Former front-women for pop-punk band Hey Monday Cassadee Pope won the third season of the "The Voice" Tuesday to the surprise of virtually no one. Scotland native based in New Orleans Terry McDermott was the runner-up. Nicholas David came in third.
Connecting with audiences via pop-country tunes, such as Keith Urban's "Stupid Boy," - which remained in the iTunes top 100 a full week after it was performed on the broadcast, a feat no other "Voice" competitor achieved - Pope emerged early on as a frontrunner in the singing competition. The 23-year-old from West Palm Beach, Fla. had a clear advantage over other contestants, her performances from the program consistently charting higher than the recordings of her competition.
And that meant everything in season three. Unlike past seasons of "The Voice" where Judges voted to declare a winner, this year a new system appeared that gave America the vote instead of the coaches.
Pope's victory also marked a minor triumph for "rock"; the previous two winners on "The Voice" had been soul singers, Javier Colon and Jermaine Paul.
Many had Pope pegged to win the competition from the beginning. The Florida native made an impressive first impression after her striking first performance when she auditioned with an impeccable cover of Natalie Imbruglia and Ednswap's hit song "Torn," inspiring all four judges to slap their red buttons.
Following Pope joining judge Blake Shelton's team, she went on to sell more iTunes downloads than any other Season 3 contestant. Further, "with the help of an obvious (and sometimes aggressive) push by the series' powers-that-be, her victory was pretty much a done deal," noted Yahoo News.
"You were in a band of boys and you don't need those boys anymore," Daly told Pope at the end of the finale. "You're all alone, congratulations."
"Ever since Cassadee's first misty-eyed performance of Blake Shelton's 'Over You,' she's been the act to beat -- and when strong contenders like Amanda Brown and Trevin Hunte fell by the wayside, her ultimate triumph seemed even more inevitable," reported Entertainment Weekly.
Yahoo took things a step even further, looking at Pope's victory pragmatically.
"The bottom line is, after the first two 'Voice' winners failed to ignite the charts or make a dent at radio, the 'Voice' desperately needs a commercially viable champion to give the franchise real-world credibility as it prepares for a fourth season. And of Season 3's top three contenders, Cassadee probably always had the best chance of making that happen," the site noted.
Tuesday's finale also marked the last time America will see the original judging panel of Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, and Christina Aguilera together. Aguilera and Green plan to sit out season four which begins March 2013. New judges Shakira and Usher will fill in their red spinning chairs.
"I love you so much, and this has been an amazing experience and it's all just bittersweet," Adam Levine told Aguilera and Green.
"We've become a family, and we will greatly miss them," added Carson Daly.
Pope's victory means she has officially joined the Universal Records roster as a solo artist.
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