The Voice

May 02, 2011

I am not a reality television fan and didn’t expect to get "hooked" on the new NBC show called The Voice. The American version is modeled after a Dutch show called The Voice of Holland.

The first show aired on April 26^th, and the unique format starts with the judges sitting with their backs to the singers so they are evaluating only the person’s voice. The judges/coaches are Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Blake Shelton, and Adam Levine.  If they are impressed with a contestant, they press a button and their chair swivels around to face the singer. Each judge is trying to build a team of 8. If no one presses their button, that person is eliminated. If more than 1 judge likes a singer, and here is where it gets interesting, the power shifts to the singer, and they get to pick which judge/team they want to join.

The competition involves 3 stages: the blind audition, battle phase, and live performance. In future shows, each coach will pick a celebrity advisor (Reba McEntire, Monica, Sia, and Adam Blackstone) to help with song selections and vocal styling. The winner will get a recording contract and $100,000.

Check it out if you want to see a show that really is about the voice. The contestants picked were all different sizes, shapes, and ages. There was even a folky couple and a former American Idol contestant competing.

The next show airs on May 3^rd on NBC at 8pm. If you miss an episode you can watch online at nbc.com.

Also, look in the library catalog for music CD’s by each of the celebrity judges. Who knows? Maybe someday we will have a CD by the winner of this season’s competition.

Pam F.
Blue Springs South Branch