<p>If I was required to wager on who will have a national career after The Voice, I’d pick Danielle. Possibly Michelle (which would be great).</p>
<p>Oops! Sorry Swon’s…</p>
<p>Ok, single - as in, not a duet - guys.</p>
<p>This might be the year of the country! It would be nice for Blake to three-peat, and he seems to have the best chance with his young star. With the exception of letting a gospel song through, he is the coach who screws the least with his singers, and screws them up the least with poor song choices. </p>
<p>This is the time when the singers fade fast as they show their limitations. It would be nice for the judge to stop being so … darn nice, and stop throwing compliments like candy on Halloween. Not every song or performance has been great; far from it. </p>
<p>Michele is last year’s Nicholas. Quirky and all, but not quite as talented or versatile. I do not share the view that she is the best singer in the competition. It always sounds like her mike is not functioning as it should. Since that is not the case, she simply does not have a strong voice, and she can’t sing and move at the same time. Her kneel-down move is bizarre. She might last a couple of weeks but, IMHO, has as much chance of winning than the Hobbit did last year. </p>
<p>For the rest, I hope that Sarah changes her mind about emulating those hard-screaming-hard rockers, and looks at the UK for inspiration. Her last performance was awful.</p>
<p>07dad, I agree with you that this season’s winner could be Danielle although, honestly, I don’t care for her. I think she’s way too bland although that’s what I thought about Cassadee Pope too. I don’t think Michelle is versatile enough. I like Sarah although her song choices have been inconsistent. I agree that Judith, while talented, oversings.</p>
<p>I would buy Michelle’s records right now.</p>
<p>I have absolutely no desire to see Blake achieve a hat trick with another middle of the road country/pop type. Usher is the best coach with the best singer and I want to see them win.</p>
<p>Personally, I’m thinking it won’t be an all-girl final. I’m not sure fans of the show (many of whom are the same fans of AI) want a repeat of American Idol. If only it weren’t for Colton Swon (the weaker link, if Colton is in fact the skinnier, cleaner shaven one?) because Zach is crazy-good. I think they are gaining some momentum and I’m starting to really enjoy their performances the last couple of weeks. As others have alluded to, Holly’s time may be up next. I like Michelle best when she moves less. I’m tiring of her “squat move”. Would like to see Sasha stay in her “glam mode”. Thought her styling was off the mark this week, as well as her song choice. I agree that Danielle may be the eventual winner but only if she avoids mediocre performances like she had this week.</p>
<p>well if you want a particular artist to win The Voice you need to actually buy their song NOW on itunes.</p>
<p>xiggi-- google Janis Joplin Codine and listin on youtube (try to filter out the music that was added after her death). Sarah can deliver what some people (us oldsters??) recall with youthful abandon</p>
<p>I can imagine her doing Steppenwolf’s The Pusher except for the censors</p>
<p>I usually favor guy singers - just the way it is with me I guess. But I DON’T like the Swons!!!</p>
<p>I think Michelle did a great job with the Pink song. I love Pink’s voice - she has a lot of control that she exercises. Michelle seems to have great control too.</p>
<p>Danielle will have a career whether she wins or not. Blake has already said that she is “his retirement” and I think he meant it.
I’d love to see Michelle win. I agree that she may not have the strongest natural voice, but I also doubt she has had any training and could probably develop a lot. What she does have, that you can’t teach, is originality and artistry.
Sarah has the most versatile voice. She could go any way she wants to go, and also has a lot of room to grow. I am liking Judith more than I did in the past, but she feels almost too polished to be interesting.<br>
I’m enjoying the Swon brothers, too. They are very easy to listen to. Love their relaxed attitude and sense of humor. They seem to really have their feet on the ground and are enjoying the ride.
Holly, Amber and Sasha are excellent singers, but they don’t have anything going on to distinguish themselves.</p>
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<p>Sort of Leann Rimes at 16 at the 1999 Billboard Awards except Leann had a lot of professional training by then.</p>
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<p>Haha, is it time for a friendly bet? I think that Usher has been very likeable and determined to fit it in this new group. He is an improvement over Christina. However, being likeable does not make him a great coach nor a good “picker” on THIS show. Take a good look at his picks and saves. And then take a look at where he is now: 1 competitor. </p>
<p>It is entirely possible that Michele will do well, but I seriously doubt it. She does not have the style of this show. She is not a powerful singer, moves awkwardly, and does not have the “look.” It is important to remember where the votes come from on this show! </p>
<p>I would be not be surprised if she gets sent home next week, and the only reason she would survive is that people <em>and the producer</em> would rather see Usher stick around for a while to justify his fees. </p>
<p>In the meantime, the scores are telling. Both past winning judges have three singers left, and that is because they have learned how to pick correctly in the first days of the show. </p>
<p>It will be very hard to beat Blake this year. He can count on an army of fans to support CW singers. Happened last year and happened with Tate on X-factor. </p>
<p>I might have been wrong about this show wanting their own Adele. Unless they help her pick decent songs until the end and not stuff like Mama knows best. :)</p>
<p>I thought Miranda Lambert was Blake’s retirement???:)</p>
<p>Speaking of Miranda Lambert, I thought she and Blake did a lousy job with their song.</p>
<p>Xiggi, although your points are well-taken in the context of winning this show, “best” to me does not mean “best at picking people CW fans will vote for.” 
(Although I do in fact like country music and bluegrass and so on.)</p>
<p>Cassadee Pope is not my idea of “the best.”</p>
<p>BTW, I think that Adam has a history of picking bad, un-tuneful songs over the last few seasons. Blake seems to be going in the direction of more and more familiar and accessible, which is probably a good strategy when Adam and Shakira have a stable of self-destructing, scenery-chewing divas. Usher, on the other hand, has a singer who knows how to put a song across to an audience and has originality and artistry, as well as a voice with a lovely timbre that she uses well. And her pitch is always great. She never sounds strained. I agree that she does not have the conventionally pretty look, but she has her own quirky charm, and a lot of style.</p>
<p>So, does it count if one buys songs on iTunes now, or does one have to wait for a “voting period”?</p>
<p>Hey, I called Cassadee Pope a glorified cruise ship singer. I was rooting for Nicholas last year. On that other show (X) I was also rooting for the guy who got beat by Melanie Something. Perhaps, based on my record, you will come to enjoy that I declared Michele an impossible winner. But then, I thought Tate would win. </p>
<p>As far as Blake, it is hard to fault him for picking the singers who offer a style he likes. And thinks he can help progressing in the show. He helped Pope bridge CW and something different, but did not turn his back on the last century hobbit revivalist. </p>
<p>We’ll see how it turns out.</p>
<p>LOL, xiggi. I recalled your excellent description of Cassadee. I actually don’t think that Michelle is likely to win. I just WANT her to, as last season I wanted Nicholas to win. I was actually astonished that he got as far as he did, given that the result is based on public voting. I’m just being stubborn. :D</p>
<p>Mostly, I just want to see people like Nicholas, Melanie (last season), Cody, and Michelle have careers as a result of the exposure.</p>
<p>I thought I heard Carson say that all purchases of songs on itunes “now through the end to the competition” count.</p>
<p>I think that the show wants a winner that translates that win into a BIG career to validate the show.</p>
<p>At the moment Danielle and Holly have charted in the Top 100 on Itunes. Danielle is also #8 on the country charts (and still #44 from last week) while Holly is #20 and The Swon Brothers are #38. I would think that would keep them safe this week.</p>
<p>Chamuel is still painful to watch, but her performance was much better than in previous weeks. No doubt she will go though with the very best performer Danielle. Adam seems to have a death wish this year. He could not do more to sabotage his singers with strange choices. He must think he is on X-Factor.</p>
<p>Doesn’t he realize that the show will not allow either Shakira or Usher to go home. With Danielle and the Okie Boys shoo-in, he is in danger to lose at least one. If not two, like he should.</p>
<p>I’m a bit surprised at the result.</p>