SPOILER ALERT: STOP! Don’t read any further if you haven’t viewed the semifinal results show of “The Voice” 2015. OK, YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!
If I had hair, I’d be pulling it out, right about now. Amy Vachal’s gamble didn’t pay off. While all the other contestants went big, over the top or in a new direction, she stayed true to herself.
In the results of The Voice’s semifinals show on Tuesday (Dec. 8), the top three are deemed safe, the bottom three are quickly dispatched and the middle three have a sing-off. To everyone’s surprise, Amy was in the bottom three. She didn’t even get a chance to sing for her life.
The Voice says goodbye to Amy Vachal
Her emotional and comparatively subdued interpretation of Bob Dylan’s “To Make You Feel My Love” was really, really good and played right into Amy’s wheelhouse of smooth, dreamy musicality. It was good enough to get the No. 6 spot on iTune downloads showing a lot of people liked it, too.
However, it was not a performance that makes one stand up and cheer as they did for Jordan Smith’s gospel-like number. Those showstoppers are the type of performances that win contests like The Voice. It was Amy’s bad luck that she performed just before Jordan’s performance. The contrast between the two performances couldn’t have been more stark.
In these singing competition, in most part, viewers don’t vote on superior musicianship or who’s the better lyrical interpreter, they vote on how they felt at that particular moment.
A bit of advice to The Voice: I don’t want to sound like sour grapes, but, in fairness, maybe the contestants should be allowed to compete on their singing ability, not the production number they happen to participate in. I mean, what went into Jordan Smith’s number probably cost more than all the other contestants. It was a spectacular, hallelujah moment. Not to take away from Jordan’s performance, but certainly, Amy’s performance suffered in comparison.
Also working against Amy was that she was so unique, her smooth jazzy style didn’t fit into any of the popular musical categories with broad built-in fan bases. She was the most original artist in the competition and deserved to be in the finals. Alas, originality doesn’t win these popularity contests.
What’s next? Will she disappear into the void full of almost-made-it singers that see their dreams die when they walk off the stage?
First off, Happy Birthday, Amy! The Voice results may be a bit bitter sweet, but as a fellow Capricorn, I know you’ll work through the disappointment and through hard work and determination, you’ll enter a new exciting phase in your life. The Voice was just the start.
I thank The Voice for introducing Amy Vachal to America. Through it all, the Filipino American songstress gained fans all across the country. She doesn’t have to stick to Brooklyn bistros or Manhattan cafes.
I also have to thank Amy, of course. Of the top ten posts of the past few weeks, posts I wrote about Amy’s remarkable journey took seven spots and I gained readers from all around the world, especially the Philippines, Canada and France (who would’ve thought?). I hope you continue to read this blog. Salamat!
I look forward to hearing more of her original compositions like “Honey” and “Keeper” below”
Imagine if The Voice allowed her to sing “La Vie en Rose,” Amy might have won hands down.
For those who criticized her for sounding the same all the time, when next we hear her she’ll be able to let her hair down (or in this case, in pigtails) when she sings this ditty, “Price Tag.”
For those of you who are going through Amy Vachal withdrawals, there’s always Youtube where there are dozens of Amy nuggets to discover, including the numbers she sang on The Voice.
I don’t think this is the last we’ll hear from her. The next time you see and hear her sing, it won’t be a competition where she’s forced to be something she is not. She’s a true artist – a singer/song writer – and like all true artists, she can heed guest singer Dolly Parton’s advice to the Voice contestants, Amy Vachal can simply be true to her self.
Oh, I almost forgot. The finals on The Voice airs next Monday when Jordan Smith will win … I mean … battle it out with Jordan Smith, Emily Ann Roberts, Barrett Baber and Jeffrey Austin, but … it just won’t be the same.
