Last night on The Voice, a contestant performed an awesome arrangement of “I’m Sexy and I know It”. The only problem was it wasn’t his arrangement and he played it off as his own. Every Voice contestant performs covers but this contestant played a very specific and unique arrangement that he did not create – and then he let people praise him for his originality.

Noah is a supremely talented 19 year old singer from South Carolina who gained a huge following on YouTube by posting covers. His unique and amazing arrangement of that song was completely ripped off last night. I immediately stopped watching and visited the Noah’s YouTube video. As I suspected there were a million different comments about how the guy had performed Noah’s version.

It’s one thing for contestants to cover signed artists but it’s another to cover an arrangement made by someone who is not currently signed and play it off as your own. As the judges continued to praise the Voice contestant for his originality and unique arrangement and he just stood there smiling. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Noah is a much better singer and clearly a more original artist. He could go on The Voice anytime he wants and I’m sure there is a reason he has chosen not to take that route. I’m not even sure that having his version covered on the The Voice without any recognition upsets him. I just hope The Voice gives Noah credit at some point during a future broadcast.

Apparently the contestant gave Noah credit on Twitter and on the YouTube video of his performance but not giving it on the actual broadcast was pretty lame. He knew he was going on TV in front of millions and that’s where the majority of the audience would see his performance. All it would have took was to say that he didn’t make that arrangement after Blake continued to say how original and unique it was.

It seems a lot of people are up in arms about this performance last night (at least in the YouTube comments section). Ironically, this is probably a good thing for Noah. People who have found out about the song have checked out Noah’s cover. Any press is good press. He’s also got bigger things to worry about having just completed a Kickstarter campaign, which raised over $30,000 to fund his debut album.

There are a ton of talented artists out there and American Idol, The X Factor and The Voice have been capitalizing on that talent for years now. As long as there are aspiring singers out there, some iteration of these types of shows will exist. While these shows provide another avenue to get recognized, you don’t need them. In today’s world there are so many new avenues to get recognized and gain a following. Noah is the perfect example.

Last May, his cover of LMFAO’s dance song went viral and brought him national attention. He made an appearance on The Today Show and received millions of YouTube hits. I’m sure Noah will be signed very soon and become a well-known artist. He’s certainly talented enough but until he is signed, people should be giving him credit for the arrangements he puts together, especially when performing them in a singing competition on national television.