when the next season replaces them in another month with a new group. Having 26 (24 main contestants and two from the forgettable Comeback Stage) contestants go down to a final in three weeks is not helping provide anyone memorable.

The show has so many issues right now it's almost becoming a parody of itself.

Edited May 5, 2019 by Wandering Snark

[DaphneCat]

9 hours ago, Wandering Snark said:

I've mentioned too that it's just plain on to often and churns through too many contestants we can barely remember when the next season replaces them in another month with a new group. Having 26 (24 main contestants and two from the forgettable Comeback Stage) contestants go down to a final in three weeks is not helping provide anyone memorable.

The show has so many issues right now it's almost becoming a parody of itself.

Maybe this isn't the right forum - but here's my fantasy revamp.  They have several episodes of blind auditions - WITH NO BACKSTORIES!  Do I really need to hear about your dead grandmother if you aren't going to get picked?  If they need to have backstories they should be something like:  "Hi, I'm Betty Sue from Nashville and growing up my parents only played country music.  As a teenager, I rebelled and started a band playing death metal polka music.  My favorite bands are Motley Crue and the Six Fat Dutchmen."  Something that ONLY talks about music and the kind of artist they want to be.

Each coach gets 6 artists, they all perform and they each simply eliminate one until they want America to start voting.  No stupid match-ups, no "steals" (if I throw out my sofa, you are not "stealing" it if you trash pick it before the garbage truck comes) no saves, no comeback stage that never really brings someone back - just people singing in a competition.  If they want, they can add small items of backstory each week so we're getting to know the artists somewhat also.

[Sile]

If LB wasn't told to pick Adam by the producers then he's a world class dumbass and deserves whatever he gets because this was well after the last season's shenanigans aired.  The show definitely needs to 86 Adam, the public has pretty much spoken by demolishing his team for two weeks straight.

I really liked him in Maroon 5, but he's gotten to the point where I can't stand the sight of him.  Sloppily dressed, disrespectfully putting his feet on the podium (did he do that on his mama's coffee table and get away with it??) and constantly interrupting others' critiques to make it all about him.  

I would love to see Charlie Puth replace him.  He's a likeable guy, very talented and, just judging by his mentor comments, would make a great coach.

Edited May 5, 2019 by Sile

[Gel]

I like Blake, but I would not mind if they moved Kelly and John to the outside chairs and then got Alicia Keys and Charlie Puth to fill in.

[Booklady1017]

On 5/2/2019 at 7:59 PM, peachmangosteen said:

I keep saying this but I never follow through. I think this time I really will. Or at least I won't watch the entire season next time.

Yea really. Is there some scheduling reason why? Did it start later than usual or something? Or is there something they need to air asap so they're ending this early?

I think it was because of the Mid Season America's Got Talent. I watched and it was ok but it was kind of a waste. They should have started The Voice earlier.

[Booklady1017]

20 hours ago, Gel said:

I like Blake, but I would not mind if they moved Kelly and John to the outside chairs and then got Alicia Keys and Charlie Puth to fill in.

Ah Charlie Puth would be a good replacement for Adam. I don't mind if they switch out Blake every season to keep it fresh. Maybe alternate him with Gwen, Alicia or someone like that. 

[Booklady1017]

I have nothing against country music. I do like some of it but I'm not a big fan. Therefore when it comes down to mainly just country singers, it gets boring for me.  Plus, it's disappointing when I vote for my favorite singers (not these country singers) and they get eliminated a lot earlier than I want them to. 

I wonder if the amount of voters who vote for country singers aka Blake's team vs. other singers of other genres from other teams are a lot lower or that they just happen to vote more than the voters who prefer other genres. I think what I'm trying to say is I don't know if the people who like the singers from other genres don't really vote or it's just disproportionate to the other voters.

[Wandering Snark]

4 hours ago, Booklady1017 said:

I don't know if the people who like the singers from other genres don't really vote or it's just disproportionate to the other voters.

Some of this we could go around on chicken or the egg style, as the more 'powerful' Blake's team/voting block seems I'd bet more people get the "ahh, why bother voting for this rock chick, it won't matter" blues. So the effect on voting isn't straight forward, and some of it is just a ball rolling down hill smashing everything in it's path...

[TaraS1]

The poor girl who murdered Shallow last night may have given one of the worst performances ever done on a singing competition show, and that's obviously saying a lot.  That was brutal.

[Khadeeja82]

On ‎5‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 8:23 AM, Wandering Snark said:

Love your whole post actually. As the Voice world spins on it's gotten very wobbly on it's axis in favor of Country with Blake's Voting Army. I always know that my favorites that aren't Country's days are numbered. The more unique and further from Country and Blakes team they are the less chance they have. (I point to Kendra this year as an example.) This was elevated this year due to the "Vote For Cross Battle Winners By Coach" voting layout they did for the Cross Battles that was a serious error.

It's not lost on me that the "feud" between the men on the outside chairs is the one thing that has remained from the start... and I think it is for different reasons BOTH should be given some time off at least as one is a hated doofus and the other is disproportionately loved. A clean slate would be interesting to watch again. Right now the show is in a major rut that just gets deeper. They changed everything this year and it only seems to have exaggerated the problems.

I've mentioned too that it's just plain on to often and churns through too many contestants we can barely remember when the next season replaces them in another month with a new group. Having 26 (24 main contestants and two from the forgettable Comeback Stage) contestants go down to a final in three weeks is not helping provide anyone memorable.

The show has so many issues right now it's almost becoming a parody of itself.

Appreciated, thank you so much. It's been the first time I have ever commented on anything - I guess that is a testament to how much I used to enjoy this show...

Emphasis on used to. Watched the Lives and feel underwhelmed, again.

This is my personal recap of the performances:

Dexter - A lot of pitch issues, lame song choice - quite forgettable

Maelyn – Who else gets that distinct Sarah McLachlan feel when she sings?? Solid performance though, as always. It is just getting a little repetitive to see her do all these slower songs – what about some up-tempo?

Andrew – If they switched the audio of Andrew and Dexter, no-one would notice. Pitch-issues included.

Kim – I didn’t love it but I liked it alright. She’s at least a breath of fresh air amidst all the country and ballads. Not sure however if she's gonna pull in enough votes to survive the cuts.

Celia – Actually the perfect song choice imho, the OTT singing style of Gaga in that particular song suited her quite well. With that being said - her singing makes my toe nails curl up and it is a mystery to me why John saved her. What does he possibly see in this girl that the rest of us can't spot?

LB – “I’ll make love to you” was amongst the first records I bought, and I still like the song but I’m not sure it makes for a great performance for a solo artist on a talent show where you need to get people to vote for you. His voice sounded great overall but it’s just not an exciting enough song and doesn’t have enough dramatic impact. Also, towards the end he fell off key and got super pitchy.

Jej – I’ve been watching the show since Season 1 and I cannot remember another contestant that got me so excited in the blinds, just to follow it with such a steep decline. Jej has been more than underwhelming ever since the battle rounds. It is certainly the weak song selection (does Kelly not help him out there?? How does he always end up with these bland, meaningless R’n B weepies? There is so much great material out there if you wanna sing contemporary R’n B. Just look to H.E.R., Khalid, Jill Scott, Anderson.Paak, Childish Gambino… I don’t get it.), but maybe he is also just one of them people who are good singers but not made for the limelight. Star quality, baby ;-) He was also pitchy at times.

Rod – IMO he does not manage to transport the message or emotion of a song. All he does is press out the notes with so much strain, it evokes the image of a woman giving birth.

Carter – In the beginning he was vocally all over the place until it finally stabilized a bit. Not very impressive though.

Oliv – I’ve seen the great Sade live a couple yrs back and the mesmerizing thing about her singing is the effortlessness with which she does it. Oliv has some of that quality and appears to be a genuinely happy person which comes across in her performances. A very solid performance IMO and even if you don’t like the song, at least she has a captivating presence on stage. Certainly can’t be said for everyone left in the competition at this point ;-(

Shawn – Close runner-up, great vocals, as expected. What was that pussy bow thing??

Mari – The best performance of the night, by miles. On point, great vocals – signed, sealed, delivered. She’s also really captivating to watch. Not sure though if America’s gonna vote her through. Ashanti does not speak to the masses, I am afraid.

Gyth – He certainly differentiates himself from the other country guys in the competition with his distinct tone and spot-on vocal performances. I’m somehow – sadly – convinced that he’s gonna win the whole thing because Blake’s voting army will say so. It’s not that Nashville is in a real need for another guitar playing hunk in jeans and a leather jacket that relies just a little too much on his good looks to win over the ladies (think about Chris Lane, Brett Young. Dylan Scott, Dustin Lynch and the likes…), it’s just that country artists on The Voice trump every other genre and artist. Democracy *shrug* – I guess??

Bottom line though: I am really disappointed in the Lives. Either the songs are super underwhelming and just ripple along like a small creek that does not manage to grab my attention. Or the performances are so pitchy and/or awkward that it makes me cringe and leaves me glad when it’s over. If it wasn’t for the one or two lone stars, I’d just give up watching.

Will it get better or is this it? :-(

[PhD-Purgatory15]

So, the 8 who advanced on fan voting last week were Andrew, Carter, Dexter, Gyth, Kim, Maelyn, Rod, & Shawn. If I'm looking at the other five to see if any of those picks could knock out one of the 8 I keep coming back to Mari (despite the anchor that Adam has around each of his contestants). I just don't see it happening with Celia (awful), Jej (only if Kelly fans go insane), LB (a vastly inferior option than Shawn), or Oliv (too much of a niche artist, easily 6 out 6 within the voting on Team Blake).

The obvious choice would just be to flip Mari in and flip Kim out...

[retired watcher]

2 hours ago, TaraS1 said:

The poor girl who murdered Shallow last night may have given one of the worst performances ever done on a singing competition show, and that's obviously saying a lot.  That was brutal.

I don't know why she was saved. There were so many better singers.

[realdancemom]

1 hour ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

So, the 8 who advanced on fan voting last week were Andrew, Carter, Dexter, Gyth, Kim, Maelyn, Rod, & Shawn. If I'm looking at the other five to see if any of those picks could knock out one of the 8 I keep coming back to Mari (despite the anchor that Adam has around each of his contestants). I just don't see it happening with Celia (awful), Jej (only if Kelly fans go insane), LB (a vastly inferior option than Shawn), or Oliv (too much of a niche artist, easily 6 out 6 within the voting on Team Blake).

The obvious choice would just be to flip Mari in and flip Kim out...

Mari was fantastic last night.  But she was also fantastic last week too.  I think she's not the type that would get the current viewers' votes.  I voted for her but then it didn't help when I voted for her last week.  I do hope you're right.

Don't get the appeal of Kim.  I'm not into rap music either.  However, I could tell that Saraya from The Four:  Battle for Stardom was really good at rap while Kim makes me hit the FF button.

[Sharonana]

Dexter was horrible. So many pitch issues and the volume was so low. I noticed when Kelly gave her critique, she said it was a good song choice. She said nothing about how he sang. LOL. Even though Blake has the most contestants, I'm not really impressed with his team. 🤷‍♀️

Maelyn has a beautiful voice, but she needs to up her game. Sing something more upbeat.

I thought Rob was gonna bust a gasket from shrieking out those notes. Yikes!

Shawn is no Luther Vandross because Luther is one of my all time favorite singers. I actually got teary eyed wishing Luther was still here to sing that song. Anyway...Shawn did a respectable job. He's got a great personality.

That's all I got. 😆😎

[RedbirdNelly]

16 hours ago, Booklady1017 said:

I wonder if the amount of voters who vote for country singers aka Blake's team vs. other singers of other genres from other teams are a lot lower or that they just happen to vote more than the voters who prefer other genres. I think what I'm trying to say is I don't know if the people who like the singers from other genres don't really vote or it's just disproportionate to the other voters.

I've thought this for several years. I think there is a higher % of country music fans who watch AND vote actively on shows like this. It's why almost every season there is some country singer that makes it to the final that for me was at best the 8th place person.

[Sile]

1 hour ago, retired watcher said:

I don't know why she was saved. There were so many better singers.

She seems to be Pharrell's Sugar Joans and Gwen's Braiden Sunshine.

I thought John was kind of a creeper on Duets because he kept choosing and grading certain women higher than deserved.  I'm not implying anything towards Celia because of her age and he hasn't given off any type of inappropriate vibe, certainly not the one that I got from him on Duets, but I think he's just one of those people that get hung up on an individual.

In other words, more of a Gwen/Braiden than a Pharrell/Sugar (which I did think got creepy).

[sharifa70]

I can’t tell any of the scruffy-bearded country guys apart. Including Kelly’s guy (Rod?) who didn’t sing a country song but I still couldn’t tell him from the others. I literally kept asking myself if the contestants were doing more than one song. 

Edited May 7, 2019 by sharifa70

[driver18]

10 hours ago, Khadeeja82 said:

Jej – . It is certainly the weak song selection (does Kelly not help him out there?? How does he always end up with these bland, meaningless R’n B weepies? There is so much great material out there if you wanna sing contemporary R’n B. Just look to H.E.R., Khalid, Jill Scott, Anderson.Paak, Childish Gambino… I don’t get it.)

Neither Jej nor Kelly picked the song. This was "fans" night and the fans picked the songs that each contestant sang. I didn't think this was a good song choice at all, but they didn't have a choice. It's a duet and really doesn't work as a solo at all. I think that Kelly did the best she could with it.

[hnygrl]

Shawn and Jej. Not necessarily in that order.

Which means, one of the Country singers will win. Again. As usual. Dang it. Didn't really take a shine to any of them, they all could've done better.

But Jej...

Jej is an anomaly. You hear that Motown sound coming out of that cute Asian face and go "What's happening here???" The man has a voice!  As does Shawn. That man can SANG. I hope he gets to stick around long enough to pick his own song...but...

Probably won't make it past last night. The country singers seem to have the votes on lock this year.

Seriously. My last season. I'm not even sure I'm watching AGT at this point.

[Quickbeam]

Goodbye Jej. Kind of peaked and then plummeted. I do hope Mari gets through, I think she is crazy talented.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

C'mon Adam, now was the time to really run the bus over someone (being LB) so Mari could actually keep Blake from having over 50% of the semifinalists...

[Quickbeam]

Well it’s Blake-a-palooza. 

[Diana Berry]

Wow Adam doesn't understand.  It's because of you what's not to understand.  I think the odds are in favor of Blake probably winning.

3 hours ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

C'mon Adam, now was the time to really run the bus over someone (being LB) so Mari could actually keep Blake from having over 50% of the semifinalists...

Now now  we don't want another bathrobe gate 

[Dots And Stripes]

Adam learned something! And now that his team got eliminated he may very well unlearn that lesson.

I really like the bond between Kim and Blake. As much as his army of country boys is over shadowing a lot right now, I think Blake really shines when he connects with artists who aren't necessarily in his wheelhouse. 

That said, Carter maybe my dark horse right now. He looked happy when Carson said his name, but then he looked shocked a few seconds later. It seemed like he was just happy for whoever got through and then realized it was him.

Maelyn is still my overall favorite. I'm glad she sailed through.

[Wandering Snark]

14 hours ago, Khadeeja82 said:

Mari – The best performance of the night, by miles. On point, great vocals – signed, sealed, delivered. She’s also really captivating to watch. Not sure though if America’s gonna vote her through. Ashanti does not speak to the masses, I am afraid.

I agree 100%. I just keep asking, "Why oh why did you choose Team Adam??" Such a shame to lose such a bright unique light. Especially when the Team Blake Posse rode into twitter and 'saved' the mightily undeserving Kim.

IMHO there were three true performances last night: Mari, Oliv and Maelyn and ONE of them made it through while Mari got another chance but was outvoted. I will for one time and one time only agree with Adam; Mari should have done (well did in my opinion) enough to not have to even sing again tonight. But viva diversity!!! *eye roll*

You know how some stadiums have sold naming rights but they can't "over right" the iconic name so you end up with Geico Stadium at the Orange Bowl or some such? This show really should be renamed Team Blake at The Voice Stage. It's out of control. I think this could be my final go-round with this show, it's just not worth the time invested anymore.

[Gel]

Does anyone not use the fast forward button during the results show?

[kathyk2]

15 hours ago, RedbirdNelly said:

I've thought this for several years. I think there is a higher % of country music fans who watch AND vote actively on shows like this. It's why almost every season there is some country singer that makes it to the final that for me was at best the 8th place person.

Blake isn't the only coach to win with a country singer. Kelly won with Chevel last season. I think more country singers are trying out for the Voice instead of American Idol. Blake and Kelly have taken some of their team on tour so that would be a huge incentive for a country singer to choose them.

[Lily H]

I think the demographic for this show care less about who's on Blake's team than they do about just voting for the white singers, regardless of talent.

[4N6MAL]

On 5/7/2019 at 8:25 AM, TaraS1 said:

The poor girl who murdered Shallow last night may have given one of the worst performances ever done on a singing competition show, and that's obviously saying a lot.  That was brutal.

And she murdered "The Chain" the week prior. I don't see the attraction. She is horrible!!!

[4N6MAL]

Team count

Shelton: 5

Legend: 2

Clarkson: 1

Levine: 0

Poor Adam...NOT!!! You reap what you sow young man. Pay backs from last season. Sorry that your artists had to pay the price for your actions.

[RedbirdNelly]

6 hours ago, kathyk2 said:

Blake isn't the only coach to win with a country singer. Kelly won with Chevel last season. I think more country singers are trying out for the Voice instead of American Idol. Blake and Kelly have taken some of their team on tour so that would be a huge incentive for a country singer to choose them.

my point had nothing to do with the coach or why a country singer would pick Blake. My point is simply that I believe country fans tend to watch and vote more than fans of other genres. As a result, in my opinion, a mediocre country singer can make it to the final. Some of them have been really good but more than once my "this person should definitely not advance" person does advance over 3 or 4 of my "this person is clearly better" people.

[xfuse]

14 minutes ago, RedbirdNelly said:

Some of them have been really good but more than once my "this person should definitely not advance" person does advance over 3 or 4 of my "this person is clearly better" people.

7 hours ago, CAItalyGal said:

Mari was one of the best this season.

But that is your opinion. Most season the person that most people gushes over I don't like. They are better for some people but not for me. You can have perfect pitch and tone but if i'm not entertained than to me that person is no good.

I do think country fans vote more often because there generally are not many country singers around by the time the show allows voting. Blake generally cuts his down to two and that usually all there is against the remaining pop/ r&b group.

7 hours ago, CAItalyGal said:

I really do hate these shows where America gets to vote because it becomes one giant popularity contest. Whatever the purpose of the show ... to find the next best singer, dancer, entertainer, etc., it never really is about the person's talent so much as it is about whether the person is liked by the voting public.

That is the entertainment industry. Music, acting, dancing and so on. It's all about being entertained. Britney certainly wouldn't be where she is today if it was about pure talent. If people are not willing to vote for someone they certainly are not going to buy their singles or their merchandise. 

[seacliffsal]

I generally don't ask questions of other posters, but in this case wanted to ask you all if you think Adam understands why there seemingly was a backlash against him (and therefore, unfortunately, his team)?  I don't really think he "gets" it.  I have never voted throughout the seasons that I have watched this show, but I do feel like people who do vote wanted to send a message to him. 

As far as the type of singer who wins this show, although I have preferences I just haven't really cared enough to vote so we get the winner we get regardless of who I would have preferred win the show.  It's similar to Dancing with the Stars-I prefer some of the performers over others, but not really enough to actually, you know, vote...  

[Khadeeja82]

15 hours ago, driver18 said:

Neither Jej nor Kelly picked the song. This was "fans" night and the fans picked the songs that each contestant sang. I didn't think this was a good song choice at all, but they didn't have a choice. It's a duet and really doesn't work as a solo at all. I think that Kelly did the best she could with it.

Totally true - I couldn't watch the whole show and only saw the performance videos, that's why the whole fan thing escaped me. Otherwise I would've of course not blamed the contestants/coaches for poor song choices.

Everyone I've criticized for the assumed bad choices they made - my apologies  :-)

[Khadeeja82]

11 hours ago, Wandering Snark said:

I agree 100%. I just keep asking, "Why oh why did you choose Team Adam??" Such a shame to lose such a bright unique light. Especially when the Team Blake Posse rode into twitter and 'saved' the mightily undeserving Kim.

IMHO there were three true performances last night: Mari, Oliv and Maelyn and ONE of them made it through while Mari got another chance but was outvoted. I will for one time and one time only agree with Adam; Mari should have done (well did in my opinion) enough to not have to even sing again tonight. But viva diversity!!! *eye roll*

You know how some stadiums have sold naming rights but they can't "over right" the iconic name so you end up with Geico Stadium at the Orange Bowl or some such? This show really should be renamed Team Blake at The Voice Stage. It's out of control. I think this could be my final go-round with this show, it's just not worth the time invested anymore.

I currently live abroad so I've only just watched the results.
Dang.
I'm (sadly) not surprised by the outcome. But dang.
It's hard for this show to shock me anymore but I do feel utter disbelief at someone like Rod getting voted through to the next round. Rod?? Seriously? And Mari, LB, Oliv... have to leave?

I am with you on this one - it's out of control.
Actually, the Team Blake performance illustrated it perfectly: One big group of (white) country guys playing a guitar (strike Kim and Oliv). That's what the show is all about now.

They should seriously consider renaming it to "The Country Voice".

I think I'm about done watching. If I wanted to see only country artists compete, I would watch such a show. The Voice used to be about all music and genres. What a bummer.

[DaphneCat]

1 hour ago, xfuse said:

But that is your opinion. Most season the person that most people gushes over I don't like. They are better for some people but not for me. You can have perfect pitch and tone but if i'm not entertained than to me that person is no good.

I agree.  I loved Alisan Porter's version of Blue Bayou in the blinds but then Christina turned her in to Screechy McScreecherson and even though I knew she would win really wanted anyone else but her.

1 hour ago, seacliffsal said:

I generally don't ask questions of other posters, but in this case wanted to ask you all if you think Adam understands why there seemingly was a backlash against him (and therefore, unfortunately, his team)?  I don't really think he "gets" it.  I have never voted throughout the seasons that I have watched this show, but I do feel like people who do vote wanted to send a message to him. 

As far as the type of singer who wins this show, although I have preferences I just haven't really cared enough to vote so we get the winner we get regardless of who I would have preferred win the show.  It's similar to Dancing with the Stars-I prefer some of the performers over others, but not really enough to actually, you know, vote...  

Adam understands completely why his team was voted out.  The blinds were filmed quite some time ago - before bathrobe gate.  He has not been his usual obnoxious self since the live voting started and last night seemed to acknowledge that it was more than likely both of his team members were going home.  Under normal circumstances, Mari would not have had to sing at all (LB still would have though) so it is unfortunate that she is missing out on the few extra episodes of exposure she would have gotten.  (That's really the only value to being on this show - the national exposure can help you to book gigs afterwards.)

I am like you - while I find these types of shows entertaining I do not care enough about the results to actually vote.  Way too much effort for my mindless entertainment.

[Khadeeja82]

One last thought: Maybe Adam has evolved into suck a dick because of this exact pattern of country always trumping everything/everyone else, regardless of talent. After all he had to sit through this for multiple seasons and watch plenty of greatly talented people go home. It's probably not even about his own team, just the matter of fact.

He's still impossible, threw DeAndre under the bus and totally should be removed as coach.
I'm just saying. I would understand where he's coming from. Certainly gets on my nerves enough and I'm not competing here with a team :D

[After7Only]

2 hours ago, xfuse said:

That is the entertainment industry. Music, acting, dancing and so on. It's all about being entertained. Britney certainly wouldn't be where she is today if it was about pure talent. If people are not willing to vote for someone they certainly are not going to buy their singles or their merchandise. 

But the lack of actual commerical "stars" coming from this show indicates that those votes don't translate into actual record sales.   The show itslef may make money off of singles purchased.  But we haven't seen a breakout star from this show.  

I generally don't care enough to vote either.  But for the first time, I actaully dusted off my Twitter account to vote for Mari 😞   Maelyn is my last hope.   I will not watch an all team Blake final.   I'm no country fan, but there are country voices and perfomances that I like from time to time.  None of team Blake has that type of voice or performance ability.  

[MzLiz]

I get a lot of your points. I totally do. It does seem Blake centric. I happen to like country so I tend to gravitate more towards them regardless of whose team they are on, though they generally are on Blake’s. My favorite from day one was Gyth, hands down. My favorite last season was Kirk Jay. So...I drift country. I like pop and rock too (Juliette Simms from season 3? was a bad ass) but we all have our preferences. 

I’m more disappointed that I feel the show is too fast. After the blinds I think it should all be live voting. Make the coaches, coaches not decide if who stays or leaves. More singing, less other crap, and a longer season, where 1 or 2 at most go home at a time. 1 season a year. If they did that there would be more success of the artists after the show because we’d get a chance to really see them. 

I’ve watched every season but other than a few I’m hard pressed to name very many. 

[realdancemom]

Had a feeling that we would get this Top 8 since they were the ones that were voted through last week.   Mari was really close though.

I know some people might not vote for Adam's contestants because of Adam.  However, I also think that the general voting audience are older and lean country.  It just seems that way to me.  So I think Mari and LB would not have made the finals even if Adam didn't bus DeAndre last season.  I think the cross battles hurt him and the other coaches more since Blake wasn't restricted to only two country artists.  With the previous format, Adam would have probably had Domenic, Mari, and LB through the Live shows.

[nextian]

I think that country and Christian music fans(it's been talked about previously how the "God songs" always resulted in huge itunes sales)  vote for this show a lot. it does explain how some people in those genres who are mediocre go further then really great singers in other genres. That being said I agree with the posters who say obviously everyone has different taste when it comes to music. I can recognize that Mari was a talented singer, but she really didn't do much for me. Every single person who went home last night had previously been saved by their coach, there were literally no surprises. I'm a country fan and a Blake Shelton fan, and I hope they never do the cross battles again, because I prefer to see more variety as it gets down to fewer contestants. That being said the producers are idiots to not realize this would happen, i knew it would be incredibly slanted in Blake's favor as soon as they announced the change in format. Well, for what it's worth I think the finale will be Blake and John with two contestants each, and if Maelyn can come up with some better/slightly varied song choices I think she wins and Gyth is second. I really think it comes down to song choice at this point.

[Booklady1017]

On 5/7/2019 at 11:14 AM, realdancemom said:

Mari was fantastic last night.  But she was also fantastic last week too.  I think she's not the type that would get the current viewers' votes.  I voted for her but then it didn't help when I voted for her last week.  I do hope you're right.

Don't get the appeal of Kim.  I'm not into rap music either.  However, I could tell that Saraya from The Four:  Battle for Stardom was really good at rap while Kim makes me hit the FF button.

It should have been Mari or LB who made it through over Kim. Kim was only picked because she was on Team Blake and because of the Adam backlash. I thought about it and even though I don't like Adam anymore, it's not fair to punish his singers by not voting for them. It's only punishing the singers, not really Adam.

On 5/7/2019 at 11:31 AM, RedbirdNelly said:

I've thought this for several years. I think there is a higher % of country music fans who watch AND vote actively on shows like this. It's why almost every season there is some country singer that makes it to the final that for me was at best the 8th place person.

Thank you guys for your comments about this. 

[Booklady1017]

On 5/7/2019 at 12:03 PM, sharifa70 said:

I can’t tell any of the scruffy-bearded country guys apart. Including Kelly’s guy (Rod?) who didn’t sing a country song but I still couldn’t tell him from the others. I literally kept asking myself if the contestants were doing more than one song. 

Unrelated, but I am so over the bearded look that seems to be popular on younger guys nowadays.

20 hours ago, hnygrl said:

Shawn and Jej. Not necessarily in that order.

Which means, one of the Country singers will win. Again. As usual. Dang it. Didn't really take a shine to any of them, they all could've done better.

But Jej...

Jej is an anomaly. You hear that Motown sound coming out of that cute Asian face and go "What's happening here???" The man has a voice!  As does Shawn. That man can SANG. I hope he gets to stick around long enough to pick his own song...but...

Probably won't make it past last night. The country singers seem to have the votes on lock this year.

Seriously. My last season. I'm not even sure I'm watching AGT at this point.

I have gotten so discouraged for voting because inevitably almost every year my favorite singer will get voted off in favor of the less subpar Blake (usually country) singer.

[Booklady1017]

13 hours ago, kathyk2 said:

Blake isn't the only coach to win with a country singer. Kelly won with Chevel last season. I think more country singers are trying out for the Voice instead of American Idol. Blake and Kelly have taken some of their team on tour so that would be a huge incentive for a country singer to choose them.

I get why they'd try out for the Voice over American Idol.

7 hours ago, 4N6MAL said:

Team count

Shelton: 5

Legend: 2

Clarkson: 1

Levine: 0

Poor Adam...NOT!!! You reap what you sow young man. Pay backs from last season. Sorry that your artists had to pay the price for your actions.

I feel it wasn't fair to punish the artists to get back at Adam even though he was a jerk and deserves not to have a team.

[seacliffsal]

It would have been really interesting if the blinds had occurred AFTER the airing of the episode in which Adam threw DeMarco under the bus, then got in and actually drove the bus over him, in that this season's contestants would have seen that.  I would have been most interested to see who would have chosen Adam over any other judge.  He may have been limited to a team whose members only had Adam turn around for them.

[Wandering Snark]

5 hours ago, MzLiz said:

1 season a year.

Oh please oh please... I mention this one as one of the leading reasons so many fans have bailed due to Voice fatigue. (I always say "How can we miss you if you won't go away?") Nobody gets much of a benefit from the show as they mint their new "star" and two weeks later they start the process of getting a new star. It's just this wobbly juggernaut that never ends. It's even more noticeable this year as we had the tragic misstep that was the Cross Battles that allowed Blake's team to roll over everyone else's. Also it's no mistake or matter of happenstance that Blake goes in with FIVE artists to ZERO for Adam. Team Adam griefers seem to have joined the already super active Blake Block of voters to bring about a perfect storm of Pro-Blake voting.

I really hope TPTB are seeing this and understanding what's going on and give Adam and/or Blake a season or two off. Their "feud" is not good for the show. I know Nashville would have to freeze over before Blake leaves for any amount of time... he's pretty much 'The Draw' at this point. But my oh my would it be refreshing to have to Adam and no Adam vs. Blake BS for a season (at least).

Edited May 8, 2019 by Wandering Snark

[hnygrl]

4 hours ago, Booklady1017 said:

I get why they'd try out for the Voice over American Idol.

I feel it wasn't fair to punish the artists to get back at Adam even though he was a jerk and deserves not to have a team.

To be fair, Adam's team members were AWFUL. Just...AWFUL.

They lost 'on their own merit' as it were, and not simply because they chose Team Adam. Man, they looked so DEFEATED last night, didn't they? Kinda felt sorry for them. Then they sang for their lives. And stunk up the place. Again. The girl is beautiful though...

[Jal]

1 hour ago, hnygrl said:

To be fair, Adam's team members were AWFUL. Just...AWFUL.

They lost 'on their own merit' as it were, and not simply because they chose Team Adam. Man, they looked so DEFEATED last night, didn't they? Kinda felt sorry for them. Then they sang for their lives. And stunk up the place. Again. The girl is beautiful though...

Mari is one of the best singers in the competition. She's unique, unlike Blake's whole team. Hopefully she achieves some success in the way she wants to.

(I also loved Maelyn, Oliv, and Shawn's performances)

Edited May 9, 2019 by Jal