Do fights over country singers help or hurt ‘Voice’ auditions?
The Washington Post
It’s a common theme on “The Voice”: During audition episodes, country singers flock to Blake Shelton’s team, and all of his fellow celebrity coaches are jealous. After all, Nashville artists traditionally do very well on reality singing competitions.
“I want a country artist like a fat kid wants cake, y’all,” Kelly Clarkson said sadly on Monday night, after a talented teenage yodel enthusiast chose Mr. 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 Ms. Clarkson steal some aspiring Nashville singers. Like last season, it turned into a battle between Mr. Shelton and Ms. Clarkson as both attempted to persuade country singers 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 he technically the best choice for a singer whose dream is to pursue country music? When contestants are pressured to choose Ms. Clarkson, as the other judges have formed an anti-Shelton alliance, does that hurt their future career possibilities?
After all, Mr. Shelton has spent two decades embedded in country music, and Nashville is a tight-knit place where connections are everything.
Most important for “Voice” contestants, he often knows the right angle to appeal to their country sensibilities. On Monday, he and Ms. Clarkson both spun their chairs around for Dave Fenley, who belted out Travis Tritt’s “Help Me Hold On.” While Ms. Clarkson tried to lure Mr. Fenley by saying Mr. Tritt was a soulful singer who crossed genre lines, implying that he could do the same, Mr. Shelton zeroed in on the pure country argument.
Mr. Fenley chose Mr. Shelton. So did Rachel Messer, the 19-year-old yodeler. “You’re the kind of artist that excites me because you honor the history of country music before you take a step forward with it,” he said.
That didn’t stop Ms. Clarkson, a Texas native and Nashville resident who has repeatedly tried to prove she’s well-versed in the country world. This is very much true, though Ms. Clarkson has spent most of her time in pop, despite releasing a couple of country songs. But her lack of country dominance could actually be a help to the contestants: Team Blake is going to be stacked with country singers, and those who join her could stand out.
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.