Coverage for May 13 and 14:
Recap
Interviews
News
After Team Adam and Team Usher performed on last night’s The Voice, it’s time for Team Blake and Team Shakira. Blake is overjoyed that he has a team of all country artists, restating his dream of bringing a country artist to the grand finale. Shakira, on the other hand, is nervous and comparing herself to a mama bird. Usher and Adam are asked to reflect on how their teams did the night before, and dole out the usual amount of praise, as if Carson expects that one of them is going to go on live television and say something negative about their artists.
Team Blake starts the show, with a clip package of them getting coaching at a karaoke bar. Being taken to a karaoke bar by Blake Shelton has to be one of the most awesome experiences on the planet. Performances of party songs ensue, with the most entertaining of them being Danielle Bradbery laughing her way through “YMCA.” This segues right into Team Blake’s group performance of “Boondocks.” Such a Blake choice, and it sounds exactly like you’d expect it to.
Leading off the individual songs is Team Shakira’s second-chance artist, Garrett Gardner. Shakira has asked him to sing John Lennon’s “Imagine” – an iconic tune if there ever was one – and play the piano. Turns out that Garrett is a Lennon “fanatic,” so that must add a little pressure for him, too. However, he’s got nothing to worry about. His version is pretty darn fantastic, and if he can pass muster with Adam, who is a well-known admirer of that track, he should get through to the next round. On another note, Usher confuses the words “computer” and “piano.”
Usher: I’m happy to see you at a computer…I’m happy to see you at a piano.
Following Garrett is Team Blake’s Holly Tucker, with “How Do I Live” by LeAnn Rimes, best known as the closing theme from the 1997 Nicolas Cage-John Cusack flick Con Air. Blake wants to see her have more fun because she’s so hard on herself. If you’ve ever heard the original version of this song, Holly has the power to give the track the push that it needs. It’s a straightforward country ballad done by a straightforward country artist, and Blake is way too excited about it.
Carson: He’s a proud papa…and he’s been drinking.
In the middle of uniform applause for Holly, there’s this lovely gem:
Adam: You’re better looking and more talented than Blake is.
Blake’s so happy, he applauds that, too. Maybe we should cut off his supply of Starbucks lattes but that probably wouldn’t help much. Moving on, it’s Team Shakira’s Kris Thomas. Shakira has assigned him Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man” (there’s a lot of Bruno Mars love on the show this season). The two of them sing part of the song together during rehearsal, which throws Kris for an understandable loop. His performance is solid, if a bit nervous, as Adam points out. Blake points out that people should be nervous under these circumstances. Going on to try and describe the difference between male and female singers, he then makes Carson wish they weren’t on live TV.
Carson: It’s clear tonight Blake doesn’t know what a ‘girl place’ is. Thanks for that.
Kris is continuing to work hard every week, and there’s no huge fault with anything he’s done so far. If there’s a question about him, it’s if he might run into some trouble later on in the competition, when he could up splitting the R&B vote with Vedo.
Next to perform are the show’s only remaining duo, Team Blake’s The Swon Brothers. Their take on Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishing in the Dark” is the usual good time we’ve come to expect from them. Shakira points out how they make her feel at ease and comfortable. Adam is happy that Blake finally has his country moment, and then mentions that an instrument was out of tune. Blake laughs at Adam for not knowing the song, which is ill-advised, as Adam points out in his retort:
Adam: You never know any songs ever. The first song I didn’t know. Leave me alone.
After more Sprint Skybox chatter, Blake and Shakira combine for Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now.” You wouldn’t expect a Latin superstar to handle a country song so well, but she does. Even though she has a noticeable accent, Shakira enunciates the lyrics better than some American singers out there. Blake, of course, could probably perform this song while asleep. As an added bonus, you can even see Usher clapping and singing along. If you missed that duet, it’s at the end of this recap.
Team Shakira’s Karina Iglesias has to follow that, with her version of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.” Hearing that, Adam is disappointed that he let her go. Blake laughs at Adam admitting to his mistake. Everyone thinks Karina did well. Following her is Team Blake’s Justin Rivers, whom Blake has handed Diamond Rio’s “Meet in the Middle.” Usher believes Justin’s performance was cool even though he felt like he was the only person who didn’t know what was going on. Then there’s Adam.
Adam: I like that there’s a country artist that’s genuinely a threat to Blake’s career. That’s kinda awesome.
Shakira takes her team to meet with her choreographer in order to prepare for their performance of “We Are The Champions.” They’re going to have to work hard because the song was already covered well, first by the coaches and then by Season 2′s Tony Vincent. No one can deny they’re trying, but it’s just not the fist-pumping rock anthem this particular song should always be.
NBC has wisely saved two of the stronger artists to the end of the show. The first is Team Blake’s Danielle Bradbery, with the Pam Tillis song “Maybe It Was Memphis,” which Blake correctly predicts a lot of peole won’t know. Those people certainly know the song now as Danielle continues to perform like someone a lot older and more experienced than she is. After Adam jokes that Blake has never said any wise words, he crowns Danielle one of the best singers in the competition, and reminds us all that she’s just sixteen years old. We can now all look back on what we were doing at sixteen and feel inadequate.
Finishing off the night is Team Shakira’s Sasha Allen, with “Oh! Darling.” Juliet Simms pretty much delivered the definitive version of this song in Season 2, but Sasha hits some crazy notes in her version. Adam suggests she could win the show if she were on Carson’s team. Blake laughs at Adam again and continues to do so up until the point where Shakira starts talking. It’s clear that Sasha has won over the coaches, and she probably made a few new fans, too.
You can vote to save your favorites from Team Blake and Team Shakira until tomorrow morning (voting has closed for Team Adam and Team Blake) on nbc.com, Facebook, and iTunes. Once you’ve done that, don’t forget to tune in to a special results show tomorrow night, when four artists will be sent home, leaving your Top 12.
(c)2013 Brittany Frederick/Big Red Chairs. Excerpts appear at Starpulse and Examiner with permission. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted. Visit my official website and follow me on Twitter at @bigredchairs.
Team Blake and Team Usher, it’s your turn! After Team Adam and Team Shakira had their ranks thinned last night on The Voice, now it’s time to see who’s left standing from the other two squads.
It’s Team Blake that goes first, and Blake pairs up early favorite Savannah Berry with the guy who shocked us all in battles, Justin Rivers. This could potentially be disaster for him, as both these artists are not to be trifled with. Savannah decides to sing Justin Bieber’s “As Long As You Love Me.” Blake wonders if Savannah could be his Justin Bieber. Um, what? Justin picks “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus, setting up the battle of country artists singing teen pop. This is not quite as weird as it sounds. Savannah’s arrangement of Bieber turns the song into something totally different, and Justin gets his ballad on pretty well, including a pair of ridiculous notes.
Since this involves Bieber, Carson turns first to Usher, who compliments Savannah’s song choice before being impressed by how long Justin can hold a note. That doesn’t stop him from choosing Savannah, though. Shakira doesn’t offer a choice. Adam reiterates that Justin is the biggest surprise. It’s then time for Blake to make his pick, and in a surprise move for the guy who’s displayed a tendency to go with young country artists, he goes forward with Justin. Did you spot Adam’s mock pout?
Adam: I don’t envy Blake on that one.
Team Usher’s Josiah Hawley must now square off with Jess Kellner. Josiah opts for Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black,” but he’s got some work to do considering not only how his battle round turned out, but how Bryan Keith told a great story with the song previously. Usher thinks Jess’s choice is pretty interesting: it’s James Morrison’s “You Give Me Something.” In the ring, Josiah can’t actively engage the audience given that he’s behind a guitar and at times, looks like he’s all of an inch from the microphone. Yet the ladies still love him. Jess has more mobility, and proves she has a bit of soul diva in her, but doesn’t get the same reaction from the crowd.
Adam suggests that they should’ve switched songs. Then there’s a whole conversation about Josiah’s looks.
Shakira: He looks like my boyfriend.
Adam: She’s basically hitting on you right now.
Blake: …It’s weird in here now.
That takes up most of the discussion time. In the end, Usher opts to keep Josiah, sending an emotional Jess home. Given the unique sound we’ve been able to hear from her and how Josiah’s on that line of his singing ability being overshadowed by his looks, that may be Usher’s first major mistake as a Voice coach.
Back to Team Blake. It’s Holly Tucker versus Luke “where did he come from?” Edgemon. Holly confuses Blake for a second by selecting Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying.” Her coach tells her that she has to have more confidence in herself. Having the support of Blake Shelton ought to help with that. Luke, who came over to Team Blake from Team Shakira, makes Blake more confused by saying he wants to do Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream.” Blake compares Luke’s voice to a fist with this gem of a sentence:
Blake: I don’t want you to put me in the hospital. I just want you to beat me up.
There’s no wrong choice in this battle for Blake. Holly clearly has the capacity to be a strong female country singer, with a certain maturity to her performance, like a Martina McBride or even – dare we say – Reba McEntire. Like Savannah before him, Luke takes his song somewhere else entirely, and motivates Adam to immediately start giving Adam unsolicited advice.
Adam: He’s amazing. Don’t be stupid. I’m not playing games.
Usher doesn’t get Luke’s song choice, but Shakira does and so does Adam. Blake doesn’t discount Luke’s performance, but he thinks Holly took more chances than Luke, and ultimately that’s what gets her through to the next round. Adam and Shakira promptly get out of their chairs and continue to argue the point with Blake.
Adam: Let me explain why you’re an idiot. He’s a whole unique thing. He’s original. He’s different.
Blake: All I’m telling you is, you’re miscalculating her.
That doesn’t placate Adam’s disbelief. Moving on, it’s time for more of Team Usher. Audrey Karrasch and Michelle Chamuel are the next singers up, with Usher looking for an “epic performance” between them. Will it be Audrey’s version of “How to Love” by Lil Wayne? Her coach calls it “a little bit all over the place” in rehearsal, so he decides to get up close while she tries it again. That’s not the most unorthodox tactic he tries. As Michelle works on Pink’s “Raise Your Glass,” he suggests she jump rope. She counters with push-ups. It’s a singing competition and physical fitness!
Audrey still sounds like she’s straining a little bit during her performance. Michelle doesn’t quite have the attitude that Pink brought to the original version of her song, which is also a big part of what makes that track work so well. Both artists have room for improvement. During Shakira’s comments, Adam doesn’t think Blake should talk about anyone’s dance moves or lack thereof.
Adam: Blake doesn’t move when he’s on stage. He just stands in one place the whole time.
Adam likes Michelle. Blake thinks that it’s like someone told Michelle that she won the lottery just before she went on stage, and he wanted to buy a boat with her. While Adam laughs at that description, Usher names Michelle the winner of the knockout round.
After that, Blake puts together a cute but deadly battle: the much-adored Danielle Bradbery with Taylor Beckham. He thinks both of them have confidence issues and wants to see who can overcome that. Danielle wants to perform Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take The Wheel,” which another country artist named Jeff Jenkins did in season one. Former Team Usher member Taylor picks Rihanna’s “Russian Roulette.” Danielle gives her best performance yet, rivaling Jeff’s version in terms of sheer power, not to mention that she looks much more grown-up than we’ve seen her before. There’s nothing technically wrong with Taylor’s performance, but there’s also not that same connection with the audience.
Usher doesn’t think Taylor’s song selection gave her enough space, and believes that Danielle won the matchup. Shakira is once again surprised by Danielle’s apparent lack of nerves. Adam agrees that Taylor wasn’t bad, but lacked some confidence, and calls Danielle almost perfect. The decision is pretty clear, and it’s Danielle. Once again, song choice breaks an artist’s chances.
Team Usher’s C. Perkins must now take on Vedo, as Usher decides to start spelling things. C. opts for a Chris Brown song, “She Ain’t You,” but admits to his new coach that he’s not confident in his ability to hit the high note. Don’t worry, C., Usher has some tips for you. He also approves of Vedo’s song choice, “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)” by Bryan Adams, which Vedo dedicates to his late mother. But can he control the tremendous emotion that comes with that? C. definitely knows how to work the crowd, and there’s no doubt he can sing, but he seems to miss that aforementioned note – where as Vedo hits a huge one in his heart-melting ballad.
What do the coaches think? Shakira thinks C. shouldn’t quite have worked the crowd so much. Adam thinks Vedo’s song choice showed another side of him. Blake gets C. to tell us that his full first name is Craig, after which Adam suggests that Blake might consider going by his first initial too.
Adam: Maybe you should try that. You need to try something.
Blake: Kiss my ass, Adam.
Adam: That’s a lot of smart talk coming from a guy whose initials are, in fact, BS.
Hilarious banter aside, it’s decision time for Usher, and he keeps Vedo on his team for the live rounds.
Blake’s last pairing is all country: it’s Grace Askew against The Swon Brothers in what he says is a classic country showdown. His description might be slightly flawed, as Grace chooses a song that is not country: Tina Turner’s “I Can’t Stand The Rain.” Blake advises her to enunciate, which he should also tell about half of today’s musical artists. The brothers opt for the Dobie Gray classic “Drift Away.” They show that same ability to connect with the audience that they had when they performed “American Girl” in the blinds. Usher’s even singing along!
When it comes time for comments, he thinks Grace’s choice to play the guitar was a distraction, and gives the round to the duo. Shakira advises Blake that if he wants something different, he needs to go for Grace’s more original sound. Adam sees positives on both sides. So what will Blake do? Joke about how Colton Swon can hit high harmonies.
Blake: There’s no question why his guitar is placed where it is.
Ultimately, though, he gives his final live round spot to the Swon Brothers. We have our first duo in the live shows since season one! Let’s take a moment to celebrate that, while we also note that Team Blake is, erm, entirely country. Will that lack of diversity be a detriment in the next phase?
Closing out the night and this round of competition are Team Usher’s Ryan Innes and Cathia. Cathia has picked “Mr. Know It All” by Kelly Clarkson, and Usher wants to see serious stage presence from the ex-Team Shakira artist. Four-chair singer Ryan arrives with Gavin DeGraw’s “I Don’t Want To Be,” which or might be awesome if he can give it enough bite. So essentially, these two have the same challenge in front of them. Cathia impresses Blake and Shakira with her sass. Ryan needs to do with his song what Nakia did with Adam Lambert’s “Whataya Want From Me” and he certainly tries his best.
Shakira makes up a new word. Adam naturally compares Ryan to Gavin DeGraw’s original, because as has been previously established, he knows Gavin and so he has a certain knowledge of that song. Blake is impressed by Cathia. Usher deliberates, before awarding the last slot in live shows to Cathia.
From 48, you now have your Voice Top 16. If you missed any action, NBC has a handy recap show airing tomorrow night – otherwise, tune in Monday for live shows, when it’s now your turn to decide who ultimately will become The Voice.
(c)2013 Brittany Frederick/Big Red Chairs. Excerpts appear at Starpulse and Examiner with permission. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted. Visit my official website and follow me on Twitter at @bigredchairs.
Did you enjoy last week’s premiere of The Voice? After we watched them make the coaches’ chairs turn on Monday, BFTV spoke with several of the incoming artists from the blind auditions, so that you could get to know them a little better. Here are some words from Team Blake’s Christian Porter, Team Usher’s Jess Kellner, and Team Usher’s Vedo.
“The experience is absolutely amazing, very surprising, but I’m very grateful to be where I’m at,” said bar musician Christian, who can be found on Twitter at @porterchristian. “I never expected it to blow up on Twitter and Facebook and social media the way it has. But at the end of the day, I’m very excited.”
He turned heads – and chairs – with a very different arrangement of the hit “Sexy and I Know It,” and he wants Voice fans to know where the idea for that unique rendition came from. “The version was influenced by a YouTube star by the name of Noah Guthrie. And I didn’t necessarily steal it from him in any way, I took his version and I covered his version,” he explained. “I didn’t cover LMFAO’s ‘Sexy and I Know It,’ I covered Noah Guthrie’s version of ‘Sexy and I Know It.’ That’s where the whole concept of the song came from. But I really took it into my hands in a way, really worked with the band, and definitely made it my own.”
To commemorate his making it onto The Voice, Christian got together with his loved ones at the bar where he’s been performing. “We actually had a nice little viewing party,” he said. “All my family and friends and all my extended family at the bar, they all came out and supported me and we all watched it on the big screen.”
For Jess, whose version of ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ earned her a spot on Team Usher, “This experience has far exceeded anything I could have ever even thought up in my head! [It's] so wonderful to have people support me and believe in my dream,” she said. “The last 24 hours have been nuts. Going from 94 twitter friends to over 2000 in a night was just insanity. It’s been wonderful to have people reach out to me and lift me up. And we had a little watch party at my house with some of my closest friends!”
In the video package during her blind audition, she discussed how she’s been balancing her musical aspirations with her hairstyling career, and Jess shed a little more light on just how hard she’s been working to make her dreams come true. “Before The Voice, I worked on average five days a week during the day as a hairdresser, and would have gigs at night throughout the week,” she explained. “It was super tiring to stay out till 3 and wake up [for] work at 7 consecutively!”
You can find Jess on Twitter (@JessicaKellner3), and she also wants to invite Voice fans to check out the website of her band, Jess and the Echoes (jechomusic.com). “I have a single out on my website called ‘Time Traveler Song.’ It relates to my story on The Voice and paints a picture of the struggles I’ve been through,” she said. “It’s a very lovely song and it’s near and dear to my heart.”
What’s going to make Jess feel her time on The Voice has been a success? “I consider this whole experience a success in itself,” she continued. “Just making it to the top 48 out of 60,000 people is an enormous accomplishment. I’m proud [to get] this far and will continue to try and succeed even further.”
Joining her on Team Usher is Vedo, whose take on Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend” impressed the man credited with discovering Bieber. “My experience on The Voice so far [is] much more than I envisioned. It has been very overwhelming but in a good way,” he said. “When a snippet of my blind audition aired, my Twitter mentions [and] Facebook notifications were being flooded, along with all the calls and texts I was receiving at one time. I loved it.”
“My last 24 hours since the premiere have been wonderful,” explained the R&B singer, who is on Twitter at @VedoTheSinger and also has videos on YouTube under the same username. “Several people have already recognized me from the show. Usher mentioned and followed me on Twitter. Christina Millan sub-tweeted me! My Twitter went up 4,000-plus followers in a matter of 24 hours, Facebook likes went up dramatically, and my Instagram likes as well. So I’ve been a celeb for the last 24 hours. “
Vedo’s biggest supporter is his mother, whom he spoke quite a bit about during blind auditions, and he shared with us some of the lessons he’s learned from her. “My mother has been a major inspiration for me, and some of the most valuable things she has taught me are [to] keep God first, do right by people, never give up, go after your dream and stop at nothing. Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do something.”
So what does he hope to learn while being mentored Usher? “A few things I want to learn from my coach [are] how to stay relevant when the industry changes so much, how to stand out, how to convey emotion no matter what kind of song you sing,” he said, “and what is it going take to win the competition?”
Find out who else will join Christian, Jess and Vedo as The Voice continues its blind auditions tonight and Tuesday at 8 PM ET/PT on NBC.
For more on The Voice and its artists, you can visit BFTV’s dedicated The Voice blog, Big Red Chairs.
(c)2013 Brittany Frederick/Big Red Chairs. Excerpts appear at Starpulse and Examiner with permission. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted. Visit my official website and follow me on Twitter at @bigredchairs.
NBC hosted a premiere for The Voice Season 4 in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, and pretty much everyone from the past three seasons joined the coaches on the red carpet. Scroll down to see pictures of familiar faces, from coaches Blake Shelton and Usher to Dia Frampton, Terry McDermott and Pip, just to name a few!
If you missed Blake Shelton‘s guest appearance on Reba McEntire’s sitcom Malibu Country last night, ABC.com now has the episode online here. Stay tuned for photos!
We’re just shy of a month from a brand-new season of NBC’s The Voice, and only about two months removed from America crowning Team Blake’s Cassadee Pope the winner of the show’s third cycle. What’s been happening with the show and its artists since Cassadee won the title?
As has been heavily publicized, Season 4 will be the first with new coaches Shakira and Usher, who were introduced in the fall. You can read some of their early thoughts on joining The Voice here. This may also be the only season for the new arrivals, as previous coaches Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green – who are on a break this time around – have expressed interest in returning for Season 5 this fall. However, it’s worth noting that nothing has been finalized yet beyond Season 4.
The guest mentors this year will be Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum (Team Adam), Sheryl Crow (Team Blake), Joel Madden (Team Shakira) and Pharrell Williams (Team Usher).
Season 3 winner Cassadee Pope officially signed her recording deal with Universal and has been hard at work writing and recording ever since, according to her Facebook. Universal released a CD version of her Voice performances here. Cassadee posted a video update on her progress here.
Runner-up Terry McDermott hasn’t slowed down since leaving the show, either. In fact, he recently released a new single “Pictures” via SoundCloud, which he co-wrote with Dave Burman. His performance of “Baby, I Love Your Way” with Peter Frampton from the Voice finale was retroactively released on iTunes here.
Here’s a short list of major developments with other Voice artists, past and present.
Team Adam: Season 3′s Amanda Brown appears on the soundtrack to the recent Universal release Identity Thief, starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy. Her teammate Bryan Keith brought some new music to his live show at the Gramercy Theater; you can watch the video here. Season 2′s Pip released his EP No Formalities; you can get it here. Tony Lucca is hard at work on his new album, and performing some new originals on the road, like “Reckless Love.” Kim Yarbrough is preparing for the release of her single “Brand New Day” (here’s a teaser video), guested on CBS’s Vegas, appears in the March 6 episode of TNT’s Southland, and her Nickelodeon project has been ordered to series. Katrina Parker is working on new music of her own after the successful funding of her Kickstarter project. Season 1′s Tim Mahoney released his next CD, Shine Through, which includes his Voice-related tune “Hey Adam Levine.” Casey Weston has a new album on the way; you can pre-order it here and stay tuned for an upcoming interview.
Team Blake: Season 3′s Suzanna Choffel released her new single “Guardians.” Season 2′s winner, Jermaine Paul, postponed the release of his post-show album Finally until sometime later this year; you can pre-order it at Amazon, although there’s no specific street date listed there. Season 2 alum Jordis Unga is in the home stretch of putting together her new album, and also won a Grammy this year for her work on Jimmy Cliff’s Rebirth, which took the trophy for Best Reggae Album. Erin Willett has recently posted a new cover.
Team Cee Lo: Season 3′s MacKenzie Bourg has dropped his debut single. Season 1′s Nakia is releasing his next EP, Drown In The Crimson Tide, and is playing a few tour dates in his home state of Texas. His battle round partner Tje Austin put out his new CD, Dreamin’ Big. Also, Paste Magazine wants to help you make your own Cee Lo Green.
Team Christina: Season 3′s Devyn DeLoera released a music video with Ready Revolution that you can find here, along with several covers on her Facebook page. She has new music coming your way on March 4. The busiest Voice alum by far is Season 2′s Chris Mann, who recently taped Chris Mann in Concert for PBS to be aired in March. Also next month, Chris will be announcing tour dates, one of which is New York’s Highline Ballroom. Lindsey Pavao put out her new single “No Revelation.” Moses Stone released new music; you can find “Beautiful Nightmare” here.
Season 4 of The Voice begins March 25. For the latest on all things related to NBC’s hit singing competition, you can visit Big Red Chairs.
(c)2013 Brittany Frederick. Appears at Starpulse and Examiner with permission. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted.
Howdy, The Voice fans! You might have noticed things got a little quiet around here in January, and for that I apologize. As some of you know, I work as a full-time TV reporter, which means I had to go off and cover all the new shows coming out this month. On top of that, I got sick. So, I’ve condensed all the news from January into this one handy post.
Here’s some of the important stuff that happened this month:
Is there anything that I missed over the last month? Shoot me a comment and I’ll get it added to the site!
NBC has crowned its third ‘The Voice’ in just over a year – and on Tuesday evening, the winner, the runners-up and the coaches joined Big Red Chairs on the red carpet to give their final thoughts about the junior season of the hit series.
Team Blake’s pop-rocker Cassadee Pope was named the winner of the competition at the end of Tuesday night’s season finale, joining previous winners Javier Colon from Team Adam in Season 1 and Jermaine Paul from Team Blake in Season 2.
Her win was expected by most of America – and also by her fellow finalists, teammate Terry McDermott and Team Cee Lo’s Nicholas David. “Absolutely,” said Terry when asked if he had thought Cassadee would take home the title. “I think the biggest reason we had that feeling was because her songs had been reaching such a large cross-section of the public. Her continually crushing iTunes speaks volumes for itself.”
“She deserves it,” he continued. “The right person’s won.”
Added Nicholas, “I had a feeling i was going to go a long time ago – but I never looked at it like a competition. I’ve always just been blessed to be here.”
Even Cassadee, who previously stated that she tried not to be affected by the buzz, said she felt confident in her chances. “At one point I felt like ‘Okay, this could become a reality,’” she said. “I actually felt that back when ‘Over You; got to number one. I was like, ‘If this keeps happening I might have a shot.’”
It proved to be just one of her many charting iTunes hits that helped deliver her the title – as those iTunes downloads which were in the Top 10 singles chart at the close of each round of voting had their total number of downloads (which then translated directly into votes) multiplied by ten.
Her coach, Blake Shelton, had plenty to say about Cassadee’s victory and how he would continue to support her after the show, as he has done with many of his artists throughout the history of The Voice. “She knows that this doesn’t end with the finale of The Voice, [our] relationship,” he told reporters. “I don’t want to make one dime off of her in my life, but i do want to see her go on to be a superstar and end up in relationships in this business that are the best for her.
“If I’ve got to get in the way of something that she doesn’t like or she doesn’t agree with, then I will because I’m her friend,” he continued. “I’m her friend, I’m Terry’s friend, and I will be until the day I die. I just want to see them do whatever it is they dream of doing because they’re good people and they deserve it.”
His fellow coaches Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera – who celebrated her birthday on Tuesday – also weighed in on Team Blake taking the title for the second straight season. “It’s not about did the right person win,” said Christina. “I just think that she kept improving week by week and I think we all recognized that.”
Agreed Adam, “It was her moment. Cassadee excelled at the best times. We’re really happy, even though it’s not our team, we’re happy for Cassadee.
“We chose Cassadee, too, she just didn’t choose us,” he quipped. “We all chose the winner, damn it.”
The coaches closed the season with one final performance reflecting on their three seasons together. As previously revealed in September, Christina and Cee Lo will not be part of The Voice Season 4. They will be replaced by Shakira and Usher respectively.
However, both Christina and Cee Lo are on record as saying they want to return for Season 5, as the series has been renewed through that fifth cycle, which is expected air in the fall of 2013.
What’s next for each of the three finalists? “I’m going to release something quick,” said Cassadee, who asked her fans to support the new music she’ll put out.. “I have to, and it’s going to be great.” You can keep up with her on Twitter at @CassadeePope.
“I’m going home,” said Minnesota native Nicholas, who has family time and Christmas shopping on his to-do list, as “I haven’t really had time to do anything except the show.” He can be found on Twitter at @thefeelin.
“I’ve always been motivated by new music and being part of it and creating it,” said Terry, who added that he has “an idea and direction” for what he wants to do next. His Twitter handle is @TerryMacMusic.
All three artists reflected on the many accomplishments they’d achieved through being part of The Voice‘s third season. “There’s so many, from the chair turning to meeting all the people,” said Nicholas. “Meeting Cee Lo, to sing with Cee Lo, meeting Bill Withers, to sing with Smokey Robinson. it’s a freaking adventure of a lifetime and that’s the truth.”
“I’ve been lucky enough to meet some wonderful people along this ride and really form relationships with some great people,” concurred Terry. “It’s made it such a pleasurable journey. there’s been nothing negative about this experience.”
Cassadee was able to perform with her musical idol, Avril Lavigne, and remarked that “I met her and she just blew my mind with how nice she was and how thankful she was to have me there.”
Still, she added, she’s ready to see what the music world has in store for her next. “I’m absolutely happy to move onto the next chapter,” she added.
The Voice returns in just over three months – Season 4 premieres on March 25, 2013.
For more from Brittany Frederick on The Voice, visit Big Red Chairs and follow me on Twitter (@bigredchairs).
(c)2012 Brittany Frederick/Big Red Chairs. Appears at Starpulse and Examiner with permission. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted.
The Voice is less than 24 hours away from crowning a Season 3 winner. As they waited for America’s votes, finalists Terry McDermott, Cassadee Pope and Nicholas David joined Big Red Chairs on the carpet to share their thoughts.
The evening started with a touching tribute to the victims of the recent Newtown, CT school shooting, as the Voice coaches joined their live show finalists, host Carson Daly and social media correspondent Christina Milian for a rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” while holding placards with the names and ages of the victims. If you missed that opening performance, you can view it here.
The tragedy also affected Cassadee later in the evening, during her repeat performance of Blake Shelton’s hit “Over You,” as the artists were asked to reprise their top renditions of the season. “I connected with it even more now because I was thinking about Connecticut and how horrible that is and losing people,” she said afterward. “I was thinking about that.”
The show had to go on, however, and the artists made the most of it with a trio of new performances as well as duets with their coaches. “[The night] started off on a somber note but we’ve got to celebrate life while we have it,” said Nicholas. “I was excited to end [my run on] the show like that. [A] piano was on fire, things were blowing up, people were hanging from trapezes, there’s a mini Cee Lo. It was too cool.”
Going out on a big note was definitely his intention. “After last week’s performance being so stripped down and emotionally raw, I was like ‘Let’s just blow some stuff up,’” he continued. “Let’s go for it.”
Another surprise on Monday night was Adam Levine guesting on Blake Shelton and Terry’s performance of Aerosmith’s “Dude Looks Like A Lady” – with the shirtless Maroon 5 front man channeling Axl Rose. According to Terry, Adam’s wardrobe choice (or lack thereof) wasn’t part of the plan.
“I have no idea,” he said when asked where it came from. “All the way through rehearsals, he had a shirt on. There was no headband. There was nothing. So that was a surprise to us. That’s why when I looked over, Blake is laughing his ass off, and I’m like ‘Really, what the hell’s going on here?’”
“We had great fun with that,” he added. “It was just a nice little touch. we were having great fun in rehearsal but that just finished it off.”
Terry was shocked when Blake revealed that his father, Terry McDermott Sr., had flown to Los Angeles to support his son in the finale. “To have him in the room to feel the atmosphere, to see the action, it was wonderful,” he said, though he added that his heart might be a little weak after all the surprise appearances from his loved ones over the season. “I was like, you could just put me through an assault course or an endurance test, you don’t have to keep wheeling out family members,” he quipped.
With their final performances in the books, all the three artists can do is wait for America to vote and crown a winner. Cassadee is the favorite to win if you listen to Internet buzz, but not necessarily if you ask her. “I try not to let it affect me because I feel like the moment you get comfortable in this situation, the moment it bites you in the ass a little bit,” she explained. “It’s been a great encouragement and it makes me feel good, but I’ve always kind of been my worst critic.”
Never having looked at the series as a competition, Nicholas was just enjoying the experience. “This has been the adventure of a lifetime,” he reflected, “but I’m excited to close the chapter on this adventure and start a new book. I felt this was a good way to end it.”
Teammates Cassadee and Terry are now head-to-head, but Cassadee added that it’s not an uncomfortable experience to compete against her friend. “It’s not weird at all because we’re individuals,” she said. “Our coach makes us feel very special individually. He doesn’t do favoritism or anything like that. There’s never been a weird moment.”
“Frankly, we’ve never really been that competitive,” agreed Terry, who could have summed up the entirety of the Voice season as he said, “We get on so well, and the way we’ve always viewed it is you just leave it on the stage and then other people decide. Nobody’s trying to sabotage or be negative. We want the best for each other and if you win, it’s because you deserve to.”
The season 3 winner will be revealed as The Voice wraps up its two-night Season 3 finale Tuesday at the special time of 9 PM ET/PT on NBC.
For more from Brittany Frederick on The Voice, visit Big Red Chairs and follow me on Twitter (@bigredchairs).
(c)2012 Brittany Frederick/Big Red Chairs. Appears at Starpulse and Examiner with permission. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted.
