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

[Hamza Tufail]

Wait, I forgot about Josie Beth Jones?!?!?! 

 

Her audition was actually one of my favs of that season. I preferred her over Kat in the battle as well.

[Gustavo527]

Regarding Will, "My Body" was easily one of my favorite live performances from the season. You can feel his passion there, he gave his all. I loved it despite not being vocally perfect. 

 

His performance of Style was also really good, i appreciate his creativity there. He has the second best cover of that song on the show after Ivonne Acero IMO (Sorry Gina's fans, but her cover is a very distant third). Overall, i didn't always connected with his performances but i enjoyed him for the most part.

[Misirlou]

Will Breman was a delight to watch throughout the season. He wasnt the most consistent vocalist but man did he put on a show.

 

Excellent guitarrist too, btw. His PO and semis duet prove that on the show, and his off show material does it even more. Lot of jazz influence there.

[FloorWax]

1 hour ago, Misirlou said:

Will Breman was a delight to watch throughout the season. He wasnt the most consistent vocalist but man did he put on a show.

 

Excellent guitarrist too, btw. His PO and semis duet prove that on the show, and his off show material does it even more. Lot of jazz influence there.

 

He clearly listens to a wide variety of music because he’s got a really cool blend of genres. It’s always incredible when he breaks out the scatting like in his Blind or “Light My Fire”.

[FloorWax]

Hello Sunday, at their worst, have got to be among the most entertaining so-bad-its-good contestants ever, but at their best, they can actually be pretty impressive. They started out with a rather rough blind which really reeked of inexperience. But, Kelly heard something we didn't I suppose and was willing to give them a shot. And to my surprise, the Battle of "Wrecking Ball" ended up going surprisingly well. Personally, I thought Lauren was the better performer, but HS were no slouch in that battle either, so I understand Kelly picking them. Now, if there were one time when this duo seriously impressed me, it was their Knockout. Their performance of "Almost Is Never Enough" was so perfect and such an improvement from their previous performances that it's almost unbelievable. Obviously, they were helped out by tuning, but I think they deserve some credit because it was truly stark how much they improved.

 

And then we're on to their live performances, hmm. They had a ROUGH Playoffs week. "Hello" sounded like they were almost back to the level of their audition, and the Instant Save "All By Myself" was even worse. Nevertheless, they managed to win the Save probably because Myla technically hit the climactic high note even when she sounded like a screeching cat while doing it. "Mamma Knows Best" at least showcased their stage presence, which is one of their strong suits, but my ears did not love the sound of it to say the least. The Top 11 performance, "The Middle" was the first one that I would consider hilariously awful. I don't think they landed a single harmony for the entire thing and their solo parts weren't much better. I would give that one close to an F grade honestly. "Stone Cold" wasn't much of an improvement, but at least it seemed like only one of the girls was doing bad instead of both of them. 

 

Their Semifinal "Don't Worry 'Bout A Thing" though??? By FAR their best showing in the Lives! Still some missed notes here and there, but the a capella intro was beautiful and the uptempo section was fun as hell. If they had performed that way for their whole run, then I would've understood why they made it to this point, but the reality is they didn't. These girls clearly weren't ready for The Voice stage but I guess they had other things besides singing going for them that allowed them to slip through the cracks in a relatively shallow cast. That said, even though I think they're undeserving of their placement, I can't bring myself to dislike these girls. They always seemed like sweet human beings, but the singing just wasn't there for me most of the time.

[Gustavo527]

Just now, FloorWax said:

Hello Sunday, at their worst, have got to be among the most entertaining so-bad-its-good contestants ever, but at their best, they can actually be pretty impressive. They started out with a rather rough blind which really reeked of inexperience. But, Kelly heard something we didn't I suppose and was willing to give them a shot. And to my surprise, the Battle of "Wrecking Ball" ended up going surprisingly well. Personally, I thought Lauren was the better performer, but HS were no slouch in that battle either, so I understand Kelly picking them. Now, if there were one time when this duo seriously impressed me, it was their Knockout. Their performance of "Almost Is Never Enough" was so perfect and such an improvement from their previous performances that it's almost unbelievable. Obviously, they were helped out by tuning, but I think they deserve some credit because it was truly stark how much they improved.

 

And then we're on to their live performances, hmm. They had a ROUGH Playoffs week. "Hello" sounded like they were almost back to the level of their audition, and the Instant Save "All By Myself" was even worse. Nevertheless, they managed to win the Save probably because Myla technically hit the climactic high note even when she sounded like a screeching cat while doing it. "Mamma Knows Best" at least showcased their stage presence, which is one of their strong suits, but my ears did not love the sound of it to say the least. The Top 11 performance, "The Middle" was the first one that I would consider hilariously awful. I don't think they landed a single harmony for the entire thing and their solo parts weren't much better. I would give that one close to an F grade honestly. "Stone Cold" wasn't much of an improvement, but at least it seemed like only one of the girls was doing bad instead of both of them. 

 

Their Semifinal "Don't Worry 'Bout A Thing" though??? By FAR their best showing in the Lives! Still some missed notes here and there, but the a capella intro was beautiful and the uptempo section was fun as hell. If they had performed that way for their whole run, then I would've understood why they made it to this point, but the reality is they didn't. These girls clearly weren't ready for The Voice stage but I guess they had other things besides singing going for them that allowed them to slip through the cracks in a relatively shallow cast. That said, even though I think they're undeserving of their placement, I can't bring myself to dislike these girls. They always seemed like sweet human beings, but the singing just wasn't there for me most of the time.

Yeah, there is something about them, like, a lot of their performances were straight up bad, but there is something about it that makes me keep watching them. Their duet with Kat was obviously awful but i was re-watching a few hours ago and for some reason i keep re-watching it several times?? It was a mess, but a fun, entertaining mess lol. 

 

There is certain appeal about them and i'm sure that with the right decisions and some luck, they could become really popular between pre-teen and teen audiences. Unfortunately, they were very raw during their time on the show but their KO showed that they had potential, they just need to put on the work.

[Gustavo527]

I assume you are doing the finalists by order??? Because i'm ready for everyone here to praise Rose 

[allistr]

Rose is a freaking incredible vocalist and she absolutely owned "God's Country"  no one should reach the level of that performance for me (even Blake Shelton), and yes I'm like QueenMae16 with Celine Dion

[FloorWax]

12 minutes ago, Gustavo527 said:

I assume you are doing the finalists by order??? Because i'm ready for everyone here to praise Rose 

 

I might do Ricky first just so I can have the pleasure of watching Rose and Katie back to back. 

[nytsch]

I couldn't bring myself to hate Hello Sunday lol, they had the vocal capability so I was rooting for them to do well and they sometimes did. I forgot about The Middle though lmao. The BA and PO were definitely rough.

 

(also I know most people on this forum have a clear preference but I really can't choose between Rose and Katie)

[FloorWax]

28 minutes ago, nytsch said:

(also I know most people on this forum have a clear preference but I really can't choose between Rose and Katie)

 

I don’t have a clear preference at the moment either so we’ll see how I feel after refreshing my memory.

[Hsamid]

Was never the biggest fan of Will, I wish he was a better vocalist because I loved his song choices and/or his takes on them.

 

But there's no denying he's one of the most unique, creative singers in the shows recent memory.

[Hamza Tufail]

8 hours ago, nytsch said:

I couldn't bring myself to hate Hello Sunday lol, they had the vocal capability so I was rooting for them to do well and they sometimes did. I forgot about The Middle though lmao. The BA and PO were definitely rough.

 

(also I know most people on this forum have a clear preference but I really can't choose between Rose and Katie)

I prefer Katie.

[erik g]

Hello Sunday slayed that Battle & Knockout

[Hamza Tufail]

I remember liking Hello Sunday's audition. Have to rewatch, but at that time I liked it.

[FloorWax]

Ricky Duran was never really a contestant that I flat out loved, but I appreciated that even in the Lives, you could always count on him to have a solid performance. It's never a bad thing when Blake has a competent frontrunner! Truth be told, his rendition of "River" never impressed me much, especially compared to Domenic Haynes' version, who took that song to another level. Even rewatching it now, my opinion hasn't changed. I did like his battle a bit better though as I thought "Valerie" was a nice fit for his tone, plus he got to show off his magnetic stage presence. His KO was really good too, even if I preferred Joana in that particular matchup. 

 

He got stuck with a meh song choice for his PO performance, but on a night where so many crumbled, he stood out by well... not flopping. "You Are The Best Thing" the following week was also a predictable choice, but his tone and vocal polish were enough to carry that performance for me. Being flashy is not part of Ricky's brand, and that can be a little off-putting on a show as competitive as The Voice, but if it works, then it works. Even when he got the closing spot on Top 11 week, it wasn't a particularly grand production or vocal. Just some solid, well-sung heartland rock and also he looked pretty damn attractive in that one . Then, "Born Under A Bad Sign" was great, but it was more of a guitar showcase (and an incredible one at that) than a vocal one.

 

In my opinion, Ricky's strongest weeks on the show were his last two. "Let It Be" was the closest he ever got to a certified The Voice Moment™. It was a beautiful, passionate performance, and the first of his that I would call "moving". His finale cover, "Running Down A Dream", in comparison, was Ricky at his most energetic. In addition to nailing both the vocals and the guitar work, he looked like he was having a blast the entire time. That guy is just incapable of missing, it seems. And while the original "A Woman Like Her" was, in my eyes, a completely generic adult-contemporary sapfest, you can't deny that it was a great final moment for him.

 

So yeah, Ricky only had a couple performances that I loved, but he also never had anything that was close to being bad and he earned that finale spot with ease.

[Hamza Tufail]

I was never a top fan of Ricky, but I always thought he was solid throughout. He's good.

[AliXRose]

Myracle landing in the bottom 2 instead of Hello Sunday was a travesty.

[nytsch]

I guess for lack of a better way to say it Ricky bored me? Like with guitar guys in the past (Laith, Jesse, Britton, Pryor etc) they all did something different or at least had a tone that made them stand out. Ricky’s voice was plain imo and he covered the exact type of song you’d expect him to so that didn’t do anything for me. He wasn’t bad though but yeah I actually preferred Jake.

[Misirlou]

Loved Ricky's run. Funny how he started as a more R&B/soul guy and he slowly morphed into a rocker throughout his run. 

[Gustavo527]

1 hour ago, AliXRose said:

Myracle landing in the bottom 2 instead of Hello Sunday was a travesty.

Yeah, but they were cute little kids, what were we expecting?? 

[Gustavo527]

I never could get really into Ricky's tone, it was not for me, but he had a very solid run so i respect him for that. He deserved to be a finalist. And he is clearly an extremely talented musician, even if i don't like his voice that much. 

 

I enjoyed his vocals more in his original, when he was performing with his acoustic guitar. I consider most of the originals that came out from this show extremely mediocre and forgettable (And the ones from S17 were not the exception), but his original is one of the few that somehow standout for me, even tho some of the lyrics were... something else . 

 

I also think his tone shined in his audition as well, but it was a season after Domenic's excellent audition with that song, so it was doomed to be meh in comparison. 

[FloorWax]

Sorry this took a little longer than expected, Rose's run was so good that I actually watched it twice over lol. This post is nothing but a Rose lovefest so enjoy!

 

Blinds: Preach by John Legend
This rather dull John Legend song isn't exactly one that I'm dying for my favorite contestants to cover, but Rose sang the chorus with so much power that I'm not even mad at her choice. Kelly wasn't lying when she said that Rose annihilated the original singer lol. Of course, John didn't turn around for whatever reason but I'm glad that a singer like her ended up landing on Team Gwen.

Battles: Can't Feel My Face by The Weeknd
Poor Jessie tried his hardest but alas, he was no match for Rose's natural power and presence. That woman exudes confidence on stage and her vocals completely back it up. The song choice didn't give her an opportunity to shine, but for what it's worth, I don't think she could've done any better than she did here.

Knockouts: Big White Room by Jessie J
A big part of what differentiates Rose from other diva type singers that we've had in the past is how gently she approaches the softer parts of the songs she sings. If you want an example, look no further than her KO, where her voice sounded so sweet and velvety, like a warm blanket in musical form. I loved how she caressed those beginning verses, letting the song build and build until finally hitting those earth-shattering notes that we all love her for. This was a perfect performance, definitely one of the highlights of both her run and the entire season.

Playoffs: What Have You Done For Me Lately by Janet Jackson
For a performance usually considered to be one of her weakest, this was pretty strong. Sure, it was kind of hard to hear her in the beginning, but I liked the unorthodox song choice, and she totally pulled it off. The second half was amazing! Maybe you guys should give this one another chance.

Top 13: I Turn To You by All-4-One
This is the kind of song choice that usually bores me to death but man Rose absolutely killed this! I always say that I appreciate when a performance flows well, and that’s true for Rose every time she got on stage. Her choices were always smart and tasteful and that’s what allows practically every performance from her to feel like a moment.

Top 11: Maybe I'm Amazed by Paul McCartney
I watched it and I enjoyed it but I genuinely don’t have anything to say. Everything that was good about Rose’s previous performances was also true for this one. What can I say, she’s consistent!

Top 10: God's Country by Blake Shelton
I recall there being discussions on IDF of Rose being bussed after we found out that she was singing a Blake Shelton song, but as someone who had heard the song prior, I knew that she was about to unleash something special. And my God was this performance something special. Rose had given us glimpses of the grit in her voice before, but on this song it was on full display. And it was incredible. Rose’s ability to cut through the noise with her voice is incredible, and she makes it look so effortless too. This is in my opinion, her best live performance, and one of the most iconic moments in recent Voice history.

Semifinals: I Want To Know What Love Is by Foreigner
At first, I wanted to comment on how Rose wasn't really doing much to make her version of this song stand out amongst the dozens of other covers out there. But as she went on, I realized that was just Rose doing what she always does: holding back in the beginning, then giving us everything by the end. The performance truly came alive in that last minute, with an emotional resonance that I don't think we've seen from Rose before. Yet another addition to Rose's catalogue of spectacular performances.

Instant Save: (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman by Aretha Franklin
After making daring song choices all season, Rose kind of deserved to take it easy with an Aretha classic for her Instant Save. Considering her opponents were Kat and Hello Sunday, she really didn't even have to try, but she blew the roof off the place nonetheless. INCREDIBLE instant save performance.

Finals: Steamroller by Rose Short
Honestly, for a Voice original song, this wasn't bad? It probably would've been incredibly bland in almost anyone else's hands but Rose really sold it the best she could. Even the dreaded Finale original song failed make a dent in Rose's straight A track record, what an icon.

Finals: Border Song by Elton John
You better close that Finale! And with a song that's never been done before or since too. This performance isn't usually included in discussions about Rose's best, but this is actually in my Top 3 from her. The vocals were incredible as always, but the passion on this one was something else. Rose going full gospel mode was the perfect way to end her flawless run; it felt like a celebration! If only she had won...

Rose Short is a gold standard for any female RnB/Soul singer that enters the show. Creative song choices, consistent throughout her run, can sing crazy vocals but never overdoes it, appropriate emotional delivery, hell, she even has a fun personality on top of all of that. I don't think she's the most vocally gifted AA diva, but I genuinely don't think there has been another whose run was as good as Rose's. She was phenomenal the whole way through.

[Hamza Tufail]

My favs from her were Preach, Big White Room, and Maybe I'm Amazed.

[FloorWax]

On 6/18/2023 at 12:59 PM, FloorWax said:

 

I don’t have a clear preference at the moment either so we’ll see how I feel after refreshing my memory.

 

My preference is Rose. But Katie isn’t too far behind.