The Voice: Can We Just Boot Teams Christina and Blake? Here's The Rankings Rankings and Commentary by RTVC Senior Staff Writer Joseph Braverman
April 30, 2012
Tony Lucca – Team Adam Current Ranking: 1 Previous Ranking: 1
Tony’s first live round performance was both mediocre and forgettable. His quarterfinal performance was a whole other story entirely. I still cannot get over his unique rock reinterpretation of Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby One More Time.” Lucca may not be the most vocally gifted in the lineup, but he’s an artist who knows exactly how much creativity to infuse in order to break away from the pack. Just when I had all but ignored his talents, he blew me away with a risky and bold song choice that paid in dividends on result’s night. Lucca’s massive Twitter army is still the largest advantage this former Mouseketeer has going for him, but if he keeps up his upsurge in quality, I might not be complaining about a Tony Lucca win being a foregone conclusion.
Jamar Rogers -- Team Cee Lo Current Ranking: 2 Previous Ranking: 2
Jamar has passion in spades. The guy lives and breathes music, and he puts his entire soul into every single performance on stage. I actually loved the arrangement he produced on Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life.” By slowing down the tempo in the dramatic parts, he gave the song a more personal and intimate feel. Jamar is an amazing human being, who can perfectly balance vocals, feeling, and performance ability when tackling that stage. Jamar should be crowned the winner of this season if there is any justice in this world. He is just that talented.
Jermaine Paul – Team Blake Current Ranking: 3 Previous Ranking: 12
I finally noticed Jermaine two weeks ago when he sang “Against All Odds.” That song is notorious for being sung horrifically on Idol, and the fact that Jermaine made it sound as beautiful as when I first heard it sung by Phil Collins was already a plus in my book. Jermaine poured a great deal of emotion in his cover, and I feel like he is connecting well with audiences. I still wonder if Jermaine would have gotten this far without his connection to Alicia Keys. I have a feeling he probably would not have, just because the producers would not have selected him as a high profile contestant since his voice is somewhat generic. Jermaine just needs to keep connecting to America, and most importantly has to choose the right song for himself to take on. “Living on a Prayer” was horrible, and I seriously do not need a repeat of such an egregiously bad choice of song.
Chris Mann – Team Christina Current Ranking: 4 Previous Ranking:11
There is nothing special about Chris Mann other than his ability to sing opera. Woop-dee-doo! His Coldplay rendition was atrocious, and yet America still bought into his schmaltzy cover hook, line, and sinker. There is some definite gender bias happening this year, as all the men seem to be reaping America’s votes. Based on what happened last year, the semifinals that made it through by America’s votes also made it to the finale. I’m not going to be bet against history unless history disproves itself.
Juliet Simms – Team Cee Lo Current Ranking: 5 Previous Ranking: 5
If anyone is going to shockingly unseat one of America’s top vote-getters, it’ll be Juliet Simms. She actually has more Twitter followers than Jamar, and the two are virtually neck and neck when it comes to popularity. Either of them could make the finale because their performances have been met with such universal praise. Rocker girls tend to not make it over heartfelt male musicians, but I wouldn’t put it past America to shock us by siding with Juliet over Jamar.
Lindsey Pavao – Team Christina Current Ranking: 6 Previous Ranking: 3
At one point, I thought Lindsey was going to win the show. However, she was upstaged by a boring opera singer, who has yet to sing opera. While Lindsey’s voice is unique, and her song choices remain bizarrely refreshing, some internet fans have commented on her flippant attitude during a critique. That may draw away from viewers from voting for Lindsey, as Chris Mann just comes across more unassuming and friendly. Lindsey and Chris have about a 60/40 shot at making the finale, with the odds stacked more in Chris’s favor, but don’t discount Lindsey Pavao. Her performances are some of the most memorable of the season, and I wouldn’t put it past her to pull another trick up her sleeve that would shock and amaze us.
Erin Willett – Team Blake Current Ranking: 7 Previous Ranking: 4
Erin is still hanging on, but barely. She has a rangy voice that could sing the phone book. Unfortunately, she’s not very interesting or special – more boring, if you ask me. None of her performances have really grabbed me emotionally, so I’m a bit puzzled as to why she is still here. Erin’s best strength is her voice, which seems to be evolving for the better each and every week. Erin doesn’t have a big chance to make the finale over Jermaine, but I’ve seen more shocking things on The Voice this season.
Katrina Parker – Team Adam Current Ranking: 8 Previous Ranking: 10
Poor Katrina Parker! She’s become the Frenchie Davis of the season – a clearly talented vocalist who America never full gets behind. She’s now been saved twice by the judges, and is the only remaining contestant never to move on by the power of America’s votes alone. Unless Tony Lucca hits a Sanjaya level of low, there is no way Katrina Parker will make the finale over the Mouseketeer. Lucca has had a well established fan base since day one of The Voice, and Katrina has barely scraped by each week. I adore her voice, and I love her improvement, but even I cannot keep my hopes up for Katrina this time. She should be proud of making it this far, especially knowing that she’s impressed her coach so much along the way.
Jesse Campbell – Team Christina
Eliminated in Quarterfinals.
Matthai – Team Adam
Eliminated in Quarterfinals
RaeLynne – Team Blake
Eliminated in Quarterfinals
James Massone – Team Cee Lo
Eliminated in Quarterfinals
Pip – Team Adam
Eliminated in Quarterfinals
Jordis Unga – Team Blake
Eliminated in Quarterfinals
Ashley De La Rosa – Team Christina
Eliminated in Quarterfinals
Cheesa – Team Cee Lo
Eliminated in Quarterfinals
That is all for my Semifinals Rankings.. Feel free to shoot me an email at jbravj@gmail.com. Follow me as well on Twitter: @JBAwardsCircuit, and check out another site I now work for, www.awardscircuit.com. Post below your thoughts on comments!
Joseph Braverman is a 22 year old graduate with a Bachelors of Arts in Film and Digital Media from the University of Santa Cruz, California. Aside from being a Reality TV junky, he loves reading, watching films, and spending time with friends and family. You can contact him at jbravj@gmail.com or at Joseph@RealityTVCalendar.com.
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