The Voice has overtaken American Idol as the top singing competition around, but they still haven’t produced a bona fide star yet. Until they churn one out, Idol will remain top dog in my book. However, I think that’s all about to change. Season 3 winner Cassadee Pope just dropped her debut single and I predict big things.

“Wasting All These Tears” is a mid-tempo pop ballad with country inflections. It can easily play on multiple radio formats. It reminds me something Kelly Clarkson would’ve sung during her Breakaway era with a bit of Avril Lavigne mixed in. The latter is fitting given that the 23-year-old performed two tracks by the Canuck singer during her Voice run. Check it out below and see if you agree with my comparisons.

listen to the track after the jump

Like it or not, Christina Aguilera is taking back what’s hers. TVLine.com reports the 32-year-old is officially returning to The Voice for Season 5. She took a break this season to promote her latest album Lotus. Rumor has it that she’s receiving $17 million to sit her butt back in those red swivel chairs.

Truth be told, I’m a little surprised she’s coming back and for that hefty salary. Ratings have actually increased and not dropped with the addition of Usher and Shakira. What does this mean for the “Hips Don’t Like” singer? With her in the midst of producing her own album, she’ll probably go on tour to promote it. I wonder if this means Cee Lo Green is also heading back. I like Green, but it’ll be interesting to see X-tina’s chemistry with Usher.

Are you excited to see Christina back? Do you think Shakira is a better judge/mentor? Sound off below.

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Since The Voice was only an hour tonight, the show wasted no time getting down to business. Like the previous night, six battles took place but three of them condensed in a quick montage. Sucks for those three. Less air time, less time to connect with viewers.

With regards to the steals, only one was used during this episode which makes sense given three took place the other night. It’s time for the judges to get pickier with their allotted steals. For the most part, the quality of the battles on the first night were much superior and more fairly matched than this time around. Check out the performances below.

watch the battles after the jump

Seeing this post might surprise you since I don’t usually recap The Voice, but I love the Battle Rounds. Even though the blind auditions get all the hype and higher ratings, I’m all about this portion of the competition. I love it even more since Mark Burnett implemented the steal last season.

Speaking of which, I was surprised three contestants were stolen out of a possible six. With each judge only receiving two steals each, there’s still lots of battles to see. One mentor actually used both their allotted steals tonight. Silly, silly, silly. Overall I agree with all the judges’ winner picks with exception to one. Find out who below.

watch all the battles after the jump

I’m all about “Stay” these days. It’s quickly become one of my favorite Rihanna songs of all-time. Too bad, the coaches of The Voice Australia didn’t cover that ballad instead.

That said, their rendition of “Diamonds” isn’t too shabby. Surprisingly for me, Joel Madden shined the brightest. I almost wish the Good Charlotte member sang the entire thing himself. Aussie’s sweetheart, Delta Goodrem, also sounded at ease with her parts. She also looked fantastic.

On the flip side, Seal had difficulty with the RiRi track. Are her notes too big for him? While a great performer, Ricky Martin didn’t feel natural on the track either. During his solos, it felt like he was trying to make “Diamonds” sound like “Livin’ La Vida Loca.” She’s (Ricky) is so dramatic when she sings ;) Check out the performance below.

watch their performance after the jump

A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity of interviewing Vicci Martinez from Season 1 of The Voice and she was so lovely! We chatted about her album and her hit single, “Come Along” featuring Cee Lo Green. When we spoke, it had only been a couple weeks since she shot the music video for the song while in Seattle and that very day she had received the final cut of the video. Yesterday, the new music video debuted and if you haven’t checked it out yet, do so below!

The out and proud singer performs in front of a crowd with her band while a diverse group of people tell a story of unity and togetherness using different colors of chalk. I still love this song – Martinez’s voice is so sultry and sexy and you can really feel the passion coming through. This marks Martinez’s first music video and she told me she felt that it was a great representation of the song. “We’re all the same when it comes down to it,” she told me. “The point of the song being to find your truth and your freedom and to just be happy and to love each other.”

The video shows various different men and women of all shapes, sizes, races and sexuality all coming together as one as their differences fade away behind the colors of the chalk. I should note that although featured in the song, Cee Lo Green himself doesn’t appear in the video. Enjoy the video below!

Video after the jump…

Did you catch the Season 4 premiere of The Voice? What did you think of the new judges? While I like both Shakira and Usher, I hate to admit it, but I sorta miss Christina Aguilera. It’s not the same without her fan-waving and diva behavior. That said, I did enjoy Usher and think he’s a good fit for the show. Perhaps Mark Burnett can keep the “Yeah” singer and bring back X-Tina for the fifth installment.

It may seem like I’m hating on Shakira, but I’m not. The thing that I missed most was Aguilera’s sometimes bitchy banter with Levine and Shelton. I felt, for the most part, that the veterans were being overly nice to the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer. On the flip side, the contestants weren’t feeling the newbie judges. With one exception, they usually picked Blake or Adam over them. Shakira and Usher definitely have to up their car salesman tactics to score some of the more talented competitors. Speaking of the talent, the fourth season premiere featured a few promising individuals. I picked out my three favorites from the night. Check them out below.

check out my Top 3 after the jump

On Friday, I had the opportunity to interview Vicci Martinez, whom you likely remember as one of the talented finalists from Season 1 of The Voice. She was a runner up, but was the last one standing on Cee Lo Green‘s team. Martinez and Cee Lo Green actually collaborated on a song together called “Come Along” and it won “Best Rock Song” at the Out Music Awards back in December. She and Cee Lo shot the music video for the song in Seattle earlier this month and they just received the final cut of the video today. Can’t wait to see how it turned out!

Martinez was a little under the weather when I spoke with her, but she’s pushing through because she’s currently on tour right now and has to push through and take care of herself. I talked to her about whether she thinks being an out singer has helped or hindered her career, or if it even matters. The singer is known for her very touching and personal lyrics (“Hold Me Darling” had me in tears a few weeks ago!), so I asked her if she was writing any songs at the moment based on anything going on in her life… and she was and told me about it.

Find out what she had to say about all of this and more by listening to the interview below. Stay tuned for her “Come Along” music video with Cee Lo Green in the near future!

Interview after the jump…