Image Credit Tyler Golden/NBC
After last night The Voice is officially on it s way to the Top 6 and quickly falling into the all too familiar pattern of last season. With the shocking elimination of Team Adam s Sarah Simmons and Judith Hill both of whom my colleague Adam Carlson and I had pegged for the final four America has once again sided with Team Blake. Deja vu anyone
Here s how the pattern played out last season Adam s powerhouse vocalist Amanda Brown peaked too early and instead America became infatuated with the everyday listenings of Team Blake s rocker turned country artist Cassadee Pope who would go on to win the entire show. That s not to say that Pope wasn t talented but with the choice of 1) a Team Blake artist and 2) Pope s rock country we ve heard it before radio voice (as opposed to someone like CeeLo s Nicholas David) the feel of The Voice shifted.
A year later we find ourselves in a similar position with America choosing all three of Blake s country acts (some more talented than others) over two of Adam s three powerhouse vocalists. So with three of the top six singers being country artists at this point in season 4 the country influence seems to have grown from last season so much so that the show could be well on its way to becoming The Country Voice.
What brought about this pattern which really only began during season 3 In my opinion all signs point to the addition of using iTunes to vote for singers. iTunes added an advantage for never before heard songs (aka a lot of country) because audiences are much more likely to buy a song that s brand new to them rather than add yet another cover of a song they already have two versions of on their iPod (the original version and the Glee version obviously). Also if audiences haven t heard the original they re much less harsh in their judgment of the contestant s version.
The prominent role of iTunes which can usually be used to predict elimination outcomes also points to The Voice s core audience. My parents aren t exactly jumping on their computer to update their iPod after every episode. We re looking at young people who love to pull for the younger contestants and who seem to have fallen in love with both Blake as a coach and country music as a whole. First up Blake s charming he s funny and he loves his contestants. So does having Blake as a coach give contestants an immediate advantage It s possible. Does singing country give contestants an immediate advantage It s also possible. Blake always mentions how very loyal country music fans are. And perhaps the fact that there aren t any high profile country music singing competitions has brought people to The Voice. After all who s a better face for country music than the handsome Blake Shelton
More importantly if this pattern becomes routine it could easily be the downfall of the show. If each year America becomes infatuated with Blake and his country roots therefore siding with his talented country artists over some of the most original voices in the competition much like this season s Sarah Simmons and Judith Hill the show could be at risk of becoming predictable which is the kiss of death for any reality show (or any show really). Is Danielle Bradbery not this year s Cassadee Pope
Will you keep watching if Blake wins yet again with yet another country artist Do you agree that Blake being so lovable plays into how successful his contestants are (all talent aside) Is The Voice becoming a country music competition
Read more The Voice recap This Cut Is the Deepest The Voice coaches do their best impressions of each other EXCLUSIVE VIDEO The Voice recap Shine Bright Like A Diamond
No comments:
Post a Comment