Blake Shelton
For the sixth time in 13 tries, Blake Shelton has chosen the winner in the top singing tilt, “The Voice.”
His best bet, Chloe Kohanski, trounced and trumped the vocalists mentored by Adam Levine, Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson, further firming up Blake’s cachet as an astute discoverer and developer of the next, big singing stars.
We can rest assured that the significance of this latest victory is not lost on the talents who will audition for the next edition of “The Voice,” who will choose him to mentor them, for additional “insurance” that they will go far in the singing tilt.
Blake’s closest rival among the competition’s veteran mentors is Adam, but he’s done only half as well. What makes Blake so successful as a proven spotter of winning talents? There are lessons to be learned:
Observers opine that Blake’s winning advantage is the fact that he’s an exponent of country music, which has a lot of fans in the United States.
Yes, it’s an initially limiting factor, but its strong and loyal base gives its musical interpreters an initial edge over the competition during its all-important first few weeks.
After that, the surviving bets are made to expand their performance range to include other, more mainstream and pop-musical styles—and Blake has also proven himself to be a savvy mentor during this period of transition and expansion.
He’s learned from experience that long-lasting musical stardom calls for versatility, and he knows how to develop this in his chosen bets.
In addition, Blake gets his talents to do their utmost best, because he makes them trust him implicitly, by forging a strong personal and emotional bond with the singing discoveries he’s chosen to mentor—as “father figure” or friend.
All this has worked wonderfully well for Blake’s finalists, with Chloe as the latest beneficiary of his spot-on gift.
Even better, Blake’s own singing career has benefited from his success as mentor—and he’s even won a “sexiest man alive” survey to cap his hunky cachet and appeal, not to mention a dazzling star-girlfriend in Gwen Stefani.
Discoveries
Aside from Chloe, the discoveries whom Blake has mentored to victory are Jermaine Paul, Cassadee Pope, Danielle Bradbery, Craig Wayne Boyd and Sundance Head. How well have they done since their successful stints on “The Voice”?
Blake’s first winner, Jermaine Paul, has made a name for himself as a vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
His single broke into the Billboard 100, and was conominated for a Grammy for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals.
As for Danielle Bradbery, she launched her own album, “I Don’t Believe We’ve Met.”
For his part, Craig Wayne Boyd signed up with Universal Republic and Dot Records, played at the Grand Ole Opry and went on a 65-city tour.
His single, “My Baby’s Got a Smile on Her Face,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, while “I’m Still Here” peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard Digital chart.
Chloe Kohanski is clearly in good hands.