Okay … I’m lost.
What happened?
I mean … last week we were plugging along at a nice little clip. Things were fresh and new and enlightening. The same old stale formulas didn’t seem to apply, despite the fact a mix of them were tossed together to make up what The Voice is and what it’s doing. It was a kick to see a “new” format take shape and succeed.
I mean … it was taking shape and succeeding, wasn’t it? I thought it was. So what happened?
It’s almost as if things went in reverse this week. The Voice didn’t have that *umph* it premiered with. There was no spark … there wasn’t the same joy of life in it experienced the first time it appeared. The soda was flat … the meal was cold. This week it seems to have lost some of its luster.
How can that be? And so quickly?
Well, for starters, all the contestants were lackluster. With the exception of one ballsy guy — Nakia (see his stint below) — no one really emoted for me. As a matter of fact, there were several who were painful to watch, ala the American Idol auditions.
Those “second chances” given to a few of the contestants because the coaches needed to round out their teams like final performer Angela Wolff? Ugh. No possible way she is going to advance through the Battle Rounds which start next episode (Angela’s original and second chance performances are below. Do you see this gal advancing? I don’t. I do see her getting swallowed whole by other contestants.).
Look: the interesting thing going forward is to see whether or not The Voice will escape the fate American Idol has dug for itself … letting the (oft-times obviously flawed) viewers make the ultimate decision to choose who moves onward in the competition. That’s eventually going to happen when crunch time rears its head in the coming weeks, but for now things are in the hands of the coaches. And thankfully so. Because while there is raw talent being showcased, there are definitely singers who need molding, direction and assistance to advance.
The Blind Auditions are over. Now we get to the nitty-gritty of the competition and see where this new direction, the Battle Rounds, leads.
I’m confident it will move The Voice forward once more, proving this week’s episode was merely a stumble during its march down the path.
I certainly hope so.
Clacked by Michael Noble 
on May 04, 2011 @ 10:33 EST5EDT
There have been a couple people (that duet last week who sang the tune from ONCE comes to mind) that were selected and I thought they stunk up the joint with flat harmony.
And I think Adam turns around just hoping it’s a hot chick *see video above*
I am not sure which was worse..the snoozefest of the contestants or endless commercials. Good think Deadliest Catch is aired earlier on HD. If next week is another snoozer…this show might hafta be recorded in the living room on the small TV…!
I only got through the first 40 minutes before hubby was ready for bed. Definitely wasn’t as entertaining as the first week. I kind of missed the Adam & Christina clashing; at least that was somewhat entertaining. Didn’t make it to the big guy doing Forget You, but I think that was better than any of the ones I saw. The 16 year old girl wasn’t bad… she can definitely sing!
The 16 year old girl is Kevin Smith’s Jersey Girl! (The namesake of the movie.) I wouldn’t have recognized her if Smith hadn’t mentioned it somewhere online. I have respect for double and triple threats. I’m not even a single threat.
I also went to bed mid-episode. Hung on as long as I felt I could but didn’t feel like I’d be missing much. Sounds like I didn’t. I look forward to next week.
I felt that way too. And two hours was way too long.
Also, it seemed to me that Adam felt like he had no choice but to pick those last two. I don’t think he really wanted to. It was kind of awkward. Can you imagine if he hadn’t chosen them and then they had to bring even more people back for him?
The thing that I am excited about, though, is the format of these judges actually coaching the contestants. You can take these people with (more) raw talent, and actually make them better.
But you’re right … This episode didn’t have the “zing” that the first one did. There was a noticeable difference in the talent level, and I’m sure that factored in. Plus, not showing some contestants seemed very odd until we learned about the whole “second chance” bit.
There is a purpose for everything, and this week’s Voice served a purpose for me. I recorded Voice because my Tues. evenings are spent elsewhere [Boo-yah!], but a nagging cough wouldn’t let me sleep. I crawled out of bed about midnight to see if cold medicine would help, and turned on the DVR. Now, it could have been the cold medicine, or the cup of hot tea, but I think The Voice should get the biggest credit for the solid sleep I got after it was over.
PS – Fast forwarding though the comercials and even some of the chatter got me back in bed by 1:30 am. Here’s hoping the battle rounds pick up the pace.
I think they took to much time one the contestants last week and had to rush to get the teams filled this week. Maybe they learned something and the planning for the show will be better. I still liked the concept. Looking forward to seeing it again next week. But I too watch something else and have to record this so skipping the commercials helps.