Wednesday, April 27, 2011

TV Gripes: The Voice

In general, CBS is my most-watched TV network and aside from Law & Order: SVU, I usually give shows on NBC a pass. I made an exception for The Voice which premiered on NBC on Tuesday night in the 9 pm time slot. Carson Daly serves as host (similar to Ryan Seacrest on American Idol) while Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton are judges, of a sort. So, The Voice is a singing competition with a panel of judges and a host who greets contestants before and after their performances. From this little bit it sounds a lot like Idol doesn’t it? However, what sets The Voice apart is the fact that judges cannot see contestants as they perform and they select talent for their teams based solely on what they hear, not based on an image (what a concept!). Also, once each judge chooses their teams of eight, they will provide invaluable coaching and pit contestants against each other until they whittle their number down to four. The final four from each team will then go head to head until a single contestant is crowned The Voice. From there things get a bit convoluted… but I’m sure the producers will work it out in due time.

The premise of The Voice captured my interest, even if it didn’t blow me completely away, and from what I saw during the premiere I’ll definitely be tuning in to take a second and third look. After years of watching Idol (with the original set of judges), I know how tiring it is to watch people with marginal talent perform week after week. Still, there are things to recommend The Voice and here’re four reasons why I’ll be watching:

1.) I love the chemistry between the judges. Carson is a bit of a nonentity for me but all four judges are interesting and mesh well together; as the only female judge, Christina holds her own and especially during her banters with Adam, lets her spicy personality shine through. Adam is much more selective in exercising his options but when he does, his sales pitches are so well crafted that he could sell his own mother. Cee Lo is a colorful character and although I was surprised at some of his selections, there’s always some fun to be had when he’s around. Since I’m not much of a country fan, I didn’t know who Blake Shelton was until he came on Chelsea Lately to promote the show (somewhat) but he seems to be a funny and entertaining guy.

2.) Some of these people can actually sing. Aside from the mediocre selections who slip through the cracks with seeming regularity, a few contestants display genuine talent and throughout the two-hour premiere I felt a bit like a talent scout who matches artists with the right management company. I was invested enough that I felt bad for those who were not chosen (and rightly so). If producers would allow judges to throw some back or switch out their selections for more talented contestants in a pool of leftovers, all would be right with the show.

3.) Frenchie is back! Of American Idol notoriety (she was kicked off the show when it came to light that she posed topless to pay her way through college), Frenchie Davis did not give the best performance but I’m glad that Christina decided to take a chance on her. I’ve heard this girl blow on Idol and in the musical, Rent, and know that she is capable of much more. Hopefully she won’t disappoint.

4.) I just plain love music. Musicals, concerts, even karaoke! If singing is involved I’m there and with the entire premise of the show built around singing, The Voice is a must-watch. For now.

*Photo courtesy of NY Daily News

2 comments:

  1. Ok, ok, ok...so maybe I'll watch this after your review of the show. I seriously was never a fan of American Idol - so I was thinking this was yet another rendition of that, but it sounds a little different in a good way. Plus, I love Adam Levine and Cee-Lo (and Christina's voice).

    If the show stinks, though...I'm blaming you! JK! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I meant to write an update after this week's episode but just haven't had the time. In a nutshell, the novelty is wearing off. The banter between the judges wasn't as spicy this week, the whole chair-turning thing is getting old and they ran out of contestants and had to recycle a few people, which shows how narrow their talent pool is. Aside from all that, they are adding a new element next week so I will be tuning in once again to decide if I want to continue watching. But, good or bad, it is definitely different from American Idol.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...