West Hartford's Javier Colon seems poised to make it to the final four of "The Voice," NBC's surprise hit singing competition.
He's earned nothing but accolades for everything he's sung so far as part of Adam Levine's team; his placement at the end of last week's two-hour show seemed to indicate that producers think he's one of the show's best as well.
In the showcase slot, he sang a version of Sarah McLaughlin's "Angel" that had the judges drooling.
"You really made it your own," Christina Aguilera told him.
"It was absolutely perfect," said Cee-Lo Green.
Blake Shelton said it went beyond criticism.
Of course, they were complimentary of his competition in Levine's team, as well. Among them, Casey Weston sang "Black Horse on a Cherry Tree" by KT Tunstall. Jeff Jenkins sang "Jesus, Take the Wheel"; and Devon Barley sang OneRepublic's "Stop and Stare." Viewers will vote to save one of the four; it will be up to Levine to pick one to continue the competition from the remaining three.
It seems like the rules are made up as each week goes by, but in tonight's two- hour show the remaining two singers on each of the four teams will sing. On Wednesday's results show, the final four will be unveiled.
Then in the extended finale of the show, the final four will sing on June 28 with the winner being crowned the following night.
There's no reason to think that Colon's "Angel" won't stick in viewers' minds, especially since he was the last to be performed that night. Previously, he beat Angela Wolff in a sing-off of Ben E. King's classic "Stand By Me."
It was Colon's version of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" in the show's opening episode that got the attention of all four judges and had observers picking him as the favorite to win it all.
Colon, 34, has burnished an image of a struggling family man, but he actually has had as much experience in the music industry as anybody in the competition, having been hired as singer for the Derek Trucks Band almost immediately after graduating from the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford. He quit that band after two years when he was signed by Capitol Records, for whom he recorded two albums.
He played college stages and put out some of his own music online, but "The Voice," which has gained an audience of 12 million, has put him before a much bigger audience, win or lose. But if he does win, he'll snare both a recording contract and $100,000.
(via Hartfort Courant)