State of the Arts: “Eagan native Nicholas Mrozinski will be coming home after placing third on NBC’s vocal competition show ‘The Voice.’

“Mrozinski, known to audiences of ‘The Voice’ as Nicholas David, impressed viewers with his soulful crooning reminiscent of both Marvin Gaye and Joe Cocker. His song choices consistently reflected a message of love and optimism, from ‘Lean on Me’ to ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow.’ In tonight’s finale, he sang a duet with Smokey Robinson.”

Cassandra “Pope’s victory is unsurprising, from a reality TV angle. One of the driving forces behind The Voice is iTunes sales, and Pope’s inoffensive mall-pop vocal stylings and ever-so-slightly-edgy appearance make her an easily accessible candidate, especially for the download-hungry tween and teen market. Mrozinski, on the other hand, appealed to older generations of music fans with his soulful take on classics by Bill Withers and Marvin Gaye,” via Local Current Blog.