A categorization error on iTunes appears to be affecting one of NBC’s three “The Voice” finalists.
A social media firestorm erupted Tuesday morning when viewers–and some season six contestants–noticed that Josh Kaufman’s “Set Fire to the Rain,” unlike Monday’s other recordings, was categorized under albums rather than singles.
Thanks to that classification gaffe, the process of locating–and purchasing–Kaufman’s featured single was less intuitive than it was for Christina Grimmie’s new “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and Jake Worthington’s “Right Here Waiting.”
There is no way to precisely determine the impact on sales, but given that the song’s chart position was distantly below that of the Grimmie and Worthington recordings at 1:30AM Tuesday morning, fans will justifiably assert that there was a detrimental impact.
Kaufman, after all, had routinely been the competition’s strongest seller.
Those who view syndicated versions of the iTunes Single Sales chart (such as on DSD), meanwhile, cannot even locate “Set Fire to the Rain” within the top 100.
Because the iTunes “votes” from a single song represent a miniscule portion of the overall vote total, it is unlikely the gaffe (which might not have had any effect whatsoever) changed the course of NBC’s competition. But given that one contestant was at a theoretical disadvantage, tonight’s outcome–especially if it does not fall in favor of Kaufman–will come under fire.
NBC has yet to formally address the situation.
