As I scrolled through Facebook the other day and just as my roommate was talking about auditioning for The Voice, I came across a video from NBC’s The Voice. I used to watch The Voice when it first aired, but due to a lack of time I stopped watching it. Anyway, sometimes a video will pop up on my newsfeed, and when that happens I check it out. They have to be a pretty good singer, right? Well, Cody Wickline certainly was. Cody sang the great George Jones classic “He Stopped Loving Her Today”, most likely trying to appeal to Blake. Donning a black cowboy hat and an acoustic guitar, it didn’t take long for one of the judges, Adam Levine, to turn around. However, eventually all judges turned their chairs after realizing how much talent Wickline has. Even though Christina, Pharell, and Adam made their plea for Wickline to join their team, he ultimately chose to stick with country and be a part of Team Blake.
After listening to Cody Wickline’s version of the hit song, I had to listen to the original. You can’t help but notice how similar Wickline’s sound is to the original. Wickline has a slightly smoother sound, in my opinion which could be just the audio quality, but there is something to be said about George Jones’s ability to have so many number one hits without the use of autotune technology. In both versions, you can definitely feel the emotion behind the lyrics; there is a sense that Wickline has a connection to the original song either through experience or just by listening to it as a kid. It is such a simple song that really focuses on the voice and lyrics rather than having heavy instrumentals. That is part of the reason this song was a good choice for Wickline to perform in the blind auditions. Country is a strength for Wickline, so it will be interesting to watch as the season progresses if and how he will adapt to various songs in different genres.
Just to bring in one more artist to compare, I also listened to Alan Jackson perform the song at the Grand Ole Opry in May 2013 to memorialize George Jones seeing as he had recently passed away. Alan Jackson definitely sticks to the classic sound and simple performance style of the song and performs it beautifully. Listening to all three versions, I came to the conclusion that unless you are just a bad singer you can’t really mess up this song. Its simple instrumentals, deep lyrics, and popularity in the country music genre makes it a great song to give tribute to the classic country subgenre and George Jones.
What is your favorite version of “He Stopped Living Her Today”? Do you watch The Voice? Do you think Cody Wickline will make it far in the show? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.