Things I learned from The Voice season 2, week 4

The Voice season 2 blind auditions are over! And not a minute too soon, I must say; as much as I love my show, I’ve now seen 150% more blind auditions, and I’m ready to get this train leaving the station, if you know what I mean…

That said, there were definitely some artists that caught my ear in this last batch, both for good and bad reasons. As I’m generally a positive girl, let’s start with the good. I’ve been raving about Chris Mann since the first episode, but then Orlando Napier came along and stole my heart. His sound reminds me of the music I grew up listening to, and he seems plenty charming. I’m very glad that my coach Adam Levine had the smarts to pick him.

I was also impressed by Wade. I’m going to get smacked for this, but I’ve never been an Amy Winehouse fan. I mention that because Wade’s rendition of “Rehab” interested me regardless. I think he and Cee Lo will make some beautiful music together, and look forward to hearing what they come up with.

Then we get to Sera Hill. Although Rolling Stone and social media spoiled her audition last week, there’s no denying this lady has pipes, and like Wade, she’s paired with a coach who could do something really fantastic with her voice. On a personal level, I’m so happy that she got to perform with Christina, whom she referred to as her “inspiration.” It’s a dream of mine to sing with my inspiration, Mr. Adam Levine, so I can imagine how awesome that moment must have been for Sera. I’m glad at least one of us had that.

And I must give a special shout-out to Lee Koch, who comes from my neck of the woods (that’s Temecula), and who came with a harmonica. You don’t see that every day.

Now, on to the things that didn’t work for me. I agree that The Shields Brothers are fun, but maybe I’ve watched too many ’80s movies, because I kept thinking they escaped from one of them. They’re not my taste, but I’m sure they’ll have a blast on Team Cee Lo.

And Cameron Novack … where to start? I was not impressed by his rendition of Alanis Morissette‘s “You Oughta Know.” But what really needled me about him was his personality. I didn’t care for his comments about how he could visualize himself winning and how everyone else ought to be concerned about him … before he’d even stepped on the stage and sung a note. Nor did I appreciate how testy he was with the coaches. The Voice established itself last season as being practically a family, and Cameron didn’t seem like a team player. It’s probably for the best that no one selected him; I don’t think he’d have fit in on the show, and I don’t think the show would’ve worked for him.

I know I spoke about this last time out, but this episode really hammered a point home to me: this season we’re really seeing artists who match up well with these specific coaches. In season one, we had talented artists and talented coaches, but we didn’t necessarily know how they might mesh together. This season, it’s clear that many of the artists selected have a specific sound or a common ground with their coaches, and that’ll yield some interesting if not compelling results.

We all know who my favorite team is (you didn’t expect me to betray Team Adam, did you?), but who’s your favorite going into battle rounds? Let me hear your thoughts, ramblings, etc. below.

Clacked by Brittany Frederick
on Feb 28, 2012 @ 08:53 EST5EDT