The Business of Singing.

Cassadee Pope won The Voice. No big shocker there. The fact that she trended on Twitter, iTunes and YouTube after Amanda Brown and Melanie Martinez were prematurely ousted was a clear indication. She's talented, pretty and edgy. And very mainstream. The popular vote rarely, if ever, goes to Indy artists. Phillip Phillips was the exception on American Idol.

The big news was that Christina Aguilera will be replaced by Shakira and Cee Lo by Usher. It's a straight swap that could be refreshing on the judges panel. It will be fun to see what those to will add to the mix. Aguilera has not been particularly helpful this season with some of her commentary, clearly showing her partiality for some over others.

Tonight is the finale of X-Factor. I expect this youngin to win:

A solid contender from day 1, Carly Rose Sonenclar has been impressive since her first audition and hasn't disappointed since. Tate Stevens has been close on her heels. His performances have been sometimes very predictable; but he the most touching story which might influence the votes.The shocker was that 5th Harmony made it to the F3; but that probably was due to the fact that the judges were absolutely brutal to them.

Britney's reaction to them making F3 says it all...

5th Harmony edged out the judge and tween favorite, Emblem 3, who's puppy dog enthusiasm seemed to have them pegged for F3. It doesn't matter though, because it will no doubt not be the last we see of them. Cowell will more than likely be promoting and backing them.

A singer's success or failure really doesn't depend on the final results of a competition. Many who have not even made it to F3 have gone on to have successful and prolific careers. Fans can be fickle and trends change.

Stay tuned! :)

Sidetracked: Snarky Judges

I was going to write another post in my Barbie series, but that's going to have to wait until tomorrow. Something else popped up that burned my insides so here it is:

For the longest time, I've been planning on doing a comparison between X Factor and The Voice, outlining the reasons I like the latter more. The main reason is the judges. Talent comes and talent goes, but it's the way people are treated on these shows that's important.

In the past, I noticed that Adam Levine. Cee Lo Green, Blake Shelton and Christina Aguilera have consistently not only shown the contestants respect and affection but have given them constructive criticism unlike their counterparts on X Factor (with the exception of Britney Spears ). Reid, Cowell and Lovato have shown a gleeful cruelty towards many of the contestants (those NOT on their teams) throwing out comments ranging from the mild "boring" to "disastrous";having a go at each other when they're done annihilating the competitors.

Really? In what way are these comments even remotely constructive? Simple answer. They're not. It seems like these three use the contestants for their snark-filled amusement. Since snarky and cruel is the new witty, this might not bother many; but it pisses me off. In laymen's terms, they suck at judges.

However, the past couple of weeks while watching The Voice, I noticed that Christina Aguilera has jumped on the saccharine version of the Snark Train. For some reason, she has taken a dislike to Melanie Martinez, disrespecting the 17 year-old's performance by commenting first on the fact that Jerry Slaughter has been creating some pretty awesome sets for the young singer.

Slaughter has indeed been outdoing himself on Martinez' sets possibly because the quirky singer with the unique style has inspired him to accompany her performances with quirky sets. He is noticeably talented, but the show is called The Voice not The Set.

Following this, Aguilera then threw out some lukewarm commentary on the Melanie's performance, complete with a distasteful look on her face. She did that last week; and after doing so for the second time last night, Aguilera noted that Melanie wasn't even looking at her.  Seriously? She asked why? I'll tell her why. Because Melanie was clearly upset and devastated at this aggressive disrespect. It takes a lot of courage to undertake such a huge stage and television show. No one wants to stand in front of millions to be told that the set design is kickass and she should "appreciate it".

Not only has Aguilera blatantly belittled Melanie specifically, but has shown a distinct and unprofessional favoritism for Shelton's Pope and McDermott because her team was (WHAT?!?) demolished by the voting public. The top 6 are all uniquely talented with their own marketable skills that they bring to the table. At this point, it's even hard to choose a front-runner because they're all that good. Why even weigh in? Why decide to offer Trevin a spot on her tour yet babble on about set design with Melanie. It's downright schizophrenic. Boo Christina!

So what's sparked Aguilera's dislike for Melanie? I couldn't even speculate; and I really don't care; but it's left a sour taste in my mouth for a show that I have loved above all singing competition shows. Maybe I should build a set and get over it.

Judges Misbehaving

So the first X-Factor live performances aired, finally with the 16 paired down to 12. Before I get into the judges' decisions, there's a bigger issue at hand: the way Simon and L.A. used each other's acts to prove who has a bigger... knowledge of music.

After Simon trashed Jason Brock's first performance, L.A. decided to retaliate by annihilating 1432's performance. Simon was typically harsh on Jason but not undeservedly; Jason's rendition of Jennifer Lopez' "Dance Again" was painful to watch. Simon could have left it at that; but, being Simon, he went into humiliating detail from the song selection to what Jason was wearing. I have to give Jason props for enduring that brutality.

L.A. taking it personally no doubt, decided to return the favor by aiming a mirrored critique at 1432 who performed after Jason. My jaw dropped and their faces fell but they handled it well. It infuriated me to watch this childish and destructive behavior. These two need to seriously get a room. I'm not shocked however, because L.A. has been displaying a very unflattering diva attitude this season beginning with his tantrum at hearing he had the Over 25's.

Moving on to the judges' selections:

Demi Lovato eventually cut Willie Jones whose performances lacked the element of surprise he had when he first appeared on the show. The newly blonde, but still contrived CeCe Frey simply outsung him. Personally, I would have cut Paige Thomas whose Rhianna-like performance was elaborate but whose voice did not live up to the production. Of the three remaining, Jennel Garcia is clearly the best singer and the most believable performer. CeCe however, did an outstanding job with Irene Cara's "Out Here On My Own" from Fame (which L.A. didn't know... how could he know so little?)

Britney Spears had the most difficult choice to make as all four of her teens are outstanding singers; but choosing Arin Ray and Diamond White for the sing-off was puzzling. Beatrice Miller, though very talented, did not deliver the same performance caliber as these two; and Carly Rose Sonenclar, though easily the best singer in the whole competition, had to overcome a very awkward production that Britney put her in. Carly Rose is not, thankfully, the sex-pot Britney was. She doesn't need all these gimmicks or school uniforms to sell her talent. If Britney keeps this up, she might very well hurt Carly Rose's chances in this competition.

Be that as it may, I would have cut Beatrice over Diamond or Arin who not only can belt out a song but have stage presence by the bushels. Watch Diamond as she sings Elton John's "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word.

And Arin's rendition of Whitney Houston's "I Look To You"

I don't get it.

Simon Cowell's decision was a lot easier it seems. Lyric 145 and Emblem 3 both knocked the audience on its rear ends with their performances. Both these acts are good to go. No matter what happens in this competition, it will not be the last we hear from these two groups. Between Sister C and 1432 (whose name mercifully will be changing), the choice was easy. I'm convinced Simon would have saved Sister C but the crowd chanting 1432 changed his mind. With their performance of Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper", he would have been a fool not to.

L.A. Reid saved Vino Alan and Tate Stevens whose song choices and performances would have put them on the chopping block if this were a voting week, leaving David Correy and Jason Brock to sing for their lives. Jason edged David out which was surprising because David's singing is more compelling that Jason's to my ears. Then again, I'm not a producer. :)  Unfortunately, it makes no difference because, unless something changes, this team is doomed to be voted out the soonest.

Update: It seems that they figured out how they effed up and brought Diamond back. That's right! I called it!