The 10 Most-Robbed Contestants Of ‘The Voice’ Season 3

The 10 Most-Robbed Contestants Of ‘The Voice’ Season 3

It's a massive testament to the talent on "The Voice" this season that so many incredibly gifted singers didn't make it to the top three--or even make it past the Battle and Knockout Rounds. On other talent shows, some of this season's "Voice" also-rans could have gone all the way. There are definitely some I would have liked to see go a lot further. So, without further ado, here is my list of the most-robbed contestants of "The Voice" Season 3.

10) Alexis Marceaux
This New Orleans indie-rocker wowed me with her Blind Audition of Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way"--and she seemed to wow Cee Lo Green, too, when he spun his chair for her and purred, "Rocker chicks turn me on!" When the classically trained Alexis went up against unpolished Season 2 reject Daniel Rosa in the Battle Rounds, I thought for sure that she had the edge, but for some reason, the proudly "not classically trained" Cee Lo connected more with Daniel, and he picked Daniel instead. Cee Lo made some very good decisions this season, but this was not one of them.

9) Michaela Paige
This spunky Internet DJ with the Flock Of Seagulls fauxhawk and killer rock chops went farther on "The Voice" than I'd initially expected--she'd received little screentime early in the season, and in the top 20 week it was a surprise when her coach, Blake Shelton, picked her to be his final team member over more obvious choice Liz Davis. But alas, Michaela didn't go far enough, as she was one of the first contestants to be voted out of the top 12.

8) Melanie Martinez
The only two reasons Melanie, my favorite female contestant of this season, didn't make it higher on this list are a) she went pretty far, all the way to the top six, and b) she was voted off in a week when she gave one of her weaker performances and almost seemed like she wanted to leave. But I have missed her since she exited the show. From her unique look (love that Hello Kitty hair bow, those tambourine-rattling feet, that Cruella hair), to her interesting song choices, to her dreamy rasp, Melanie was unlike any contestant I'd ever seen on "The Voice"--or on any singing show, for that matter. Someone give this girl a record deal (if the rumor that Adam Levine's 222 Records has signed her isn't true) and her own photo-printed clothing line, quick.

7) Joe Kirkland
This Artist Vs. Poet frontman impressed me with his first audition of the All-American Rejects' "Gives You Hell," and I thought he had a bright future ahead when he joined the team of fellow rock frontman Adam Levine. And when he went up against Bryan Keith in the Knockout Rounds--doing a rawkin' and altogether awesome cover of Taylor Swift's "Mean," while Bryan bleated a boring and bland rendition of the Robin Hood sapfest "Everything I Do, I Do It For You" that even Adam admitted was a disappointment--I thought he was a shoo-in for the top 20. But I thought wrong. Adam picked Bryan anyway. Talk about being mean, Adam!

6) De'Borah
This androgynous minister's daughter, who I lovingly nicknamed "Gurkel," was one of Season 3's most unique and passionate performers. It still boggles my mind that when her coach, Christina Aguilera, had to pick a final teammate to bring to the top 12 rounds, Christina went with cookie-cutter pop singer Adriana Louise instead. Adriana was voted off the very next week; I think De'Borah probably would have lasted longer. Letting De'Borah go was just one of many bad decisions that Christina--who eventually lost her entire team, three weeks before the finale--made this season.

5) Caitlin Michele
This was another one of my beloved quirky girls who left the show way too early. Poor Caitlin never really had a support system on "The Voice"--her original coach, Adam, ditched her in the Battle Rounds for Melanie Martinez, and then the coach that stole her away, Cee Lo, ditched her for Diego Val in the Knockout Rounds. I don't feel like this powerhouse ever got a chance to really show her true power.

4) Amanda Brown
Amanda got to the top six, so I can't say she was totally robbed...but man, she REALLY should have made it all the way to the top three. A bad-ass rocker that sometimes came across like The New Tina Turner, she was one of the best vocalists in the top 20 (maybe even THE best), and her "Dream On" tour de force still stands as the finest performance of the entire season. Someone please sign her, because she can't go back to being a backup singer. Amanda Brown deserves to be centerstage.

3) MacKenzie Bourg
The first time I saw Mac, with his cute face and cute hair and cute voice and cute guitar, audition with "Pumped Up Kicks," I predicted that he would win the entire show. And if this had been "American Idol," on which cute WGWGs always reign supreme, I would have been correct. I still can't believe this kid didn't get enough votes to make it into the top 12. I hope Mac auditions for "The Glee Project 3" next. He's too adorable--and too talented--to stay off TV for good.

2) Cody Belew
Cody was the consummate entertainer, switching things up between the sublimely ridiculous (his "Crazy In Love" leatherman spectacle) to just plain sublime (his wonderful vocals on "Jolene" and "One More Try"). America never seemed to really "get" Cody, but even his detractors must admit by now that there's been a lot less bam-bam on "The Voice" since this season's most charismatic showman exited during top eight week.

1) Suzanna Choffel
This Austin music teacher was one of my favorite contestants of the season. How come I never had teachers this cool when I was a kid? My music teachers taught my class how to play "Hot Cross Buns" on the recorder; Suzanna, on the other hand, auditioned with an ethereal cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide," one of my all-time favorite ballads, and actually did it justice. Her Knockout Rounds performance was also superb--she came out in a Studio 54 onesie looking like Alison Goldfrapp (i.e., like a goddess) and poured her heart into Bob Marley's "Could You Be Loved." But of course, she was eliminated by Blake in favor of Chosen One (and future top three finalist) Cassadee Pope. I'm still angry about this, and I still think it should have been Suzanna in the finale instead.

Which "Voice" Season 3 contestants do you think got robbed? Let me know.

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