Never mind that Chris Mann sang well enough to solicit the keys to the gates of St. Peter. Never mind that Juliet Simms sang immensely well and with bravada despite fighting a case of pneumonia. Never mind that Jermaine Paul's overcooked rendition of 'I Believe I Can Fly' was welcomed with standing ovation. No. Apparently, last night's finale of NBCs The Voice was all about Christina and Tony Lucca yet again, and this time it is blown way out of proportion.
To summarise, last night was the night all contestants sang for the very last time before one of them is crowned the victor of this season. Each singer sang three times; one for the votes, another time as a 'surprise' tribute to their coaches, and the third was a duet with their mentor. The duet of the night for me was Chris Mann and Christina Aguilera's rendition of Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion's classic 'The Prayer' followed by Jermaine Paul and Blake Shelton's 'Soul Man'. As for their individual performances, I thought that Juliette nailed it with Lynyrd Skynard's 'Free Bird', and Chris Mann's wowed with a beautiful, albeit predictable, choice of Josh Groban's 'You Raise Me Up'. So far, everything had been going smoothly until...
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| 99 Problems, and Xtina is one. Or at least for him, she has been. |
...Tony Lucca decided to sing Jay Z's classic '99 Problems'. It all went downhill from there, and not just for Aguilera but for Lucca and Levine as well. I really thought that Xtina would give Tony a break since it was the finale and all, and she did. She actually said that Tony's voice sounded great and cool last night but the thing that irked her was the 'derogatory lyrical connotation' that his song has towards women. Okay, it sounds a little random but if we back track and educate ourselves of the reports that lead up to last night's finale, it will make more sense.
Reports say that earlier this week, Levine and Lucca once again decided to take a dig at Xtina through their song choice. Lucca was meant to sing '99 Problems', 'but a bitch ain't one' and apparently it enraged the diva into asking NBC to pull the plug on the boys tactical choice. Afterwards, Levine apparently stormed into Xtina's rehearsal and called her a 'fucking cunt'. Last night when he sang, Xtina called out Tony and Adam on their ploy and criticised the singer for singing a derogatory song especially since Lucca's wife and children were in the audience. Now reports say that Lucca has responded and called out Xtina on her 'pathetic' retorts and has decided that if he doesn't win, he's going to blame his ex-fellow Mouseketeer for it.
Personally, I thought the whole thing was a pile of steaming bollocks. She said it was a derogatory song towards women. So what? It's true. It's an opinion. The same way Blake expresses complet distaste towards production value. They are being paid to say what they want, and Xtina obviously has an issue with double standards (uhm, 'Can't Hold Us Down' anyone?) We all knew that Xtina was opposed to Lucca since the beginning of the live shows and she has been vocal about it. What annoys me is the constant passive aggressiveness that Lucca and his coach takes each week to further deepen the issue, if his songs aren't indicative enough. Had Levine and Lucca just responded plainly on live TV and not by veiling their hatred in song, things would not have escalated. Aguilera would have been put in her place and Lucca would not be in the competition purely out of publicity and controversy. Let us not forget that America actually voted Tony out against Katrina Parker, had it not been for Levine's 'bromance' points that saved him and put him through to the finale. It seems to me that both Levine and Lucca have no intention of laying it out in the open because all of this publicity is working in Lucca's favour. Why would they? Xtina is doing her job, AND doing THEIRS. People are voting for Lucca not because he's the best out of the four (because clearly it is Juliet) but to spite and fuel the fire of Aguilera-Lucca gate. And what does he do afterwards? He finally comes out to the press and rants. Yeah, real mature. If he really wanted to succeed in the business, with bitches or not, he should have just taken the high road and chose equally fantastic songs but without all the psychological guerilla warfare.
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| She's a 'Fighter' world! Have we forgotten about her feministic efforts, i.e. Stripped? |
I'm not saying Aguilera is not at fault because she is as well. As much as I love her, I really thought that she should have just left it last week and given Tony a deadpan face last night. To her credit, she has not once said a lie on the show. Tony is boring, he's not the best vocal talent and he would make for a great Britney-cover band frontman. I don't think she was supporting Katrina to spite Lucca, but I feel she recognised the prior's vocal talent and wanted to give her a fair chance to win (and she did, because admit it or not, American listened to Xtina). But then again we know that the singer can be volatile when she wants to be. She wore assless chaps to make a statement for God's sake! There are people out there who call out the hypocrisy on her behalf because her appearance on TV does nothing for the whole of womenkind. I don't know about that, but all I know is that she shouldn't be chastised for it because she wants to wear what she wants. At least she's ballsy about the whole thing. Nobody will say anything negative towards Rihanna or Perry or Gaga or Madonna, and these ladies wear less than Xtina at most times. What about Madonna's geriatric leotard antic at the SuperBowl? Wasn't THAT derogatory towards women who feel they should act their age? Sexism is a double-edged sword and nobody can win. But if last night was any indication of what Aguilera can be like when confronted, well. I wouldn't want to cross her anytime soon.
As for Adam? He was supposed to be the 'mature' one of the four coaches, and with all the psycho-babble he spits out each week, you'd think he would have at least the decency to bring things out in the open and address the situation. Instead he chooses to mock Xtina and use Lucca as his medium to get back at her. He reminds me of those people who resort to posting passive aggressive comments via Facebook status because he can't face confrontation on live telly. All three parties should go hom after tonight's final show and do some serious soul searching. Aguilera has a new album coming out and I don't want her ruining her chances by aggravating people. The world is full of pre-pubescent imbeciles who support the singer with the biggest dick on stage and if she keeps going the way she does, things might get a bit ugly. As for Lucca, I have a feeling that he's not all that great in person. If he is more than happy to bask in this undeserved publicity and revel in the controversy then he's no different than the rest of them. In fact, if he was happy with his 'legit' artistry prior to the show, why would he want to go on live TV again but to get the public's attention? Finally, for Levine...I think that guy should just grow a pair and at least fight back a mano-a mano. He should take a leaf out of Blake and Cee Lo's book and just say it as it is.
It's such a shame because the show could have done without the drama. Needless to say, however much I loved 'The Prayer' duet by Aguilera and Mann, Juliet Simms has my heart this season. If anything, it's should be an opportune moment for Simms to grab the trophy while the rest of the world is looking the other way. I wonder how the hell these coaches are going to perform together tonight with all of that between them?
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| 'This is all mine bitches! I've got no PROBLEMS' |
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