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FloorWax reviews every TVUS Winner's Journey (Season 22 Posted!)


FloorWax

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1 hour ago, FloorWax said:

 

Since I know literally nothing about them, how were Nicholas David and Terry McDermott as contestants?

Terry was a good rock contestant. Liked most of what I´ve seen of him.

 

Nicholas was weird in a good way. He literally did a Jerry Lee Lewis cover in the finale, crazy piano and literal fire. Really liked his performances too. 

 

And probably a hot take: Cassadee´s Over You  and Stupid Boy were fantastic and I´d say her win can be justified on those two performances, but overall these two had, to my taste, a more consistent run, simply because I´ve liked more performances by them than hers.

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Season 3: Cassadee Pope

Coach: Blake Shelton

 

 

Auditions: Torn by Natalie Imbruglia
I’ll be honest, for someone who had 2 years of touring experience behind her, I expected this performance to be much stronger than it actually was. Cassadee has a nice tone, for sure, but there were some pretty obvious misses here and there. Not a bad audition, per se, I still thought she did good, but hot take? Kind of average in the grand scheme of things.

Battles: Not Over You by Gavin DeGraw
We only got to hear a few seconds of this battle, and honestly, the little we got to hear didn’t really make me want to see the rest :ph34rwave:.

Knockouts: Payphone by Maroon 5
Okay, what is going on? I have 19 winners yet to review, but I highly doubt anyone else is gonna do this badly on their KO. Cassadee started pretty rough, then got a little better, but she kept on hitting pitchy notes all throughout. I actually watched her partner Suzanna’s KO as well, and while that wasn’t great either, I probably would’ve picked her over Cassadee. Disappointing.

Playoffs: My Happy Ending by Avril Lavigne
Now hear me out, even though this performance still wasn’t perfect, I actually kinda enjoyed it? Her voice during this reminded me so much of Lauren Mayberry from CHVRCHES, who I love. She hit some pretty effortless high notes towards the end as well. Perhaps Cassadee is finally getting in my good graces.

Top 12: Behind These Hazel Eyes by Kelly Clarkson
When I first saw the song choice, I immediately thought, “Oh, she’s not going to be able to handle those low notes in the verse”, and I was right 💀. When she got to the chorus, the performance improved, and I actually really liked the last 30 seconds or so, but tbh, I’m still not completely sold on this girl.

Top 10: Over You by Miranda Lambert
This was a performance that I had watched prior to making this series, and it’s a big reason why I’ve been so shocked so far at how unwieldy her vocals have been up to this point. Because as we all know, this performance is perfection. Not only did she finally hit every single note to a tee, but she sang the song so earnestly, with such genuine emotion. If there was a performance in Cassadee's run that justified her win, it’s this one. It’s almost like a different person was up there on that stage. BY FAR my favorite so far from all the performances I’ve had to watch for this series. Utterly gorgeous.

Top 8: Are You Happy Now? by Michelle Branch
I wonder if nailing “Over You” the week before gave Cassadee a newfound confidence, because this was pretty great too! She looked like a star up there with her guitar, and her upper range really got to shine on this song. Is this a redemption arc I’m smelling?

Top 6: Stand by Rascal Flatts
Another good vocal, but due to a very boring song choice, this wound up being kind of forgettable, especially when compared to her other performance that same night.

Top 6: I’m With You by Avril Lavigne
As far as covers of this song go, this is one of the best I’ve heard. The song fit Cassadee’s tone like a glove, and she managed to give her second strongest vocal of the season. I mean, those high notes aren’t easy! I also saw that she performed the song again in the finals as a duet with Avril herself, so that’s cool.

Semifinals: Stupid Boy by Keith Urban
Cassadee kills it once again on a country song! While not as good as “Over You” was, she still managed to deliver a nearly perfect vocal, calling to mind a country Lauren Mayberry (sorry I just can’t unhear the similarity between their voices). I remember hearing this performance mentioned a lot as one of her best, and while I do think it’s great, I still prefer some of her others.

Finals: Steve McQueen by Sheryl Crow
A pretty boring duet, but I cackled when Cass started speaking through a megaphone, so at least it’s got that going for it 😂.

Finals: Over You by Miranda Lambert
I don’t know why they thought song reprises were a good idea, but this just ended up being a worse version of the original performance. It didn’t feel like nearly as much of a moment.

Finals: Cry by Faith Hill
I was a little scared seeing the song choice, but knowing that Cassadee’s upper register was her biggest strength, I shouldn’t have been. She actually handled herself pretty well on this huge ballad, and soared when she needed to soar. I admit the first verse was a little off, but the fact that she managed to do the rest of the song well is a testament to her capabilities as a vocalist. I gave Cassadee a lot of hell for her early performances but slowly but surely, she has proved me wrong. This girl isn't mediocre.

 

Overall:

Cassadee had one of the weirdest runs I have ever seen. After five average performances all in a row, she unexpectedly delivered one of the best country covers I’ve seen on the show then proceeded to kill it for the rest of her run. Like I said, it’s almost like she was replaced with a different singer halfway through the competition! She may not have convinced me at the start, but seeing as she really hit her stride towards the end, I’ll say she’s a worthy enough winner. I don’t know enough about the other two finalists, Terry and Nicholas, to make a proper judgment, so please tell me who you thought should have won that night (And yes, I’m well aware that Queen Amanda Brown was robbed of the trophy 🥲). I’ll put her over Javier the rankings because while he didn’t have her lows, the longer season gave Cassadee opportunities to have more highs.

Top 3 Performances:
1. Over You
2. I’m With You
3. Are You Happy Now?
 

 

Winners' Ranking (so far):

1. Cassadee Pope

2. Javier Colon

3. Jermaine Paul

4. ???

 

Edited by FloorWax
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24 minutes ago, FloorWax said:

 

Since I know literally nothing about them, how were Nicholas David and Terry McDermott as contestants?


They were fine I guess? Good vocalists but I find them very forgettable personally (I would classify Terry as a very good karaoke   singer, and Nicholas… idk, all I can tell you is that he wasn’t my cup of tea at all)

 

America made the right choice, imo.

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I agree with your recap in general (I don’t remember every performance off the top of my head but I remember quite a few). Her prelives really weren’t strong and I didn’t get “winner” vibes from them. Her audition was one of the weaker 4 Chair Auditions in my opinion and I didn’t really get the hype behind it. Her battle was montaged and her Knockout was quite weak. So yeah, I can see why she never stood out to me based on her early performances. This changed in the lives however. Her Top 10 was her true breakout moment, as that was an incredible vocal. I’m With You and Cry were great vocals as well, and I’m sure she did well with the others, though I don’t remember all of them. Switching her country actually worked well for her, since she shined more with the country ballads than the pop songs. I think she also benefit from the longer season because we got to see more of her growth arc. She’s a great example of a contestant that had a better run in the lives than prelives. She’s in the upper middle tier of winners for me because while I wasn’t a fan of her early performances, she dominated with her later ones, and I can see why she won. I understand how you preferred Amanda though since Vision of Love and Dream On both occurred before Over You, so you were probably on board with Amanda longer.

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4 minutes ago, Cookie73 said:

I understand how you preferred Amanda though since Vision of Love and Dream On both occurred before Over You, so you were probably on board with Amanda longer.

 

Yeah Amanda was way more consistent from the start, and she’s just more in my wheelhouse genre-wise. Her rock side was definitely grittier than Cassadee’s. Paris (Ooh La La), Dream On, Here I Go Again, Stars… even that strange rock version of Someone Like You, so good. The only weak performance of hers was Spectrum, proving that even the most talented vocalists would struggle singing Florence Welch at her most bombastic :giggle:

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I actually preferred Terry’s prelives to the other finalists, but he did have some performances in Lives that were more meh. I felt that he was Blake’s frontrunner to win early on, especially with his editing (first audition and battle that season), but he was not as consistent in the Lives and some of his performances felt like karaoke. I can see why Cassadee overtook him.

 

Nicholas was definitely more of an underdog than the others. His strength was more his uniqueness, as his look, voice and style all showcased this. He wasn’t a huge vocalist like Cassadee and didn’t have the big moments she had, but he had a lot of very solid performances in Lives. I feel like your opinion on him might depend on how much you like his tone.

 

Terry and Nicholas’s song choices had a lot of Minivan appeal, since Terry sang a lot of well known 70s/80s rock songs and Nicholas sang a lot of famous 70s soul songs.


I do prefer Amanda’s run to both of theirs personally, and she definitely took more risks than them

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5 minutes ago, FloorWax said:

 

Yeah Amanda was way more consistent from the start, and she’s just more in my wheelhouse genre-wise. Her rock side was definitely grittier than Cassadee’s. Paris (Ooh La La), Dream On, Here I Go Again, Stars… even that strange rock version of Someone Like You, so good. The only weak performance of hers was Spectrum, proving that even the most talented vocalists would struggle singing Florence Welch at her most bombastic :giggle:


We’ve already gotten quite a few of her songs in S23.

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Yeah Cass had a weird run. Her KO was shocking (probably a contender for worst performance from any winner), her low register was non-existent… but like you said she did a full 180º, everything after Hazel Eyes was decent at worst. Definitely not the best winner, but her growth arc was the most impressive out of any of them (this is why we need a longer format TPTB)

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19 minutes ago, Daillon said:

Her KO was shocking (probably a contender for worst performance from any winner),

 

I can’t dispute that, definitely worse than any performance from the winners from S13-S22. I don’t think Jermaine had a performance that rough either.

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Since I watched Amanda Brown’s run parallel with Cassadee’s just to make things more enjoyable (I’ll probably do this for every long season from this point onwards), who should I watch in conjunction with Danielle? 
 

Who I am kidding, I know its gonna be Michelle.

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1 hour ago, FloorWax said:

Since I watched Amanda Brown’s run parallel with Cassadee’s just to make things more enjoyable (I’ll probably do this for every long season from this point onwards), who should I watch in conjunction with Danielle? 
 

Who I am kidding, I know its gonna be Michelle.

Yeah, Michelle.

 

I know Danielle has a big fan thread, but I´d imagine the average IDF-er preferred Michelle. I do, for instance.

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41 minutes ago, FloorWax said:

 

I can’t dispute that, definitely worse than any performance from the winners from S13-S22. I don’t think Jermaine had a performance that rough either.


Neither did the winners from S4-S12 (but I think you expected that).

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17 minutes ago, FloorWax said:

Since I watched Amanda Brown’s run parallel with Cassadee’s just to make things more enjoyable (I’ll probably do this for every long season from this point onwards), who should I watch in conjunction with Danielle? 
 

Who I am kidding, I know its gonna be Michelle.


I really want to see how you feel about Danielle winning after watching Michelle’s run. People complain about S12 but I always thought Michelle not winning was wayyyyy more questionable :ph34rwave:

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2 hours ago, Daillon said:


They were fine I guess? Good vocalists but I find them very forgettable personally (I would classify Terry as a very good karaoke   singer, and Nicholas… idk, all I can tell you is that he wasn’t my cup of tea at all)

 

America made the right choice, imo.


Definitely agree. His covers were fine, but the minute he tried to do something kinda unique (like the Blake cover) he just wasn’t good…

 

I would put Nicholas over him but don’t really care that much about either.

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1 hour ago, FloorWax said:

Since I watched Amanda Brown’s run parallel with Cassadee’s just to make things more enjoyable (I’ll probably do this for every long season from this point onwards), who should I watch in conjunction with Danielle? 
 

Who I am kidding, I know its gonna be Michelle.

Sarah Simmons or Judith Hill

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I don’t think that Cassadee’s audition not being very good is that much of a hot take tbh 😬

 

I actually liked some of her previous stuff with Hey Monday but yeah. That being said Over You and Stupid Boy are amazing.

 

I also think Michelle >>> Danielle but Danielle had a nice growth arc (could really only go up from her BA imo :stealth:)

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5 hours ago, FloorWax said:

 

Yeah, I’m just kidding, I actually have Cassadee’s post ready now. I’ll probably post it in a while.

 

It’s just that I watched Amanda’s entire run too right after finishing Cassadee and dang that woman was incredible.

i would actually love to see a follow-up where you do this for your favorite contestants; in fact if anyone’s up for doing that itd be fun !

 

plus it would add some suspense depending on the user bc we might not know their favorite (unless it’s @Hamza Tufail and season 9 :P)

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39 minutes ago, QueenCami said:

i would actually love to see a follow-up where you do this for your favorite contestants; in fact if anyone’s up for doing that itd be fun !

 

plus it would add some suspense depending on the user bc we might not know their favorite (unless it’s @Hamza Tufail and season 9 :P)

Or QueeneJuliaCami and season 10 as well.

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4 hours ago, Daillon said:


I really want to see how you feel about Danielle winning after watching Michelle’s run. People complain about S12 but I always thought Michelle not winning was wayyyyy more questionable :ph34rwave:

 

Interesting, I’m intrigued to see how much I feel like Danielle actually deserved her win. Besides Michelle, who else do you think should’ve been in contention that season? 

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17 minutes ago, FloorWax said:

 

Interesting, I’m intrigued to see how much I feel like Danielle actually deserved her win. Besides Michelle, who else do you think should’ve been in contention that season? 


Amber Carrington and Judith Hill are some other great contestants from that season

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