Reality Check: 'Voice' Finale, Alex and Sierra's 'X Factor' Win, and the Unforgivable Demi Skit
Credit: TVLine
TVLine.com's Michael Slezak returns with American Idol Season 6 finalist Melinda Doolittle for an all-new episode of Reality Check, dissecting the week in reality singing competitions.
It's the season finale of Reality Check, and Michael and Melinda have a lot to discuss regarding the Season 5 finale of The Voice, including Tessanne Chin's incredible finale performances, and the song that needs to never be performed on any singing competition ever again. They also discuss Jacquie Lee's climactic rendition of "And I Am Telling You (I'm Not Going)," as well as Adam Levine controversially throwing Will Champlin under the bus. They also hit on the highlights of finale night, from "drunk at a wedding" Preston Pohl, to Celine Dion's scatting on her duet with Tessanne.
But there's just as much to talk about on X Factor USA. Michael and Melinda discuss whether Jeff Gutt actually outperformed Alex and Sierra on finale night, and whether Carlito Olivero took the most risks. But all roads inevitably lead back to the unforgivable comedy skit involving Demi Lovato and "Annoying Juice," which soured Michael and Melinda on the entire show. Do they really hope The X Factor USA is done for good? The season finale of Reality Check is an expanded episode, so check it out! You can watch the full video below via TVLine:
Thoughts
I agree with the distaste for what Adam did to Will on The Voice finale night. I just don't know when it's ever okay to throw your own act under the bus like that. Maybe from his standpoint, he thought he needed to back the person with the best shot of winning, for fear of splitting the vote. There are clearly people who only vote for an act because of who their coach is, so it wouldn't be that big of a stretch to believe that Adam thought he'd confuse those fans if he divided his loyalties between Will and Tessanne, as those fickle fans wouldn't know who Adam wanted them to vote for. But really, if you're only voting for someone because of who their coach is, then...I mean, I don't even know what to tell you. All I know is I'd rather stick behind both my acts 100% than throw one under the bus just to secure the win for the other. Adam might have meant well, but what he said to Will came off as incredibly disrespectful.
As for The X Factor USA, I'm not done with the show like Michael and Melinda are, but MAN, did that Demi skit make for some awkward-ass viewing. In fact, it was part of a fabric of terrible decision-making that happened on finale night. Kelly just got engaged? Let's make a video highlighting all the dudes she's flirted with over the season! Hired Paulina to appeal to Latino audiences? Why, let's make a video about how her accent is incomprehensible! Simon is an expectant father? Let's make a video about how much children hate him! Demi is a well-known, recovering alcoholic? Gee, I dunno what kind of video we could do. Maybe we can talk about how she's taking swigs of something from her cup that's making her act loopy? Sure, she'll totally take that like a good sport! No way she'll mouth an F-bomb on live TV!
I mean, it's bad enough for the show to constantly try and compare itself to The Voice (it often comes across as a show that's trying way too hard, screaming "LOVE ME! We're just like that NBC show! We're functionally equivalent!"), but it's another matter entirely when it fails to even have a modicum of the class its NBC rival has. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to detract from Alex and Sierra's huge win, and I completely agree that they were the deserving winners, even though Jeff Gutt was giving them a run for their money on finale night, and Carlito Olivero was actually taking risks while the others were playing it relatively safe. It made for a far more exciting cap to the season than The Voice finale, which was a bit of a snoozer even though the outcome was actually far more in doubt there than on The X Factor. All in all, I still hope The X Factor USA returns. It's been a study in bad decision-making, but The X Factor franchise is still my favorite talent show format on TV, so I hope it gets at least one more shot to make lemonade out of this sour, lemony enterprise.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with the Reality Check hosts? Sound off in the comments!