‘The Voice’ auditions: Do the fights over country singers help or hurt contestants?
IT’S A common theme on “The Voice”: During the audition episodes, country singers flock to Blake Shelton’s team, and all of his fellow celebrity coaches are jealous. After all, Nashville artistes traditionally do very well on reality singing competitions.
“I want a country artiste like a fat kid wants cake, y’all,” Kelly Clarkson said sadly on Monday night, after a talented teenage yodel enthusiast chose Shelton as her coach. “I love country music. I’m so determined.”
“Everything that I have tried, I have failed,” Adam Levine told her. With encouragement from Jennifer Hudson, he agreed to help Clarkson steal some aspiring Nashville singers. Similar to last season, it turned into a battle between Shelton and Clarkson, as they both attempted to persuade country music stars to join their teams.
Granted, this is a TV show, so we take these “fights” with a grain of salt. Still, choosing the right team is critical for contestants — this show could change their lives. So although the Shelton- Clarkson war has become a running joke, isn’t Shelton technically the best choice for a singer whose dream is to pursue country music? When contestants are pressured to choose Clarkson, as the other judges have formed an antiShelton alliance, does that hurt their future career possibilities?
After all, Shelton has spent two decades embedded in country music, and Nashville is a tightknit place where connections are everything. It’s a genre that has a particular way of doing business; for example, radio tours are still a rite of passage, and we won’t even get into the complicated dynamics that determine which songs belong to which singers. Shelton, whose first hit debuted in 2001, has seen the industry change. He knows everyone. After 25 No. 1 singles, he understands what works.
Most important for “Voice” contestants, he often knows the right angle to appeal to their country sensibilities. On Monday, he and Clarkson both spun their chairs around for Dave Fenley, who belted out Travis Tritt’s “Help Me Hold On.” While Clarkson tried to lure Fenley by saying Tritt was a soulful singer who crossed genre
Choosing the right team is critical for contestants — this show could change their lives.
lines, implying that Fenley could do the same, Shelton zeroed in on the pure country argument.
“Anyone that crossed all genres, they stuck to what they did best and people found them,” Shelton said. “People came to Randy Travis. He didn’t want to have a song on the pop charts.”
“What’s wrong with that? Pop means popular,” Clarkson protested.
Alas, Fenley chose Shelton. So did Rachel Messer, the 19-yearold yodeler. Clarkson gushed about how much she loved her voice, yet Shelton won Messer over: “You’re the kind of artiste that excites me because you honour the history of country music before you take a step forward with it,” he said.
That didn’t stop Clarkson (a Texas native and Nashville resident), who has repeatedly tried to prove she’s well-versed in the country world. During last week’s premiere, she ticked off a list: She once sang a duet with Jason Aldean. She brought last year’s “Voice” finalist, Kaleb Lee, to the CMT Awards. She’s friends with Shane McAnally, one of Nashville’s songwriting kings, who is apparently writing songs for Lee.
“I’m just saying, I have connections, too,” Clarkson said, adding that her husband is Shelton’s manager.
This is very much true, though Clarkson has spent most of her time in pop, despite releasing a couple of country songs. But as Clarkson is busy name- dropping (“I don’t know if you’ve heard my new duet with Dan + Shay ...”), her lack of country dominance could actually be a huge help to the contestants: Shelton’s team is going to be stacked with country singers, and those who join her could stand out.
The contestants will have to eventually battle one another, and Clarkson will probably prioritise her country artistes, just to throw it in Shelton’s face. During Monday’s episode, she landed 16-year- old Chevel Shepherd by proving she already had a keen understanding of her style.
“With those breaks in your voice, they’re very Dolly ( Parton), but they’re also very Sarah McLachlan,” Clarkson said. “One main reason why I do want to work with you too, after turning around and watching, is I was just like you when I was young. And you are in your head a lot ... if you just don’t think about all those notes, it’ll happen.”
It was a much stronger appeal than Shelton, who simply reminded everyone he’s been on the show for 15 seasons. “I had to go with Kelly,” Shepherd confided. “I liked what she said.”
As the auditions roll on, country contestants will have to decide between Team Blake for the connections or Team Kelly for the attention. Each side has its advantages, and either one could backfire — it’s just the type of tension that “The Voice” producers love and that makes it inevitable that the country singer “battles” will continue.