Brynn Cartelli’s win could be a game-changer for ‘The Voice’
The Washington Post
Kelly Clarkson was a brandnew coach on “The Voice” this year, but that didn’t stop her from making a bold proclamation in the very first episode of the season in February, when she made a bid for contestant Brynn Cartelli.
“I can win with you,” Clarkson said to Cartelli, the teenage pop-soul phenom who stunned everyone in the blind audition by belting out Labrinth and Emeli Sandé’s “Beneath Your Beautiful.”
Clarkson proved prophetic: On Tuesday night, Cartelli, a high school freshman from Massachusetts, was crowned champion of “The Voice” Season 14, winning $100,000 and a recording contract with Universal Music Group. As the show’s youngest winner ever, she triumphed over country singer Spensha Baker, soul powerhouse Kyla Jade and folk rocker Britton Buchanan, who was the runner-up.
As the judges gushed repeatedly throughout the season, Cartelli’s voice is wildly impressive for a 15-year-old, not to mention her poise and confidence on stage. Clarkson dubbed her everything from “a unicorn” to “an anomaly,” while Alicia Keys said she has “a maturity that’s way beyond (her) years.” Yet during the two-night finale this week, it appears Cartelli could actually be a game-changer for the singing competition — because she has a real shot at becoming the show’s first mainstream star.
Before you roll your eyes, yes, we know — the same thing has been predicted about contestants in the past, and it hasn’t happened. For all the success of “The Voice,” still one of the country’s most-watched TV shows, the most common criticism is that it hasn’t produced an actual superstar.
Here’s why we think Cartelli could be different than past “Voice” winners: Her coronation song, “Walk My Way,” sounds like a track that could easily become a 2018 song of the summer contender, and it’s dropping at the perfect time. “Walk My Way” was written by Julia Michaels, Justin Tranter and Nick Monson. Michaels, who performed with Cartelli on the finale and was a “Voice” mentor this season, is one of pop music’s most prominent rising artists. Tranter is an extremely successful songwriter for acts from Britney Spears to Selena Gomez, and Monson is known for producing Lady Gaga. Those credentials alone give the song a boost, plus the fact it is unbelievably catchy.
After the finale, “Walk My Way” was at No. 1 on iTunes.