Whose Voice

I have to admit that I am a fan of the live music reality shows.  I started watching the third season of American Idol when Diana Degarmo made it to the finals.  Diana went to school in Snellville with my daughter and the personal connection got me hooked.  I believe the level of talent continues to improve as more good singers decide to compete.  This season on The Voice, another small-town-Georgia-girl is trying to make her mark.  Deanna Johnson is from Hazelhurst, GA.  I don’t think I have ever been to Hazelhurst.  Or maybe I have, and didn’t know it.  You might pass through it if you take the backroads from Atlanta down towards Brunswick.  This week, Deanna performed Oceans, a Christian song made popular by Hillsong United.  It was satisfying to see a young singer have the strength to pick a song with a Christian message.  I was underwhelmed by her performance, but the fans voted to save her using the new “instant save”.   I usually like what coach, Adam Levine, has to say.   He has proven that he knows what a lot of people want to hear.  This week, however, I got really annoyed with him.  A common theme for coach’s comments in general goes something like this:  “Technically, that was a great performance, but I didn’t feel like you really connected to the lyrics. I want to feel something.”  In trying to defend Deanna’s selection of a Christian song,  Adam’s comments went something like this:  “Even though this was originally a Christian song, I think all people should be able to relate to this in their own way.”  What I heard was, “Don’t hold it against Deanna for picking a Christian song.”  It was sad to me that he felt it necessary to practically apologize for the song selection, and dilute whatever statement Deanna might have been hoping to make.   Would it have been so hard to say, “Deanna has picked a song with a message that reflects something that is very important to her”?