Harrison Craig on track to seal Voice win

Harrison Craig on track to seal Voice win

HARRISON Craig may be the “Black Caviar” of tonight’s title decider on The Voice, but his coach Seal has urged fans to keep voting and against assuming the victory is a “forgone conclusion.” As voting via iTunes closed at midday, Craig had surged back up the online charts, with his final cover of The Righteous Brothers’ Unchained Melody settling at no. 4 — prompting Seal’s warning the chart success may not mean his charge has the crown on lock. The British singer, who hit the headlines last week for his Twitter tirade in defence of Voice mate Joel Madden, chastened one Harrison Craig fan for tweeting he would be the winner. Seal wrote: “Guys, we don’t know who won! It is NOT A FORGONE CONCLUSION. It’s really close, deservedly so. Keep voting HC.” 8b810572-d701-11e2-a48a-dd6939d70aef Source: Getty Images With iTune downloads accounting for two votes in tonight’s ballot, it’s easy to see why bookmakers and fans have Craig a short-priced favourite to be named the 2013 series winner. Just after midday, the charts were being dominated by Craig’s catalogue of Voice performances, while coaches Ricky Martin and Delta Goodrem joined their artists with new releases. The rankings, which have previously been a good form guide to each week’s voting trends, reflect Craig’s popularity, with his closest rival Team Ricky’s Luke Kennedy. The iTunes chart (after noon) read: no. 4 Harrison Craig’s Unchained Melody no. 9 Harrison Craig’s More Than A Dream no. 24 Ricky Martin’s Come With Me no. 27 Delta Goodrem’s Heart Hypnotic no. 31 Luke Kennedy’s Caruso no. 36 Harrison Craig’s You Raise Me Up no. 43 Luke Kennedy’s Love Is Gone no. 52 Celia Pavey’s Candle In The Night no. 59 Harrison Craig’s Can’t Help Falling In Love With You no. 63 Danny Ross’ Let Her Go no. 69 Luke Kennedy’s Time To Say Goodbye no. 75 Harrison Craig’s Broken Vow no. 76 Harrison Craig’s If no. 78 Harrison Craig’s Home no. 85 Luke Kennedy’s I Dreamed A Dream no. 87 Luke Kennedy’s Un Giorno Per Noi no. 89 Harrison Craig’s It Had Better Be Tonight no. 90 Celia Pavey’s Xanadu no. 95 Luke Kennedy’s Please Don’t Ask no. 100 Celia Pavey’s A Thousand Years Voting via text, phone and Facebook continues until 6pm, with the winner expected to be named sometime after 9.30pm (when the show is scheduled to end). The grand finale will be an action-packed night for music lovers with performances by chart-topper Robin Thicke (slated to sing his hit, Blurred Lines) and a prerecorded appearance by Ryan Tedder’s One Republic (performing their latest single, Counting Stars). HYPNOTIC: Coaches Ricky Martin and Delta Goodrem snap an Instagram memory. After the high-energy coaches’ performance of his greatest hit, Livin La Vida Loca, last week, Martin will go solo with his new single, Come With Me. Goodrem will also get the chance to perform her new track, Heart Hypnotic, co-written by Team Delta mentor Ryan Tedder. All the coaches will duet with their artists, with Channel 9’s entertainment editor Richard Wilkins describing a sneak peek of Goodrem and Celia Pavey’s rehearsal as “goosebump material.” The final 4, with backing from the rest of the top 16 will also belt out John Farnham’s classic hit and aptly named You’re The Voice. The winner earns a recording contract with Universal Music, a Ford Kuga and $100,000.



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