‘The Voice’ Season 8: Which Artist Is Safe From Elimination According To iTunes?
Last night’s episode of The Voice was a bizarre affair, a departure from its tempo involving its top artists. In other words…pretty much everyone blew it. I had long given up on The Voice producing a star, but the hilariously cynical Entertainment Weekly recap of the show put the reason into words in a manner I’d never considered.
“Being an artist with a strong enough point of view to make an interesting record after the show doesn’t really matter when it comes to grabbing the Voice win. A large chunk of what matters in advancing are iTunes sales, and sometimes that just means singing a song that people will want to buy every week… and that had a pretty wide range of interpretations in tonight’s song choices.”
I think we’re forced to acknowledge just how shallow the talent pool is on The Voice this season, even if the judges are incapable of doing so.
Luckily for contestants, the Voice audience is willing to reach into their pockets and pull out a buck and some change for songs. Which Voice hopeful benefited the most from their generosity? As of now, Sawyer Fredericks.
Sawyer Continues to Shine on ‘The Voice’ http://t.co/N6BIcMFwwf via @bustle
— Linda Marcelo (@chngrl123) May 5, 2015
Sawyer, bless his farming heart, continues to be the only constant on this season. He never waivers from the artist he intends to be and no matter what song he or Pharrell chooses, the vocal performance is solid because it’s him. Some people consider Fredericks boring; I hope those people looked long and hard at the other Voice performances and saw what can go wrong if a person goes out of their way to “change it up”. (Hint: Everything!)
Sawyer’s songs are currently at No. 4 and No. 14 on iTunes, which should signal that he’s safe. I assume nothing at this stage of The Voice because the majority of the viewing audience votes by phone, not iTunes. iTunes sales strongly suggest he’s safe, but it’s best not to breathe a sigh of relief until his name is called by Carson Daly.
Grace isn’t the only amazing one… That @meghanlinsey is SLAYMAZING! #VoiceTop6
— The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) May 5, 2015
Out of all the contestants, I’d say that Sawyer Fredericks seems to be the closest to safe thanks to his performance on iTunes. Meghan Linsey broke the Top 10 on iTunes with “Amazing Grace”; since the Country/Christian audience loves gospel, this was a well-timed Voice performance. However, with so many artists failing to connect at the worst possible time, it’s clear that fans are scrambling to save their favorites.
This may not translate into iTunes sales; instead, many Voice fans rely on the phone to communicate their votes. That’s likely why Corey Kent White went home last week, despite performing so well on iTunes. The iTunes singles chart suggests who’s most likely to be safe, but nothing is certain until the live results show has ended.
With that in mind, Sawyer Fredericks is the closest contestant on The Voice to safe. Almost everyone else is in danger.
Do you agree? If not, who do you think is most likely safe from elimination?
[Image Credit: The Voice YouTube]
