Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Voice Top 4, Chloe Kohanski, Addison Agen, Brooke Simpson and Red Marlow (NBC Photo)

So it’s time to analyze the finale and suggest some changes The Voice needs to make.

1. The show needs to do a much better job of time management during the finale.

After all the insipid questions Carson Daly forces contestants to answer on results night, the one time we’d like to hear from a contestant — after his or her victory — we get NOTHING.

How about giving Chloe a minute to thank her fans? To comment on what it feels like to win? To sing part of a victory song?

Fans have followed the show for months. They’ve downloaded songs and voted like crazy to make a contestant the winner. Shouldn’t they get a couple of minutes to savor the victory.

And I’d note that time management should not be difficult with so many of the performances pre-taped. And if more time is needed, we could simply nix a performance by Charlie Puth or Demi Lovato or someone else who has nothing to do with the show.

2. The show also needs to nix this notion of sending the winner to Vegas. As in right now.

No sooner had Chloe been announced the winner last night than Carson Daly was shouting “she’ll be joining The Voice: Neon Dreams in Vegas this spring! Be sure and check her out!”

Really? I mean, really? You’ve got an wonderfully marketable winner of The Voice. A winner unlike anyone who’s won the show. A winner who’s only 23 years old. Shouldn’t the first priority be to get her into a recording studio, make a great record, then promote the crap out of it.

I mean, given Republic Records’ track record, that’s going to be a pretty daunting challenge. But nooooo! The Voice is going to whisk Chloe off to Nevada to sing covers in a Vegas show. Sounds like a poorly thought-out plan to me.

3. Speaking of which, Addison Agen might have won by not winning Tuesday night.

First, The Voice won’t be shipping the 16-year-old singer-songwriter off to Vegas to perform in that aforementioned show, which is the only idea sillier than shipping off Chloe.

Second, she might escape a deal with Republic, which has developed a piss poor track record for respecting the artistry of Voice contestants.

Sawyer Fredericks just went on record with how displeased he was to have his creativity and vision for his post-show debut album stifled. So dissatisfied that he decided to release his next album independently.

Please, whoever winds up working with Addison, help her find a producer who will provide guidance rather than exercise control over her creativity. She and producer Jason Davis worked magic on her debut album. Perhaps he can be involved somehow.

4. After a Season 12 in which the show’s outcome defied logic to anyone watching iTunes, Season 13 marked a return to the norm where the results pretty much perfectly mirrored how the artists where doing on the charts.

Which does nothing to dispel my long-held notion that there was some funny business involved in the Season 12 results.

5. He’s far too much of a gentleman to complain, but if anyone among the finalists had reason to point to a performance order disadvantage during the live shows, it would be Red Marlow.

He’s the only member of the Top 4 who didn’t get to close a show. And check out his performance order history: Playoffs (1st out of 6), Top 12 (2nd out of 12), Top 11 (2nd out of 12), Top 10 (9th out of 10), Top 8 (4th and 7th out of 12), Top 4 (3rd, 7th, 9th out of 12).

Remember, this is a show where performing late is great and performing last is better. On Top 8 night, five of the seven other contestants performed after Red. On Monday night, every other finalist got to perform after Red. Almost makes you think the powers that be didn’t really want another country champ.

6. Where was the big celebration? I mean, for several moments Tuesday night, Chloe Kohanski looked downright lonely on stage.

The Voice is reportedly paying Blake Shelton and Adam Levine something around $13 million per season to coach The Voice. Note: That’s per season, not per year.

I’m thinking the show should be able to scrape up a few thousand dollars to bring back all of the Top 20 or Top 24 for the finale. I always enjoyed the bring-back performances by the Top 4, where they brought back their best buddies from the show for a final performance together. And I used to love it when all of the American Idol finalists swarmed the stage to congratulate the winner at the end.

I don’t know how many contestants were on hand Tuesday night. But I know many of the duets were pre-taped. And I know it was no where close to the Top 24. The current format smacks of cheapness. And seems far less celebratory. And the finale should be all about the contestants — as many as feasible — celebrating the season just completed.

Coming soon …
Voice Views highlights the best post-show music of 2017