The Voice: Making Amazing Musical Connections
This season of The Voice is probably the best one so far. I guess it’s an example of what happens when a competition show gains credibility and then better and better people want to be a part of it.
The young singers who auditioned this season were so talented that when it came down to choosing the top twelve, the show lost some amazing artists.
Even the producers realized this, which is most likely why, in a new twist for the show, they brought back four of the coaches’ favorite singers after they’d been eliminated.
The results show, in which the four finalists were announced, was filled with real surprises. For the first time ever in the final four, there’s a singer representing each coach, who in this season include Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton.
I was thinking that the final four would probably include Mary Sarah, a country singer with an old-school vibe, as well as Adam Wakefield and Alisan Porter. I couldn’t guess who the fourth person might be, as everyone in the top eight was incredible. I was hoping it would be one of my personal favorites, Latino crooner Bryan Bautista.
It turned out that I was only partly right, with Adam and Alison being chosen first and second, and then Hannah Huston rounding out the top three. Her performance of “When a Man Loves a Woman” (first recorded by Percy Sledge in 1966) had her belting it out so hard that she almost lost her voice in the middle of the song.
I guess it’s that type of commitment that gets you into the finals. And this level of energy and drive was equally demonstrated by Alisan in her semi-final performance, as she sang an amazing rendition of the classic song, “Desperado,” by the Eagles.
Alisan has been the front-runner throughout the competition, but upsets are always possible, and it could easily be any of the other three talented finalists who take away the grand prize.
Adam was equally impressive in his semi-final rendition of “I’m Sorry,” a song made famous by his coach, Blake Shelton. He sang his heart out, and his talent and charisma were unmistakable.
The fourth and final singer chosen for the top four was Laith Al-Saadi, a journeyman musician who’d been belting out the blues for years, getting about as far as most other hard-working musicians who’ve never caught a break in the industry.
This exposure on The Voice has done wonders for Laith’s career, and his albums are finally starting to sell, so whatever the final outcome of the show, he’ll be way ahead of where he started from.
The four finalists will all benefit from this experience, as will several of the other top eight singers. They’ve all formed close bonds with their coaches, and even with some of the coaches from the other teams, and these connections are likely to last well past this season of the show.
It’s the connections that are one of the most valuable aspects of being on The Voice. Apart from the opportunities for receiving coaching from the top artists and producers in the business, the contestants get to forge long-lasting relationships that will support them in their future career.
Connections are important in every line of work, and in a field where success can be so elusive, establishing strong connections with the top people in the business is something that can make all the difference for an emerging artist.
These amazing connections are, I believe, the special gift that comes from being a contestant on The Voice, and these connections will bring immeasurable value to the careers of the Voice contestants, regardless of who ends up being the winner.