VIDEO: 'Reality Check' talks 'Voice' Triple Elimination Massacre, 'Idol' Dream Top 2
TVLine.com's Michael Slezak returns with American Idol Season 6 finalist Melinda Doolittle for an all-new Reality Check, dissecting the week in reality singing competitions!
This week, Michael and Melinda are joined by fellow American Idol Season 6 standouts Gina Glocksen and winner Jordin Sparks, as the group discusses the dream Top 2 for American Idol XIII. Could Jena Irene be the winner this franchise needs, or is this Alex Preston's competition to lose? Also, is Caleb Johnson still in this thing, or has he topped out? Also, which of the hosts has Caleb lost as a fan following his controversial AfterBuzz interview after last week's show? This week's episode also discusses the Triple Elimination "Chainsaw Massacre" on The Voice 2014. Michael and Melinda are positively incensed at the gall of The Voice team to eliminate three singers at Top 8 Week, and the result is perhaps the most frustrated the hosts have been this season. It's a terrific episode, and man, do I wish Jordin and Gina were a part of this show full-time. Check out the full video below via TVLine:
Credit: TVLine.com
THOUGHTS
The Triple Elimination on The Voice still confuses me, as I found myself agreeing with Michael and Melinda: are they trying to rush through the rest of this season? I mean, I know that isn't the case, since the finale date has been set for months. But of all the weeks to do a triple elimination, why Top 8? I don't necessarily think there was some kind of malevolent agenda behind it, but I just found it so unbelievably random. However, while I can't argue about the power of Sisaundra Lewis and her incredible voice, I'm not as broken up about her not making Top 5 as I would have been if you'd told when the season began that she would be gone by Top 5. You can call your singing show The Voice, you could call it The Singer, you could even call it This Show Is Really Just About Singing And Nothing Else You Guys, but (say it with me) no singing competition in the history of this hot, sexy universe has ever been just about who the best singer is.
Sisaundra may have been the best pure vocalist in The Voice lineup this year, but Blake saddled her with some extraordinarily tired song choices (and that's when she wasn't saddling herself with those same standards of yesteryear). I love a classic as much, if not more, than anybody. But her obstinacy to change doomed her. This isn't the first three seasons of American Idol, where you could sing a whole lot of Nothing Current and win the show. America wants to believe you're going to fit somewhere in the current music landscape before they give you their vote. That Sisaundra came in last in the voting was equal parts shocking, and not all that surprising, really. She's the old fashioned kind of singer who'd have slayed this competition if it were ten years ago, but I think diva fatigue might be setting in a bit. And while that's unfair, particularly when there are several styles of singer on The Voice who are far more played out and in need of Gettin' Gone than "R&B/Soul Diva," this isn't about crowning the best singer. Sometimes, that can end up being the end result, but the journey there will inevitably see tons of great singers going home before the less worthy. It's just the way singing competitions have always been, and how they will always be.
As for American Idol, Alex Preston has long been my favorite of the bunch, so I'm pulling for him to go all the way (even if my post-show power rankings don't always reflect how much I like him). But honestly? I have no problem with whatever the Top 2 ends up being, since I genuinely like all three of the remaining contestants as performers. It should be an interesting endgame, at least.
So what do you think of the views in this episode of Reality Check? Agree or disagree? Sound off in the comments!