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Jordan Smith Wins ‘The Voice’ During Season Where Show Jumped The Shark [Opinion]

By Toni Matthews
Published on: 03:46 PST, Dec 17, 2015

Jordan Smith became the ninth person to win The Voice since the series began airing in 2011. The 22-year-old Kentucky native was practically a shoe-in for victory after surprising the Voice judges and America alike during a truly “blind” audition where he sang “Chandelier” by Sia.

It’s something akin to what was seen earlier this year with Sawyer Fredericks during The Voice Season 8. However, unlike Pharrell William’s teenage winner, Jordan Smith is a far less controversial victor. His voice is unarguably astounding, worthy of featuring on pop radio stations across the nation. Meanwhile, Sawyer Fredericks is more of a folksy, “throwback”-type artist and not everyone’s cup of tea in a post-Lady Gaga and Katy Perry world.

A year that produced highly marketable singers in Jordan and Sawyer finds The Voice at a crossroads. These seasons are very much connected in ways the average Voice viewer might not even realize. Together, Seasons 8 and 9 are ultimately are a two-part saga, signifying the peak of The Voice. What follows could be breakout stars who finally validate the Voice. The alternate outcome (and one I’m betting on) is The Voice will slowly begin its decline.

Unlike American Idol, which started a decline following a similar window of time, the danger is that the Voice will be left with nothing to show for all its self-congratulation.

The series that pitched itself as finding unique voices in music by judging how they sound rather than how singers look has somehow managed to strike gold this year with both Jordan Smith and Sawyer Fredericks. These deserving talents threaten to expose something about the series that many have let slide — perhaps until now.

For all the fireworks and confetti, The Voice is ultimately a sham. It’s a two-hour long commercial masquerading as a singing competition. There is a singing contract on the line, however, with the exception of the series’ country music artists (who are so fortunate as to be under the care of a well-connected Blake Shelton), it’s proven to be a hollow prize.

To figure out just how full of crap The Voice ultimately is, you need only look at the series that NBC took its premise from: The Voice of Holland. The Voice of Holland has itself run for six seasons from 2011 to 2015.

The very first season of the Holland version of The Voice produced a chart-topping winner in Ben Saunders. The show also had a hit artist in Leona Philippo.

The Holland series seemed to have more genuinely focused on the music and talents involved than the judges (who were switched out almost regularly). It certainly doesn’t seem to hold a reputation for cringe-worthy product placement. I also didn’t find anything about The Voice of Holland bringing back one of its best singers to sell clothes for one of its sponsors.

Ultimately, the comparison between the original Voice and the Americanized spin-off demonstrates the blatant lack of priority given to any contestant connected to the series. The Voice borrowed heavily from the concept of The Voice of Holland, but it openly exists to better the careers of everyone attached to the show except for the people who auditioned.

Now, with Jordan Smith, perhaps the most gifted and emotive singer to ever feature on the show, a bright light is shining on the credibility of The Voice. There is no excuse, absolutely no excuse for The Voice producers, judges, and everyone praising the “specialness” of The Voice to the rafters to fail to do everything in their power to make this gifted young man happen.

With his voice and proven ability to connect with people from all walks of life, Jordan should be the very best thing to happen to The Voice. Even so, it’s already assumed that he’s going to be discarded and forgotten like every other winner. I don’t want to hear about how Voice fans still remember winners. That would be like crediting an American Idol fan for being able to tell you who won seasons nine through twelve.

The point is that barely one day after Smith’s win, people are shaking their heads and dismissing him, saying we’ll likely never hear about him ever again. That’s the reputation The Voice has cultivated: Great singers, but who the hell will care about them in six months?

Signs The Voice fully plans to throw Jordan Smith under the bus with the rest of the series’ squandered talent were there all season. Note the lack of an original song or music video for finalists. Instead of performing an original song, Smith celebrated his win with a cover of “Climb Every Mountain.” However happy I may be for Jordan Smith, I cannot overlook the fact that when one thinks of a mountain climb, the goal is to reach a mountain’s peak.

Did this moment represent The Voice celebrating the peak of its success? Yes, in my opinion.

This season saw the producers haphazardly change the methods in which people were eliminated or returned to the show; it also felt as if this season was practically rushed once the series went live. You could almost hear producers hurling ideas at the wall to see what would stick. That’s significant behavior because you only do that sort of thing if you’re desperate to shake off an impending ratings slump.

The Voice finale’s major ratings draws were top recording artists — none of whom could be bothered to perform duets with the finalists. That they even had to ask a former coach (Usher) to come back to sing with the best singer in the show’s history can be construed as a death knell. Having followed American Idol during its first five and most successful seasons, I know a reality TV singing show death knell when I hear it. American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe reportedly admitted that it was Season 6 where American Idol “went off the rails.”

At least by that time, American Idol had launched multiple platinum-selling recording artists and helped dozens of people sign to major labels. Even if when Idol ends its run after an utterly shambolic decline, no one can take those first five seasons away from it.

Jordan Smith and Season 9 represent an opportunity for The Voice to actually legitimize itself. To prove that it isn’t all product placement and promotion of already famous recording artists. If The Voice squanders Jordan Smith’s talent, it will sell down the river any remaining hope of ever being taken seriously.

Do you think The Voice will do right by Jordan Smith? Why hasn’t The Voice ever produced a globally known singing sensation? Share your thoughts below!

[Image via The Voice/Official YouTube Channel]

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