Why Jordan won and Joshua not?

[eidi]

If you think better, Jordan and Joshua, aside their names with J and also being white and 4 glasses, have a lot of common.

 

Both have big voices that don't match with their looks, sang Queen and Celine (even Jordan was mentioned when Joshua sang Ashes) and put emotion on their performances.

 

So why only one won and the other was voted off before the finale?

[TeamAudra]

Jordan was more likable on screen, and honestly a lot better. 

[Gustavo527]

Jordan pre-taped rounds give him a HUGE boost, starting with his audition. Can't say the same about Joshua's pre-taped rounds.

 

Also, i believe Jordan is technically better, plus, yeah, he didn't have that much of competition during his season, did he?. So, basically it's a combination of the three options on the poll

 

[AngelaKD]

Every season is different and you can never completely recreate the same thing.
 

That being said, Jordan was the odds on favorite to win from his BA on. They did the “blind” BA, not showing him until a coach turned. He got 4 chairs. They gushed about him and used the “unicorn” term for the first time. That audition went crazy viral. He was the producer ’s pet and not just in order for him to win, but in his career.

 

OTOH, despite the block, they treated Joshua like an oddball. They made him work to overcome the whole Broadway tag.

[Misirlou]

Jordan was hyped since day one by TPTB, the coaches, etc. A lot of screentime in pre-lives and it continued as the show went on. He was practically the main character of S9. 

 

Joshua wasn't really featured that much in pre-lives, with the exception being the KO premiere. But as a whole, they didnt really focused on him much. They focused more on other people. This wasnt the case with Jordan.

 

In terms of technique, I'd say they are both pretty damn good, but someone with more knowledge in the strict technical area can analyze this better than I can.

 

Joshua's style is also way more dramatic and theatrical than Jordan's. There was some division from the audience in that sense.

 

I will say, although "Somebody to Love" is easily one of the Top 3 greatest voice performances of all time in my opinion, I enjoyed Joshua's overall run more. I dont really watch any other of Jordan's performances apart from his semis.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Misirlou

[Dai]

11 minutes ago, AngelaKD said:

Every season is different and you can never completely recreate the same thing.
 

That being said, Jordan was the odds on favorite to win from his BA on. They did the “blind” BA, not showing him until a coach turned. He got 4 chairs. They gushed about him and used the “unicorn” term for the first time. That audition went crazy viral. He was the producer ’s pet and not just in order for him to win, but in his career.

 

OTOH, despite the block, they treated Joshua like an oddball. They made him work to overcome the whole Broadway tag.

 

7 minutes ago, Misirlou said:

Jordan was hyped since day one by TPTB, the coaches, etc. A lot of screentime in pre-lives and it continued as the show went on. He was practically the main character of S9. 

 

Joshua wasn't really featured that much in pre-lives, with the exception being the KO premiere. But as a whole, they didnt really focused on him much. They focused more on other people. This wasnt the case with Jordan.

 

In terms of technique, I'd say they are both pretty damn good, but someone with more knowledge in the strict technical area can analyze this better than I can.

 

Joshua's style is also way more dramatic and theatrical than Jordan's. There was some division from the audience in that sense.

 

These two posts sum it up nicely. I also think looks and song choices played a part, and that people were genuinely shocked by the “twist” in Jordan’s blind, whereas in Joshua’s, they show his shadow and he clearly sounds like a guy.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Daillon

[VintageVoice]

Jordan got pretty much the best pre-taped rounds edit I’ve ever seen a contestant get, and then proceeded to get good spots in the lives + strong song choices (granted, mans could’ve sung the ABCs every week after his blind and still likely won lmao). Even though going into the playoffs he was the one to beat, solid iTunes numbers helped and “Somebody to Love” ended up being the icing on the cake that officially turned the show into a competition for second place.

 

Joshua had to overcome the “Broadway” label + both branch out into more emotionally vulnerable pop and lean into the dramatic side to get people to back him. His natural flamboyance also polarized people somewhat, but consistently delivering solid vocals live won people’s respect even if they weren’t fans of his vocal style.

 

Tonally, Jordan was also generally less divisive than Joshua (whose vibrato gives his voice the theatrical quality that made him stand out). Beyond that, I’m not going to comment on technical stuff since I’m not a vocal coach/professor/otherwise expert.

 

[Cookie73]

All of these play a role

 

Jordan had amazing pretaped rounds, while Joshua didn’t. A lot of people predicted Joshua as playoff fodder. People knew for a long time that Jordan was going to win the show. 

 

Jordan was also the biggest vocalist his season and was able to get more casual appeal because of that. Joshua was in a season with Wendy, Paris and Jershika.

 

Jordan is also technically a better vocalist than Joshua, since his performances were more impressive vocally

 

I mentioned this in another thread, but Jordan picked songs that were really appealing the the demo as well. He sang a bunch of Christian songs in Lives to further the gap between him and his competitors. They both sang Queen and Broadway and were perfect choices for them, but the timing played a factor for one, since Jordan sang his Queen song in the Semis and Joshua sang his in the Top 11. Even within these, Jordan got the most popular songs, since Somebody to Love is a more popular Queen song than The Show Must Go On and The Sound of Music is a popular musical (and movie) from Minivan’s youth, while Dear Evan Hansen came out five years ago.
 

Regardless, I really enjoyed both of their runs.

[Hamza Tufail]

Jordan is technically better than Joshua but it doesn't matter much. There have been many seasons where the best vocalist didn't win. 

 

I think the reason is that Joshua never got hyped by tptb as Jordan was. Many people say that they presented Jordan like he's the greatest singer that has ever stepped foot on that stage.  Can't say the same about Joshua. 

 

Also, tough competition for Joshua too. But since Jordan had so much minivan + casual support it didn't matter who's he up against.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Hamza Tufail

[peachfuz]

I mean, I think other people are saying it better than I can. Jordan was the chosen one from episode one, whereas I don't think the producers even really wanted him in the finale until the semifinals, and, at that point, it may have been too late. Jordan had everything going in his favor from his audition, where Joshua had a ton of hurdles to overcome, from being pigeonholed into the Broadway belter tag to the sheer fact that he was on Team Legend. They're completely different performers in very different seasons–the only thing they have in common, really, is just the fact that they're white dudes with surprising ranges. 

[CocoaPuffs]

Literally nothing. Jordan is so overrated…he was a great vocalist obv but the amount of pimping he got and the fact that we knew he basically already won from before lives even started is just plain ridiculous especially since IMO he shouldn’t have even won his battle against Regina…Ik hot take but anyways… Joshua is technically a VERY similar vocalist to Jordan if you rly evaluate it and I personally prefer Joshua bc he actually has emotions when he sings and I can feel what he’s saying. So yeah … yeah I said it  

[eidi]

5 minutes ago, CocoaPuffs said:

Literally nothing. Jordan is so overrated…he was a great vocalist obv but the amount of pimping he got and the fact that we knew he basically already won from before lives even started is just plain ridiculous especially since IMO he shouldn’t have even won his battle against Regina…Ik hot take but anyways… Joshua is technically a VERY similar vocalist to Jordan if you rly evaluate it and I personally prefer Joshua bc he actually has emotions when he sings and I can feel what he’s saying. So yeah … yeah I said it  

 

Good point. I also remember some haters from Jordan saying he didn't emote (like they are saying with Wendy).

 

Joshua was the opposite lol

[Jordan Smith Fan]

Both are great vocalist and have great ranges. Both had great runs as well. But Joshua wasn't the choosen one like Jordan. Of course there have been seasons where the choosen one didn't won. But Jordan remained consistent so got the reward. Joshua deserved to be in the finale but he wasn't treated well by tptb. 

 

Also competition isn't the case here. IMO Barrett and Emily are more minivan friendly than Wendy, Jershika, Hailey, and Paris.

[CocoaPuffs]

47 minutes ago, eidi said:

 

Good point. I also remember some haters from Jordan saying he didn't emote (like they are saying with Wendy).

 

Joshua was the opposite lol

Fr… and I just hate when the winner is basically known that early… not only is it boring for the viewers but imagine being a contestant performing every week knowing you don’t have a chance at winning. There’s a difference between a front runner and situation like …that…. Again he is PHENOMENAL but so are many people on the show. The extra pimping and favoritism was not needed. I’m not joking when I say he could have pulled a Korin Bukowski Try instant save performance every week and he was still winning…

[erik g]

Jordan had a better pre-live run, was more popular, and technically a better vocalist. 

[TeamAudra]

1 hour ago, erik g said:

Jordan had a better pre-live run, was more popular, and technically a better vocalist. 

I keep going back to this, but that’s it in a nutshell. Viewers gravitated to him for a variety of reasons, but one of them is likability. Joshua never connected with the average casual viewer. He came off as a niche contestant. He said something in his final comments on results night that might have rubbed some people the wrong way….saying that he’s “special,” and that he was confident he will have another chance to show America how “special” he is next week. I guess not. 

[Misirlou]

12 minutes ago, TeamAudra said:

I keep going back to this, but that’s it in a nutshell. Viewers gravitated to him for a variety of reasons, but one of them is likability. Joshua never connected with the average casual viewer. He came off as a niche contestant. He said something in his final comments on results night that might have rubbed some people the wrong way….saying that he’s “special,” and that he was confident he will have another chance to show America how “special” he is next week. I guess not. 

They both had similar storylines throughout their seasons: They are both misfits that had been misunderstood their whole life, and they finally got the appreciation they wanted when they came to the show.

 

Regarding what you said, I never thought Joshua gave that impression. He was probably more direct than Jordan when talking about his experiences and what he wanted out of the show, but that was about it. What could have thrown some people off was his theatrical, dramatic style. I dig it, but its not for everyone, and what happened was that they were more popular contestants left. The most common criticism for him across SM was that he was too Broadway for the show, and that he should be there rather than here.

 

That being said, the audience voting an artist like Joshua through to the semifinals without putting him on the bottom until just this week proves that he did win over a portion of them. That's a win considering you'd expect Minivan to kick him out in the playoffs.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Misirlou

[Discovolcano]

I think there both equally amazing singers but Jordan had a bigger fan base and his season wasn’t as stacked as this one

[Dragonlady2]

45 minutes ago, Misirlou said:

They both had similar storylines throughout their seasons: They are both misfits that had been misunderstood their whole life, and they finally got the appreciation they wanted when they came to the show.

 

Regarding what you said, I never thought Joshua gave that impression. He was probably more direct than Jordan when talking about his experiences and what he wanted out of the show, but that was about it. What could have thrown some people off was his theatrical, dramatic style. I dig it, but its not for everyone, and what happened was that they were more popular contestants left. The most common criticism for him across SM was that he was too Broadway for the show, and that he should be there rather than here.

 

That being said, the audience voting an artist like Joshua through to the semifinals without putting him on the bottom until just this week proves that he did win over a portion of them. That's a win considering you'd expect Minivan to kick him out in the playoffs.

A 100% this.  I watched Jordon and loved him during his run. I loved Joshua, even though my eyebrows went up a little with the wardrobe choices. To me there isn’t really a comparison. Both of them were great in their own way and I do feel that Jordon was ahead on his season from the getgo. However, if I were to be offered tickets to see either one, I definitely would pick Joshua. He displayed a vulnerability that translated to being more emotive. As well, if Joshua had an album out, I can actually see him performing the songs in my mind, not so much Jordon. It would be awesome if Celine would ask Joshua to perform Ashes on one of her shows...just a pipe dream. I hope Joshua has a wonderful career doing what he loves and being who he is

[Misirlou]

Stronger competition wasnt the issue, btw.

 

S9 had two country singers, a grown man and a teenage girl, and we know those two types of contestants are Minivan bait. 

 

[QueenMae16]

My mom:

 

"Because he tried to sing "Ashes" and "My Heart Will Go On". Never do Celine unless if you are the damn woman, now leave this show little boy!"

 

Honestly, she didn't have a problem with him until he pulled out the Semis song and tried to do Celine again for the IS(of all the songs too, "MHWGO") then my mom really had the beef with him. LMAO.

 

More words from her, I actually disagree here but she is crazy about Celine more than me(unless if she thinks the singer can actually do it, she thinks Hailey, Wendy, Jerishka can attempt her) 

 

"If you want to get eliminated, just try to do Celine and see what happens!"

 

For real, Joshua was just polarizing. Jordan won since his Audition.

Edited December 9, 2021 by QueenMae16

[MusicBuff101]

Both were great, but Jordan is a technically better vocalist. Also, Jordan had way more passion behind him. Joshua was pretty well-liked overall, but I don't think enough people felt strongly enough about him.

[TeamAudra]

1 hour ago, Misirlou said:

They both had similar storylines throughout their seasons: They are both misfits that had been misunderstood their whole life, and they finally got the appreciation they wanted when they came to the show.

 

Regarding what you said, I never thought Joshua gave that impression. He was probably more direct than Jordan when talking about his experiences and what he wanted out of the show, but that was about it. What could have thrown some people off was his theatrical, dramatic style. I dig it, but its not for everyone, and what happened was that they were more popular contestants left. The most common criticism for him across SM was that he was too Broadway for the show, and that he should be there rather than here.

 

That being said, the audience voting an artist like Joshua through to the semifinals without putting him on the bottom until just this week proves that he did win over a portion of them. That's a win considering you'd expect Minivan to kick him out in the playoffs.

That may all be true, but the comparison for the purpose of this thread is Joshua vs Jordan, and I’m trying to see it through the average viewer’s eyes. He didn’t bother me at all, I’m just not a fan of his style. 

[Teraginn]

I brought up the Jordan comparison in Joshua's thread before, but truthfully they couldn't be more different artists. One is a pop/CCM artist while the other is pure Broadway/theatrical pop. And it's very clear that only one of those genres actually have mass appeal. The comments on Joshua's videos every week, especially on FB, are variations of "he's great, but he should be on Broadway instead, not here." The demo just isn't ready for the flair and drama yet. It's honestly amazing how Joshua even got as far as he did despite the disconnect of the audience with Broadway.

[Hsamid]

Joshua is one of the best singers this season, Jordan is one of the best singers ever on The Voice.