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| (c) Copyright BBC |
THE VOICE UK LAUNCH IS A CRITICAL SUCCESS!
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| (c) Copyright BBC |
The Voice UK had the much anticipated launch show last night and the
coaches and contestants wowed the nation as social media, facebook and twitter
comments gushed about the show. Tom
Jones, Jessie J, Will.i.am and Danny O'Donoghue started kicked off the show by
showing the hopefuls how it’s done with the collaborative rendition of Black
Eyed Peas’ “I’ve got a feeling”. I believe the TV license money was well spent.
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| (c) Copyright BBC |
The
Celebrity judges perform on The Voice UK (Tom Jones, Will.i.am (Black Eyed
Peas), Jessie J, Danny
O'Donoghue (The Script)
In my opinion the Voice has blown out of the water all the other singing shows
because the blind audition concept allows us to focus on the natural talent and
singing voice of the contestants without all the frills.
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| (c) Copyright BBC |
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| (c) Copyright BBC |
You can put your violins away as the sob stories and “journeys”
will not be the focus of the Voice. There will be the obvious heartwarming
stories but very personal to the contestant and relevant to them as a
performer, like Toni Warne, a 35 year old woman with alopecia who hopes to regain
her shattered confidence.
The selection process during the blind auditions is
simple. The celebrity coaches have red swivel chairs and a buzzer that rotates
the chair, if they like a contestant they press the buzzer and the chair turns
around. If none of the coaches turn around then the contestant is immediately
out. If one coach turns around, she or he then mentors the contestant. If more
than one coach turns around then the contestant is in a good position and can
select whichever coach they feel suits them better and they advance to the next
stage.
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| Jessica Hammond (c) BBC |
The first contestant, 17 year old Jessica Hammond had a
coach in mind as she came on stage as she chose to sing an acoustic version of Jessie
J’s global hit ‘Price Tag’. She had all the four coaches already fighting for
her but she stayed loyal to Jessie J.
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| Sean Conlan (c) BBC |
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| Sean Conland with boyband 5ive |
My heart sank though when no coach turned around for
former 5ive boyband member Sean Conlon. The coaches liked his voice but were
unsure on how to mentor him. He was dissappointed but took the rejection like a
trooper.
I was underwhelmed by 22 year old Ben Kelly who
apparently is already an internet sensation who sang in my opinion a tribute
act version of Elton John’s “Rocket Man”. I am surprised that all judges turned
around for him. I am sure this will make me unpopular but I did not get him!
I was getting worried for Will.i.am whom I believe should
have talked himself up more as a producer and songwriter than enter the name
drop battle with the legend that is Tom Jones. I loved Tom Jone’s humour
especially the story about Elvis going to buy him guitars. I would watch the
Voice every week just for those nostalgic stories.
Will.i.am eventually gets the last contestant J Marie
Cooper who chose him for being the first judge to turn around.
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| (c) BBC |
The final tally for the coaches was I would have predicted - four for Team Tom, three for Team Jessie, and Will.i.am and Danny have one each.
It was a fantastic launch show for the Voice and I believe it outclassed Britain’s Got Talent and a better competition than Xfactor in my opinion. However I still think it is a matter of “apples” and oranges” between the Voice UK and Britain’s Got Talent, as one show is purely vocal talent and the other is old fashioned British variety.
