Jordan Smith
, winner of the ninth season of the televised singing competition The Voice, belongs to a reality show tradition inaugurated by
Clay Aiken
and perfected by
Susan Boyle
: an old-fashioned, anodyne singer who would've been perfectly at home on either the
Andy Williams
or
Lawrence Welk
show.
Smith
exists somewhere between the two poles of
Aiken
and
Boyle
. His Broadway-bound style isn't as malleable as
Clay
's, so he can't quite be put into a modern setting, but he's certainly not as musty as
Susan
. There's an eagerness to his singing that betrays his youth, a quality that distinguishes his versions of shopworn standards ("Over the Rainbow," "Amazing Grace," "You Are So Beautiful") while also allowing him to sidestep the question of actually interpreting the songs. This same sentiment applies not only to his happy renditions of AAA standards by
Christina Aguilera
("Beautiful"),
Billy Joel
("And So It Goes") and
Sarah McLachlan
("Angel"), but also to the tracks that are nominally hipper, such as a cover of
Rihanna
's "What Now" that finds the song's soft, mushy heart. This and the overheated neo-gospel of "Stand in the Light" and show tune soul of "Ain't Got Far to Go" are produced by
David Foster
Stephan Moccio
so they can slide into any office or waiting room playlist on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, an anonymous bed that winds up emphasizing
's relentless good cheer. He's just happy to be here, happy to be singing, and whether you find that something to smile about depends entirely on how ingratiating you find that starry-eyed optimism. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine