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

[Hsamid]

3 hours ago, FloorWax said:

As expected, Kimberly Nichole is fantastic. My favorites ended up being Creep, What’s Up, and Dirty Diana. HOTR was good but I don’t really like it as much as I do the other performances I listed.

Glad you liked Kimberly, she's one of the first contestants I've ever watched and still remains a favourite.

 

I agree those 4 (including HOTR) are her clear best but I'd say she was consistent (though a bit unremarkable prelives) from beginning to end.

[FloorWax]

2 hours ago, Hsamid said:

Glad you liked Kimberly, she's one of the first contestants I've ever watched and still remains a favourite.

 

I agree those 4 (including HOTR) are her clear best but I'd say she was consistent (though a bit unremarkable prelives) from beginning to end.

 

Yeah I thought her Blind and KO were just ok compared to the rest of her run. I liked her battle though and thought she deserved to win it.

 

Something’s Got A Hold On Me was great too, seems a bit underrated.

Edited April 9, 2023 by FloorWax

[Misirlou]

Kimberly was very consistent. I´d say her only weak performance was Free Fallin. Sadly, that was enough to take her down.

[Hamza Tufail]

3 hours ago, Hsamid said:

Glad you liked Kimberly, she's one of the first contestants I've ever watched and still remains a favourite.

 

I agree those 4 (including HOTR) are her clear best but I'd say she was consistent (though a bit unremarkable prelives) from beginning to end.

You like Kim? Didn't know that!

[Hsamid]

Just now, Hamza Tufail said:

You like Kim? Didn't know that!

Yup, she's the first female powerhouse singer who's run I followed. In fact, she was the only contestant from that season where I watched their entire run live.

 

Koryn and India are probably my next favourites from S8, and some newfounded appreciation for Meghan recently as well.

 

 

[Hamza Tufail]

3 minutes ago, Hsamid said:

Yup, she's the first female powerhouse singer who's run I followed. In fact, she was the only contestant from that season where I watched their entire run live.

 

Koryn and India are probably my next favourites from S8, and some newfounded appreciation for Meghan recently as well.

 

 

I Love to hear it.

[FloorWax]

Wasn’t a fan of Meghan Linsey 

[FloorWax]

On 3/31/2023 at 7:30 PM, Hamza Tufail said:

I don't have high expectations on Sawyer and Jordan knowing FloorWax's taste. Lol 

 

 

[Hamza Tufail]

3 minutes ago, FloorWax said:

 

So I was right?

[FloorWax]

7 minutes ago, Hamza Tufail said:

So I was right?

 

You will find out very soon :)))

[Hamza Tufail]

25 minutes ago, FloorWax said:

 

You will find out very soon :)))

Should is assume that very soon means next few hours? Lol

 

I'm sorry I'm in such a hury lol, but you know the next leak is 3 days from now. 

[FloorWax]

 

Season 8: Sawyer Fredericks

Coach: Pharrell Williams

Auditions: I’m a Man of Constant Sorrow by Dick Burnett
Long before I considered myself an active fan of this show, I already knew about this performance. I mean, the chilling opening line sung in a capella with the three coaches turning right after? That’s not something you just forget. Users have said that those seven words he sang at the beginning ended up winning him the show, and I don’t even think that’s too big a stretch to say. But that’s not to say the rest of it wasn’t great as well. Sawyer’s voice is way mature beyond his years, and the peculiarly old and obscure song choice is well appreciated as a fan of folk music. This is an iconic performance and if can keep up the momentum, then it’s no wonder he ended up winning the whole thing.

Battles: Have You Ever Seen The Rain? by Creedence Clearwater Revival
I seldom say this about battle rounds, but these two sounded like they were made to sing together. Noelle’s light, airy tone was a perfect match for Sawyer’s low, husky timbre, and their harmonies together were flat out gorgeous. I also appreciated the choice to strip down the arrangement, as covers of this song as it is usually come off as karaoke. It’s a bummer Noelle couldn’t get a steal, but picking Sawyer was definitely the right choice, the kid just sounded ready.

Knockouts: Collide by Howie Day
For his three-way Knockout, Sawyer chose a pretty safe Adult Contemporary-sounding song, and while he did well with it, I didn’t find this to be quite the moment that his audition was. There was nothing wrong with what he did, but I had a hard time getting excited because the song choice was so dull. I don't know what happened yesterday that was making me so grumpy but I just relistened to it and thought it was really good, one of his best on the show.

Playoffs: Trouble by Ray LaMontagne
This is a little bit more like it. Frankly, I am still shocked at how believable Sawyer comes off in his performances. The way he sang “she won’t let me go” at the end of the chorus? That was nuance right there . I just wish the performance amounted to more because I didn’t really get the sense that we got anywhere by the end of it.

Top 12: Imagine by John Lennon
Man, what a beautiful performance this was. For the first time, I could understand what the judges said in his audition about his voice transporting you to a different time, as that’s exactly how I felt while he was singing this song. The breaks in his voice and the subtle grit—those felt entirely genuine and tremendously added to the impact of the performance. The last few lines in particular were sung so gorgeously, I had to replay just that part a couple times before moving on. Great job!

Top 10: Iris by Goo Goo Dolls
Hmm. I liked the song choice, but I thought the verses were the most unsteady Sawyer has sounded all season and the choruses honestly weren’t that much better. At this point, I’m starting to wonder if Sawyer hit a wall, because I feel like he hasn’t been showing us anything new and that his pre-lives told us all we needed to know about him. This was disappointing.

Top 8: Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd
A part of me was thinking that this song choice may be a little on-the-nose, but I couldn’t deny that it was a perfect fit for his weathered tone. Other than that, I don’t really have much to say as again, this felt more like a B-level performance than A for Amazing, but he definitely did better than the last week so I’ll give him that.

Top 6: Shine On by Seth Bernard & Daisy Mae
I kind of want to applaud the choice of such an obscure song, because as far as I can see this song was never popular like… anywhere? And neither were the artists that sang it. However, while this was once again a solid performance, it just blends in with the rest of his run. Sometimes solid is all you need but maybe I’m just not so big a fan of his style that I can take the same thing every time.

Top 6: Take Me to the River by Al Green
Okay, this was finally something different for him, taking on an upbeat song, but I’m still kind of unmoved? He didn’t really show much stage presence and his vocals were good but not amazing like usual. It also lacked that sense of believability that usually characterizes his performances, so I don’t really know what else to tell you.

Semifinals: For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Spring
I liked the vibe and staging of it and I thought it was a great song choice once again but I kind of tuned out of this one. Would probably be a better as a studio recording than a live performance.

Semifinals: A Thousand Years by Christina Perri
You know what, I actually kind of liked this one. I didn’t have high expectations given the song choice and his past few performances, but I thought his tone sounded beautiful on this song. I especially thought the part near the ending when everything dropped but the strings was gorgeous. Nice .

Finals: Summer Breeze by Seals and Crofts
I'm just... confused more than anything? I mean, this wasn't bad, just a bizarre song choice that didn't do either artist any favors. Could have been way worse though I guess.

Finals: Please by Sawyer Fredricks
First of all, so cool that Sawyer got to sing a song written by one of his main influences, Ray Lamontagne. Given how I liked him in his performance of "Trouble", it should be no surprise to me that this was a pretty good showing. Still in the B range for me, but at least it's up to like a B+ now.

Finals: Old Man by Neil Young
Now, look, I've been a little tough on Sawyer for most of this write-up, and I'm not afraid to say that he really hasn't impressed me much with the latter half of his run, but I'm happy to say that this was a GREAT performance to end on. Neil Young is a GOATED songwriter and I would've been able to enjoy this on song choice alone, however, Sawyer definitely delivered as well. His ability to tap into emotions he has yet to experience was on full display and I felt every word he sang here. The way this built up in intensity was perfect and the problems I usually had with Sawyer's performances being "stagnant" was not present at all. This ultimately ended up being one of my favorites of his entire run and left a good taste in my mouth after a string of not-so-thrilling performances.

 

Overall:

Prior to making this write-up, I had high expectations for Sawyer, as folk is one of my favorite genres, and I remembered well the excellent grit he showcased in his iconic audition. However, I do think his audition is where he peaked. He had some great performances here and there throughout his run, but for the most part, I found him to be consistently "ok" more than "good". I'm not entirely sure why, as it isn't like I'm not a fan of his tone (I am) or his style (I am) but for some reason, I could not get into his performances as much as I wanted to. I can't say he didn't deserve to win, as he was pretty consistent and his finale was great, but I definitely would've preferred the entrancing Kimberly Nichole to win it all. I'll be honest, I kind of enjoyed Joshua Davis' run a bit more as well, he had my favorite tone of the season . Right now, Sawyer is in my bottom half of winners, but that's not to say he's bad. I just ended up being blown away or connecting more with those above him.

Top 3 Performances:
1. I'm a Man of Constant Sorrow

2. Old Man (so tempted to put this at #1)

3. Collide

 

Winners' Rankings (so far):

1. Tessanne Chin

2. Craig Wayne Boyd

3. Danielle Bradbery

4. Josh Kaufman

5. Sawyer Fredericks

6. Cassadee Pope

7. Javier Colon

8. Jermaine Paul

9. ???

 

Edited April 11, 2023 by FloorWax

[FloorWax]

Sorry y'all, this is the least I've ever had to say in one of these write-ups  Still hope you enjoy reading even if I'm expecting some disagreement on certain performances.

[Hamza Tufail]

1 hour ago, Hamza Tufail said:

So I was right?

Spot on. Haha

 

Let's see if this trend continues next season?

[Hamza Tufail]

Honestly, Old Man is one of my fav finale performance ever, I loved it so much.

 

Iris was pretty good as well imo. That's one of those performances where he seemed connected. It was moving.

[Misirlou]

Sawyer is probably my favorite winner to this day, honestly. That tone is something else, he really sounded like a man twice his age or more at 15 years old. (I sound like the coaches now "YOU´RE FIFTEEN!"). His song choices too, oof, Neil Young, CCR, Skynyrd, Ray Lamontagne, and some obscure ones too that I appreciated. He´s deep into that rootsy folk. 

 

I would have liked to have heard him something from the Rolling Stones´s "Beggars Banquet" album, since it´s very bare-boned and rootsy, right in his lane. 

[FloorWax]

23 minutes ago, Hamza Tufail said:

Honestly, Old Man is one of my fav finale performance ever, I loved it so much.

 

Rewatched it a bunch while finishing up the review. It was special for sure.

Edited April 11, 2023 by FloorWax

[FloorWax]

6 minutes ago, Misirlou said:

Sawyer is probably my favorite winner to this day, honestly. That tone is something else, he really sounded like a man twice his age or more at 15 years old. (I sound like the coaches now "YOU´RE FIFTEEN!"). His song choices too, oof, Neil Young, CCR, Skynyrd, Ray Lamontagne, and some obscure ones too that I appreciated. He´s deep into that rootsy folk. 

 

I would have liked to have heard him something from the Rolling Stones´s "Beggars Banquet" album, since it´s very bare-boned and rootsy, right in his lane. 

 

How opinions differ  I really liked his tone as well but not so much that it was enough to carry an entire performance for me. And I just got done with Craig who I unexpectedly loved so maybe I was subconsciously comparing them.

[Cookie73]

Sawyer is probably around the middle for me. I’m not as familiar with his run as most other winners, but from what I remember, I wouldn’t have any of the other finalists above him. That season was also hard because two of my favorite contestants were Kimberly Nichole and Mia Z, who got eliminated earlier than they should have

[Misirlou]

I will say, even though he´s my favorite winner, I do think Mia Z was better in the KOs. 

[Cookie73]

I guess I can go into more depth on Sawyer. I was a teenager when Season 8 aired so I found it interesting how a teenage boy dominated on The Voice around that time. I guess I enjoyed his folky style on the show, and I agree about his audition and finale being his best performances, but I don’t remember disliking any of his performances. I think it’s due to my enjoyment of the songs he sang. If I was more familiar with his run, I would know his placement, but I guess my more moderate feelings on him compared to other winners lands him in the middle (especially since I like a lot more winners than I dislike)

 

Now we get to a string of winners that I really like (including my favorite winner), and seasons I am more familiar with. Expect my next four writeups to be very positive. 

[FloorWax]

24 minutes ago, Misirlou said:

I will say, even though he´s my favorite winner, I do think Mia Z was better in the KOs. 

 

I think I removed the part with me saying that because I honestly wasn't sure after a rewatch but I did prefer Mia on my first viewing. Her high notes were insane and she had a cool, unique style but her diction bothered me. 

[Cookie73]

5 minutes ago, FloorWax said:

 

I think I removed the part with me saying that because I honestly wasn't sure after a rewatch but I did prefer Mia on my first viewing. Her high notes were insane and she had a cool, unique style but her diction bothered me. 

I have experienced problems with contestants’ diction in the past, but Mia Z was not one of them. I also didn’t care for some of the tones of the other finalists as much. It helped that I really liked her high notes on the show, and I think I still prefer Mia on that specific performance. I don’t think any elimination between playoffs and Top 8 stung for me as much as hers did, but a lot of it had to with me expecting her to make it deep into the season.

[Hamza Tufail]

@FloorWax "The Voice Global" and "Best of The Voice" both have posted Jordan's entire journeys. But I personally suggest you to watch it via The Voice Global Channel. They have rehearsals too, unlike BOTV Channel.

 

 

Talking about rehearsals, his KO, Hallelujah, and STL rhs were insane. Also, you can clearly see how much Adam cared for him.

[nytsch]

I think your description of Sawyer’s overall run (consistently decent/ok but not great) kinda applies to how I feel about Danielle lol

 

I mean it makes sense I think I just like Sawyer’s genre more and his voice was more unique/interesting to me. In both cases anyway the live shows being so long probably made their journey feel a little more samey than it would’ve otherwise. Agree with what you said about Old Man though that was fantastic.