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

[FloorWax]

6 minutes ago, QueenCami said:

btw maybe this is a stretch but i’m gonna guess the next one is gonna be Tessanne? but idk there’s no hint so i’m kinda shooting in the dark

 

Should I make hints too to make things easier for you guys 

[FloorWax]

You know, I expected to have an opinion whether I thought Danielle or Michelle should have won by the time I made this review, but I just think its like comparing apples to oranges. Its really hard to compare something like Michelle’s “Raise Your Glass” to Danielle’s “Grandpa”. I think they’re both quite excellent at what they do. This is also probably due to the fact that I’m not really biased against country like a lot of people are here? But I do love what Michelle brings to the table as well. I’ll just say that both would have been incredibly deserving winners.

Edited March 31, 2023 by FloorWax

[Cookie73]

1 hour ago, FloorWax said:

You know, I expected to have an opinion whether I thought Danielle or Michelle should have won by the time I made this review, but I just think its like comparing apples to oranges. Its really hard to compare something like Michelle’s “Raise Your Glass” to Danielle’s “Grandpa”. I think they’re both quite excellent at what they do. This is also probably due to the fact that I’m not really biased against country like a lot of people are here? But I do love what Michelle brings to the table as well. I’ll just say that both would have been incredibly deserving winners.

I feel like Michelle was definitely more for me, especially since I was familiar with the songs when that season aired because I was in middle school during that time. I didn’t have even close to the music knowledge I have now (or much singing competition viewing experience) back when that season aired. I also remember thinking Michelle was really cool and unique. She was a standout on Team Usher for me since the Blinds (one of the only contestants I really liked from his original team)

[season1]

21 hours ago, FloorWax said:

 

 

Season 4: Danielle Bradbery

Coach: Blake Shelton

 

 

Auditions: Mean by Taylor Swift
I remembering hearing once from an IDF user that prior to coming on the Voice, Danielle had only ever sang under the kitchen table and had no previous performing experience. After watching her audition, I feel like that makes sense, as she does feel like an amateur, BUT an amateur with a wealth of raw talent. She looked surprisingly comfortable and genuinely happy to be on that stage, and while she didn’t do perfect vocally, I’d argue this is a very good first impression and it made me interested to see how she grows throughout the rest of her run.

Battles: Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae (w/ Caroline Glaser)
Yes! This was so good. Even just one round later, Danielle already looks and sounds much more confident than she did in her blind. She sings with such a full tone, which contrasted nicely with her battle partner’s airier voice. I have to say, I’d easily pick Danielle to win this match-up just because Caroline came off a little cursive to me, but the latter provided some great harmonies. Very, very nice!

Knockouts: Jesus, Take The Wheel by Carrie Underwood
Damn, this girl has a bigger voice than I expected. I will say though that I didn’t love this performance as much as I was expecting to, but it was in no way underwhelming. It’s probably just a matter of song choice and preference. Nonetheless, she obviously killed it, and definitely deserved to win over her opponent who was…something to say the least .

Playoffs: Maybe It Was Memphis by Pam Tillis
Maybe it was Grace West auditioning with this song in the current season that turned me on to it, but I loved this song pick for Danielle. I loved how she got to showcase her effortless range without doing something power ballad-y like her KO. This is probably my favorite solo performance from her so far.

Top 12: Wasted by Carrie Underwood
I’m a little confused as to why they allowed her to sing a Carrie Underwood song again when she just performed one a couple rounds ago, but I’m willing to give her a pass because while several contestants come to this show and sing Carrie, most of the time, they can’t do her songs justice. Danielle is an exception to that. This was yet another good performance for her.

Top 10: Heads Carolina, Tails California by Jo Dee Messina
This was fun! What immediately stuck out to me about this performance is that Danielle was moving around much more than she did for her previous ones, but her vocals didn’t really suffer for it? In fact, she probably sounds the best she ever has here. I always appreciate a contestant who can impress even on upbeat songs and Danielle did just that. THIS is my favorite one so far.

Top 8: Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Ol' Days) by The Judds
THAT WAS SO SWEET OMG. This felt like her most sincere performance thus far, and the gorgeous stage design only helped matters. The song choice was perfect for her and it really allowed her clear and smooth tone to shine. I would sound like a broken record if I kept mentioning how good her vocals are, but let’s just say that seven performances in, she has had no misses. And I know I just said that the previous performance was her best yet, but this was her best yet.

Top 6: Shake The Sugar Tree by Pam Tillis
This is Danielle’s second performance of a Pam Tillis song so far, and unfortunately I didn’t like it nearly as much as her first. As always, the vocals were great, but I don’t feel like she showed anything new that she hasn’t in previous rounds. At this point, I expect her to take a little more risks, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it I guess?

Top 6: A Little Bit Stronger by Sara Evans
Not much to say about this one, just that it’s another solid showing from Danielle, and that the glory note at the end was quite…. well, glorious.

Semifinals: Please Remember Me by Rodney Crowell
I’m kind of at the point in this review where I begin to get a little lost for words because these performances are starting to blend together. This was a fine performance, but I wasn’t really moved one way or the other. I feel like at this point Danielle has had enough standout performances that her win is basically secured, so I kinda hoped they would push her a little bit out of her comfort zone.

Semifinals: Who I Am by Jessica Andrews
It may be a case of the lyrics being more age appropriate than usual for her, but this is the most I’ve felt moved by a Danielle performance since “Grandpa”. For a change, I believed every word that she sang and I didn’t even mind that it wasn’t anything new for her. And the hug with her parents at the end? C’mon, that’s gotta be cheating . I’m glad to finally say this again… I thought that was GREAT.

Finals: Timber, I’m Falling In Love by Patty Loveless
Hmm. Couldn’t they have picked a more… appropriate song choice for Danielle and her coach to duet on? I feel like a performance from them had the potential to be really sweet, but this just ended up a little awkward to watch.

Finals: Maybe It Was Memphis by Pam Tillis
Just like with Cassadee Pope’s reprise of “Over You”, I don’t think Danielle was able to recapture the magic of her first performance of this song. I think what tends to happen with these repeat performances is that the contestants go on autopilot mode. I dare to say this was her least assured vocal since her audition.

Finals: Born To Fly by Sara Evans
Aww, this was a very nice performance to end her run on. The whole thing felt like the end credits song that plays as you exit the cinema after watching a sappy but sweet romantic comedy. While this is the second time she’s covered Sara Evans, this performance sounded fresher than her first, and was a satisfying end to an astonishingly consistent run.


 

Overall:

Just in terms of sheer consistency, there aren’t many The Voice winners who have Danielle beat. Even though she wasn’t the strongest right out of the gate, she later on proved week after week that she was a powerful country vocalist who wasn’t just “good for her age”. Prior to watching her run in full, I had no idea that she had the ability to sing with such range and such power. On top of that, she had a beautiful tone that was as clear as a bell and unexpectedly mature-sounding.

However, while consistency is one of Danielle’s biggest assets, it is also one of her biggest detractors in my eyes. Part of why Danielle was so consistent is that she almost never had to sing something outside of her comfort zone, or make any of the songs she covered her own. She proved she could sing just as well outside of country in her battle, so I wish she took a chance with a pop song every now and then. Nonetheless, Danielle was able to pull off multiple standout performances throughout her run and its hard to deny that the kid hardly ever faltered. For what she was, she was a very deserving winner, despite not being the flashiest or most versatile in the bunch.

Top 3 Performances:
1. Who I Am
2. Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Ol’ Days)
3. Heads Carolina, Tails California

 

 

Winners' Ranking (so far):

1. Danielle Bradbery

2. Cassadee Pope

3. Javier Colon

4. Jermaine Paul

5. ???

 

 

Great writeup. Thanks! Glad that you liked most of Danielle's performances.

 

Two of your top 3 performances are also in my Top 3; I have "Please Remember Me" instead of "Grandpa." "Wasted" was last on my ranking of Danielle's performances.

 

In terms of IDF that season, "boring", "one note", "sounds the same every week" were some of the derogatory comments directed at Danielle's performances. Even among country fans, many preferred Amber because she "took some risks."  If there were emojis/reacts on the old server, I probably would have the record number of "confused" reactions ever, because I ranked Danielle #1 in performance polls and predicted her to win the season. 

 

RE songs, I think Blake and Danielle's family helped decide what songs to sing. Early in the season, a close family member talked to us on her fan thread about songs. Here are some of the exchanges (I archived some of the pages from the old server): 

 

post 1 (note the criteria listed for potential songs)

post 2

 

Heads Carolina, Who I Am and Born to Fly, were mentioned.

 

They pretty much decided she'll stick to country in the competition. But she sang a couple of non-country songs on Tuesdays like "A Thousand Years" and "Eternal Flame" (as WiM mentioned earlier).

 

Season 4 was so stacked and Danielle was a true amateur. In a couple of interviews, she mentioned that she was in awe of the talents around her, but Blake helped her gain confidence. Despite having probably the least experience that season, she improved week after week. Being around more experienced cast probably helped her learn and grow. That and the sheer amount of performances they had to do every week. 

 

I found this among my archived files; the other contestants' reactions to Danielle's win.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2023 by season1

[FloorWax]

9 minutes ago, season1 said:

 

Great writeup. Thanks! Glad that you liked most of Danielle's performances.

 

Two of your top 3 performances are also in my Top 3; I have "Please Remember Me" instead of "Grandpa." "Wasted" was last on my ranking of Danielle's performances.

 

In terms of IDF that season, "boring", "one note", "sounds the same every week" were some of the derogatory comments directed at Danielle's performances during that season. Even among country fans, many preferred Amber because she "took some risks."  If there were emojis/reacts on the old server, I probably would have the record of "confused" reactions ever, because I ranked Danielle #1 in performance polls and predicted her to win the season. 

 

RE songs, I think Blake and Danielle's family helped decide what songs to sing. Early in the season, a close family member talked to us on her fan thread about songs. Here are some of the exchanges (I archived some of the pages from the old server): 

 

post 1 (note the criteria listed for potential songs)

post 2

 

Heads Carolina, Who I Am and Born to Fly, were mentioned.

 

They pretty much decided she'll stick to country in the competition. But she sang a couple of non-country songs on Tuesdays like "A Thousand Years" and "Eternal Flame" (as WiM mentioned earlier).

 

Season 4 was so stacked and Danielle was a true amateur. In a couple of interviews, she mentioned that she was in awe of the talents around her, but Blake helped her gain confidence. Despite having probably the least experience that season, she improved week after week. Being around more experienced cast probably helped her learn and grow. That and the sheer amount of performances they had to do every week. 

 

I found this among my archived files; the other contestants' reactions to Danielle's win.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks! How cool that some of your song recommendations ended up being performed by Danielle?

 

I’ll definitely try and watch those non-competitive performances from her because I really liked her battle performance. Would you have any original song recommendations?

Edited March 31, 2023 by FloorWax

[season1]

3 hours ago, FloorWax said:

 

Thanks! How cool that some of your song recommendations ended up being performed by Danielle?

 

I’ll definitely try and watch those non-competitive performances from her because I really liked her battle performance. Would you have any original song recommendations?

 

Imagine my surprise when I found out Danielle sang "Who I Am" in the semis! I was in California back then, and had to wait 3 hours to actually watch her performance.

 

RE originals, I like almost all the songs she released in her 2 full albums and 1 EP, and even many unreleased songs she performed in some of her shows. I also prefer some of the album cuts over the singles that were sent to radio. I'll try to narrow them down to a couple songs from each album and send them to you later.

 

But here are two of my favorite live performances of songs from her debut album (released in late 2013).

A little trivia -- Danielle signed with Big Machine Records the day after she won The Voice, and she's still with the same label 10 years later.

 

Never Like This [2014]

Endless Summer (with Hunter Hayes) [2014]

 

 

[allistr]

So excited for Tess, Sawyer, Jordan and Alisan journey reviews.

[Hamza Tufail]

13 minutes ago, allistr said:

So excited for Tess, Sawyer, Jordan and Alisan journey reviews.

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

 

But I'm really confident he's gonna like almost all of Alisan and Tessanne's performances.

Edited March 31, 2023 by Hamza Tufail

[FloorWax]

22 minutes ago, Hamza Tufail said:

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

 

But I'm really confident he's gonna like almost all of Alisan and Tessanne's performances.

 

I haven’t watched many performances from Sawyer or Jordan, so I don’t really have a strong opinion on them rn.

 

Y’all can probably expect that Tessanne review within the next 24 hours btw

[Cookie73]

11 minutes ago, FloorWax said:

 

I haven’t watched many performances from Sawyer or Jordan, so I don’t really have a strong opinion on them rn.

 

Y’all can probably expect that Tessanne review within the next 24 hours btw

I feel like S9 is where I start to become more familiar with the contestants’ runs because that’s when I started to watch in depth more (I don’t have a lot of memories watching 7, 8 and lives for 6)

[AngelaKD]

Although I was a Michelle fan during the season, I think things worked out how they were supposed to. 
 

Danielle is one of the few winners who made good use of her “prize”. Michelle was an indie girl who would have lasted 3 seconds with Republic.

[FloorWax]

23 hours ago, VintageVoice said:

Going with the non-Tessanne picks (and bolding the ones I’d consider must-see viewing for anyone who says The Voice has always been trash):

 

Matthew Schuler - Cough Syrup

Holly Henry - The Scientist

Preston Pohl - Electric Feel

Amber Nicole vs. Timyra-Joi - Listen

James Wolpert vs. Will Champlin - Radioactive

Kat Robichaud - You Oughta Know

Cole Vosbury - Let Her Go

Jacquie Lee - Stompa

Caroline Pennell - The Way I Am

Matthew Schuler - Cosmic Love

Will Champlin - When I Was Your Man

James Wolpert - A Case of You

Jacquie Lee - I Put a Spell On You

Matthew Schuler - Hallelujah

Jacquie Lee - Angel

 

The not as nice comments:

 

I’ll be honest I didn’t really like that Holly Henry performance . I feel like the vocal style she was doing has aged so poorly, no one does that anymore.

 

The nice comments:

 

Of the performances I hadn’t seen yet, I was blown away by “Let Her Go”, “When I Was Your Man”, “A Case Of You”, and “I Put A Spell On You”

 

Cole Vosbury and Will Champlin have such inviting tones and delivered their songs with great emotion. I was frankly shocked at how James Wolpert sounded because he looks like he should be the frontman of a Weezer cover band but he can definitely sing a lot better than Rivers Cuomo. And Jacquie… well now I get why so many call her the best teen vocalist to come on this show.

 

Sidenote, I forgot how good Amber vs Timyra was, holy s***. That’s probably the best non-steal battle I’ve ever seen.

 

Other insane performances I was extremely happy to watch again: “You Oughta Know”, “Stompa”, “The Way I Am”, “Cosmic Love”

[Dai]

15 minutes ago, FloorWax said:

 

 

The nice comments:

 

Of the performances I hadn’t seen yet, I was blown away by “Let Her Go”, “When I Was Your Man”, “A Case Of You”, and “I Put A Spell On You”

 

And Jacquie… well now I get why so many call her the best teen vocalist to come on this show.

I had a feeling you wouldn’t like Jacquie at all  Guess I was wrong

 

Some other great performances that VV didn’t mention:

 

Jacquie - Love is Blindness

Will - At Last

Kate Robichaud - Sail

Matthew - Wrecking Ball (I like this even more than Christina’s cover)

Edited March 31, 2023 by Daillon

[Cookie73]

15 minutes ago, FloorWax said:

 

 

 

Sidenote, I forgot how good Amber vs Timyra was, holy s***. That’s probably the best non-steal battle I’ve ever seen.

 

Other insane performances I was extremely happy to watch again: “You Oughta Know”, “Stompa”, “The Way I Am”, “Cosmic Love”

Yeah, one of my few complaints about S5 is that some of the battle steals were misused that season (Ex: Nic Hawk, who went on to give one of the most infamous playoff performances of all time. I really have a distaste for Nic(k) H’s on the show. Week 1 had quite a few I would switch though).

 

[Cookie73]

7 minutes ago, Daillon said:

I had a feeling you wouldn’t like Jacquie at all  Guess I was wrong

 

Some other great performances that VV didn’t mention:

 

Jacquie - Love is Blindness

Will - At Last

Kate Robichaud - Sail

Matthew - Wrecking Ball (I like this even more than Christina’s cover)

Caroline Pennell- The Way I Am (not sure if you will like this one tho)

Sail is definitely one of the best performances to land a contestant in the Bottom. She deserved to win the first Instant Save in the show’s history, and there were actually no performances that season. Fun fact, Carson actually said the name of the last place votegetter before revealing that Kat won the save. S5 Top 12 was honestly one of the best Live Show episodes ever though

Edited March 31, 2023 by Cookie73

[Hsamid]

20 minutes ago, FloorWax said:

 

The not as nice comments:

 

I’ll be honest I didn’t really like that Holly Henry performance . I feel like the vocal style she was doing has aged so poorly, no one does that anymore.

 

7 minutes ago, Daillon said:

 

Matthew - Wrecking Ball (I like this even more than Christina’s cover)

No shade but these are more unpopular than the thoughts you guys typically share in the unpopular opinions thread..

Edited March 31, 2023 by Hsamid

[FloorWax]

12 minutes ago, Daillon said:

I had a feeling you wouldn’t like Jacquie at all  Guess I was wrong

 

Didn’t expect it myself honestly but its just so fun watching this tiny girl stomp around the stage nailing impossibly huge notes like they’re nothing. Some of her belts can get a little shriek-y but I honestly didn’t really mind.

 

I’ll make sure to watch those other performances you mentioned!

Edited March 31, 2023 by FloorWax

[Hamza Tufail]

21 minutes ago, Daillon said:

I had a feeling you wouldn’t like Jacquie at all  Guess I was wrong

 

Some other great performances that VV didn’t mention:

 

Jacquie - Love is Blindness

Will - At Last

Kate Robichaud - Sail

Matthew - Wrecking Ball (I like this even more than Christina’s cover)

At Last was insane.

[VintageVoice]

3 hours ago, FloorWax said:

 

The not as nice comments:

 

I’ll be honest I didn’t really like that Holly Henry performance . I feel like the vocal style she was doing has aged so poorly, no one does that anymore.

 

The nice comments:

 

Of the performances I hadn’t seen yet, I was blown away by “Let Her Go”, “When I Was Your Man”, “A Case Of You”, and “I Put A Spell On You”

 

Cole Vosbury and Will Champlin have such inviting tones and delivered their songs with great emotion. I was frankly shocked at how James Wolpert sounded because he looks like he should be the frontman of a Weezer cover band but he can definitely sing a lot better than Rivers Cuomo. And Jacquie… well now I get why so many call her the best teen vocalist to come on this show.

 

Sidenote, I forgot how good Amber vs Timyra was, holy s***. That’s probably the best non-steal battle I’ve ever seen.

 

Other insane performances I was extremely happy to watch again: “You Oughta Know”, “Stompa”, “The Way I Am”, “Cosmic Love”

• Holly’s blind is in the weird spot of “am I still into this because the styling reminds me of what I listened to as a teenager or is it legitimately good” but given it’s one of the easier performances to find online from the season, I felt like I needed to include it.
• Cole’s tone may or may not have started my obsession with his type of vocalist on the show (and his eclectic taste in songs selected throughout the earlier rounds of the season cement him as a favorite).
• Will’s also one of my favorites vocal-wise from the season, but his post-show behaviors have ended up removing him from my list of “all timers” (which sucks because he has a post-show cover of Ed Sheeran’s Castle on the Hill that is one of only two covers of that song I’ve actually liked).
• James looking like a Weezer cover band frontman is hilariously accurate (and the A Case of You cover is still in my rotation to this day, it might even outrank Matthew’s Hallelujah cover as my favorite live performance from the season)
• Jacquie’s performances are less polarizing now than she apparently was at the time the season aired, but she’s grown on me a lot since I first listened to her run on the show.
• Amber vs. Timyra should’ve ended with a double-steal at minimum, but instead we got…(checks notes) Nic Hawk and Briana Cuoco. I don’t know that both would’ve made the lives, but Timyra 100% deserved to make the KOs.

Seconding @Daillon’s recommendations for Sail and At Last, but I didn’t want my initial list to be too repetitive in terms of names repeating so I left those both off.

[nytsch]

6 hours ago, Hsamid said:

 

No shade but these are more unpopular than the thoughts you guys typically share in the unpopular opinions thread..

I like Matthew’s more than Christina’s easily 

 

Christina is obviously talented (RIP) but her performances were often shrill for me.

 

Also to second some thoughts here, I wasn’t the hugest fan of Will (questionable current views notwithstanding) but At Last was really amazing.

[FloorWax]

Okay but why did no one tell me about Jacquie’s “And I Am Telling You” Girl smashed it.

 

p.s: the Tessanne review is written 

Edited April 1, 2023 by FloorWax

[nytsch]

20 minutes ago, FloorWax said:

Okay but why did no one tell me about Jacquie’s “And I Am Telling You” Girl smashed it.

 

p.s: the Tessanne review is written 

 

Got overshadowed by Tess' I Have Nothing I think, but that was still a hell of a performance. Probably in my top 3 from her with IPASOY and Who's Lovin You.

[allistr]

34 minutes ago, FloorWax said:

Okay but why did no one tell me about Jacquie’s “And I Am Telling You” Girl smashed it.

 

p.s: the Tessanne review is written 

One of my all-time favorite vocally challenging performances in The Voice. Even her coach Xtina had to stand up in shock.

Edited April 1, 2023 by allistr

[FloorWax]

 

 

Season 5: Tessanne Chin

Coach: Adam Levine

Auditions: Try by Pink
First off, I want to say that “Try” is one of those songs that no matter how many times it’s been covered in shows like The Voice, I still find myself enjoying it every single time. As for how Tessanne did with it, well… it’s not like I was expecting this to be anything other than excellent . And of course, it was. I notice that while she’s clearly a pop singer, she has that rocker edge to her voice that makes me think she could sing anything, like Kelly Clarkson. I also watched the coach comments and wow, she seems like such a sweet and genuine person. And I hadn’t heard her speaking voice so I didn’t know she had an accent!

Battles: Next to Me by Emeli Sande
Oh this was INSANE. I get that Donna oversang in parts but she really should have gotten a steal after that. Tess, on the other hand, bodied every single one of her parts. I think I’ve actually seen this performance before but it was nice to revisit it!

Knockouts: Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) by Kelly Clarkson
Now, this song choice would probably be a bus to most pop contestants that come on this show. Electronic verses… fast lyrics… huge chorus… but Tessanne made it seem like nothing. It’s like she was saying “Oh you think this song is big? Here, I’ll make it even bigger!” It is insane how effortless she is belting out notes like that, and she does so with passion, not just precision. I didn’t watch her KO partner but apparently she sang “Hey, Soul Sister” lmao. Poor girl.

Playoffs: Many Rivers to Cross by Jimmy Cliff
After doing upbeat for the entirety of the pre-lives, this was an excellent time for Tessanne to go for an emotional ballad and showcase some vulnerability. Again, she absolutely slaughtered it. One thing I’ve come to notice is that her high notes aren’t too “piercing” to my ears and never sound strained or unpleasant. So far, this has been a flawless run of performances for her.

Top 12: My Kind of Love by Emeli Sande
Okay, while this is probably her “weakest” vocal so far in the competition, it is quite a testament to Tessanne’s ability that a performance like this is considered one of her weaker ones. She still very much killed it and fought nail and tooth against the bandzilla and performed like a bona fide rock star.

Top 10: If I Were Your Woman by Gladys Knight & The Pips
Wow, that stripped down intro is possibly the most beautifully she’s sung so far in the competition. Then, she proceeded to just power through the rest of the song like always. I didn’t think I could like anyone more than Vanessa Ferguson on this song, but Tess for sure gave her a run for her money. And that ending???? Holy smokes.

Top 8: Underneath It All by No Doubt
YES. YES! Oh, I was smiling ear to ear during this one. It was so wonderful to hear a different side of her as well as sing a genre close to her roots. She imbued that performance with so much of her own personality and you can tell she was having a great time. The rhythmic section she did was amazing and the call-and-response at the end, just joyful. Not gonna lie, this is probably my favorite one so far, just felt like a moment through and through.

Top 6: Redemption Song by Bob Marley & The Wailers
Wait, why did I actually tear up… that never happens. This performance was so emotional and once again, it felt like she was showing us yet another new side of her: the storyteller side. She delivered this song so believably and I was holding on to every word that came out of her mouth. I don’t really have much more to say, this was just astonishingly beautiful and I didn’t expect it to hit me so hard in the feels.

Top 6: Unconditionally by Katy Perry
I hadn’t realized that Tessanne hasn’t actually covered a modern pop song in quite a few rounds now, so its a bit refreshing to see her go back to that. This song almost felt like it was too easy for her, and it certainly didn’t have the impact of the other cover she did that week, but still a very solid showing nonetheless.

Semifinals: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel
I don’t what it was about this performance, but when coaches say they felt like they were at an awards show, this is what I picture. Tessanne looked like she was a celebrity guest invited there to sing rather than compete. This seems to be one of her most popular performances but while I understand the hype, I will say I’m not as moved by her here as I was for the past three rounds. But then, that’s just me being nitpicky, and nothing I say can take away the fact that she delivered a flawless vocal.

Finals: Let It Be by The Beatles
I didn’t know what to expect from this because I don’t really view Adam as a strong singer, but WOW this actually blended very well. Their voices complemented each other way better than I expected. The switch to reggae in the middle was unexpected but actually pretty cool. This is probably one of the best winner’s coach duets I’ve ever seen tbh.

Finals: Try by Pink
As much as I’ve disparaged the previous two repeat songs, I actually thought it was a nice choice to have her sing one of the songs from the pre-lives when performances were shorter. It still wound up being the least essential performance in her run, but I’ll take what I can get.

Finals: I Have Nothing by Whitney Houston
When I first saw the song choice, I was thinking that Adam chose it almost as a victory lap for Tessanne, but girl definitely didn’t treat it such. For her final competitive performance on the show, Tessanne was still giving it her 100%. I always roll my eyes whenever someone covers this song on a singing show, but Tessanne was just so powerful, so controlled, and so passionate that I couldn’t bring myself to do so. Now THAT is how a winner ends their run.
 

 

 

Overall:
I'll be honest, since I started this ranking, there was no other winner's journey I was more excited to watch than Tessanne's. I had very high expectations for her, which unsurprisingly, she easily surpassed and then some. This woman showed that she could work a stage, tell a story, belt like there's no tomorrow, all while switching between upbeat, ballads, and everything in between. She always kept showing new sides of herself and not once did I ever feel like she hit a plateau with her performances as a result. I also admire the passion she brought to every performance, as that is something I feel like is sometimes lost with the very technically gifted singers. That was never a problem with Tessanne.

I specifically want to highlight the performances where she got to show her reggae side, as that gave me a greater appreciation of her artistry. She’s just unbelievably versatile and as I said about her KO, a lot of the songs she shined on would probably be busses for most other contestants. I know I just said that Danielle was one of the most consistent winners, but imo, Tessanne’s run is probably as close as you can get to flawless.

Top 3 Performances:
1. Redemption Song
2. Underneath It All
3. Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)

 

 

Winners' Ranking (so far):

1. Tessanne Chin

2. Danielle Bradbery

3. Cassadee Pope

4. Javier Colon

5. Jermaine Paul

6. ???

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by FloorWax

[AngelaKD]

What Republic Records did to Tessanne was a crime! She could have literally sold an album to every person in Jamaica, never mind, do well here in the US, and they completely screwed up her album release.

 

That was the signal that they had given up on promoting the Voice winners.