“My Happy Ending” (Avril Lavigne cover), Cassadee Pope (from The Voice, Live Rounds I)

I don’t know why I have such a soft spot for Cassadee. There’s something very raw and genuine about her talent–you can tell she just loves to sing and loves to perform and isn’t hiding anything about herself. She’s such a sweetheart and her Hey Monday background gives her extra leverage in that she already has such a huge fan base.

Being a Warped Tour baby in the realm of my old punk rock days just makes me have such a huge soft spot for her. I’ve seen many bands come and go from that time (the obvious, Meg & Dia band), many seeming to have run from the scene, but it’s something so special and heart-warming to see those special individuals grow from it to grow as a real artist on their own. Those old Warped Tour and punk rock days were just a training ground for those budding artists to hone in on their skills… and decide if this is really something they want to do.

From Cassadee’s performance, hers was clearly one of the strongest of the night. Everyone knows she’s a fan favorite and people fell in love with her right from her blind audition. Albeit, all of the contestants are amazing singers, but what sets Cassadee apart from them is not only her amiability, youth, or punk-rock background, but her own twists and stylization that really brings out something special in a song. Her blind audition of Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn” almost made me cry–there was an earnest angst I heard in her voice, as I could tell she really wanted this (I could almost hear all her years’ struggle as a musician in her tone!). Heck, she even made me like the song “Payphone” by Maroon 5, which I never really got all crazy about! Like Cee-Lo stated, her “interesting vibratto” really does make the song come alive–there’s a vulnerability in it that makes the song that much more emotional; her natural talent and rockstar ad-libs bring that angst and energy where it needs to be. She’s not flawless–but that’s her advantage. She runs on pure emotion and charisma, and anyone can see that when they see her perform.

She’s got this almost angelic tone with some sort of youth and teenage angst in it, adding real, vulnerable vibratto emotions seeping from all her experiences as a touring musician who loves what she loves. She’s likeable. She’s so beautiful. She’s got a voice that really makes a song come alive. She’s a natural performer… This was all made for her. And, there’s some sort of shyness I sense in her from her own youth. I’m rooting for her… She’s already a superstar now.

All of the contestants are good singers but I especially love the twists by the end of the song that Cassadee does. She’s not as flawless as the other contestants in terms of vocal ability but I think that is her advantage. It’s pure emotion and charisma. She makes us actually ‘feel’ the essence of the song and not just focus on the technicalities which sometimes results in not noticing what the song is about. She has that unique ability to make the lyrics come to life. That’s what got my vote. – Matutay Valencia

“Stay humble and positive. That’s a valuable lesson I’ve learned throughout this whole thing.” – @CassadeePope

Even though punk rock isn’t really my forte, I now realize why there’s such a soft spot in my heart for it… It reminds me of what I once wanted to be, and perhaps still want.