Badmouth Blake Shelton‘s bromance and his preference for country artists all you want — there’s clearly a reason he wins The Voice season after season, and it’s not luck.
Shelton is a master tactician. He knows exactly what types of teams to put together, who has the most potential for growth and how to make the audience connect with contestants they might otherwise ignore.
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Sundance Head is the perfect example of Shelton’s genius. Obviously, Head was amazingly talented all along, but it took Shelton to make America see that. We all thought Billy Gilman had Season 11 locked down, but Shelton and Head proved that celebrity only goes so far in a singing competition.
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This season, Shelton is back at it. He’s not quite satisfied with his huge stash of trophies; he’ll do whatever it takes to earn more hardware, even if it means annoying his significant other! He demonstrated his commitment to victory this evening, using an audition tactic that the other judges universally decried.
The clever trick occurred right at the end of Enid Ortiz’s remarkable audition. Although not necessarily the most impressive competitor of the night, she certainly deserved a chance on the show. Yet, by the time the end of her song arrived, not one chair had turned.
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All of a sudden, Shelton’s chair began to revolve, leaving the other judges’ jaws dropped. Gwen Stefani pointed at the love of her life and accused him of being a cheater. Adam Levine joined in, claiming, “That was the dirtiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Okay, okay, Shelton’s move was unorthodox. And sure, it was a bit unfair to make poor Ortiz think that she was out of luck. But the rules certainly don’t state that judges must turn around the moment they decide they want a particular artist on their team.
If the other judges had really wanted to work with Ortiz, they would have bothered to turn their chairs, rather than wait for somebody else to lead the charge. Kudos to Shelton for his ingenuity — we can’t wait to see Ortiz blossom as a member of Team Blake!
What did you think of Blake Shelton’s late chair turning tactic? Clever or unfair? Comment and share your opinion below.
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