The great thing about NBC's The Voice is just what the title implies: what an artist sounds like over what they look like. Highly entertaining and an emotional rollercoaster a times, this is 'reality' TV at its best.
When I first heard the concept, I--like most everyone else--was a bit skeptical. With X Factor and America's Got Talent already established, did we really need another singing talent show? When I saw the panel of judges, I was immediately more interested. Instead of Simon Cowell, who probably couldn't sing his way out of a wet paper bag, you've got monster vocalists Cee-Lo and Christina Aguilera, savvy country music star Blake Shelton and (my personal favorite) the new century's answer to Sting: Adam Levine.
That lineup alone had me interested. And the playful interaction between the four wildly diverse personalities just adds to the effect. But let's face it, the real stars are some of the absolutely unbelievable vocalists who risk everything to face the backs of four Star Trek-looking chairs. It's a great effect. In fact, so much of the music industry was based on appearance, that it's exciting to see four stars actually fly in the face of tradition and go solely on the sound of an artist.
Cherie Oakley, who barely made it through the first time due to song choice, was one of the more amazing performers. And Oakley has some serious experience in songwriting and backing gigs for both Carrie Underwood and Gretchen Wilson. Still, she really made a risky (and poor) song-choice to try and get Blake Shelton's attention. And let's face it, once you've been let down, a singer's nerves have to be absolutely ragged upon heading out for round two. Amazingly enough, her second (and better) song-choice got Adam Levine to hit his button and feel pretty good about it. But singers like Jeff Jenkins, whose voice is an absolute revelation get the kind of level playing field that a 'visual' might otherwise rob them of.
Whereas great (and hot) singers like Kelsey Rey or Sonia Rao would have the old music industry standard of looks weighing in as equally as sound, Jenkins, Frenchie Davis, Tyler Robinson and Sara Oromchi get a solid audition based on some serious vocal firepower. And frankly, this is what the old, moldy music industry doesn't get: we want sound! Yeah, some artists will always have a visual advantage, but with new direct-to-fan models being cultivated by the culture of the internet, fans are far more likely to snap up recordings by artists who have a great sound and come off as regular people!
As it is, contestants who didn't make it through probably picked up a good 20,000 fans if they have any kind of online presence and downloadable material. More on that in our next installment...
When I first heard the concept, I--like most everyone else--was a bit skeptical. With X Factor and America's Got Talent already established, did we really need another singing talent show? When I saw the panel of judges, I was immediately more interested. Instead of Simon Cowell, who probably couldn't sing his way out of a wet paper bag, you've got monster vocalists Cee-Lo and Christina Aguilera, savvy country music star Blake Shelton and (my personal favorite) the new century's answer to Sting: Adam Levine.
That lineup alone had me interested. And the playful interaction between the four wildly diverse personalities just adds to the effect. But let's face it, the real stars are some of the absolutely unbelievable vocalists who risk everything to face the backs of four Star Trek-looking chairs. It's a great effect. In fact, so much of the music industry was based on appearance, that it's exciting to see four stars actually fly in the face of tradition and go solely on the sound of an artist.
Cherie Oakley, who barely made it through the first time due to song choice, was one of the more amazing performers. And Oakley has some serious experience in songwriting and backing gigs for both Carrie Underwood and Gretchen Wilson. Still, she really made a risky (and poor) song-choice to try and get Blake Shelton's attention. And let's face it, once you've been let down, a singer's nerves have to be absolutely ragged upon heading out for round two. Amazingly enough, her second (and better) song-choice got Adam Levine to hit his button and feel pretty good about it. But singers like Jeff Jenkins, whose voice is an absolute revelation get the kind of level playing field that a 'visual' might otherwise rob them of.
Whereas great (and hot) singers like Kelsey Rey or Sonia Rao would have the old music industry standard of looks weighing in as equally as sound, Jenkins, Frenchie Davis, Tyler Robinson and Sara Oromchi get a solid audition based on some serious vocal firepower. And frankly, this is what the old, moldy music industry doesn't get: we want sound! Yeah, some artists will always have a visual advantage, but with new direct-to-fan models being cultivated by the culture of the internet, fans are far more likely to snap up recordings by artists who have a great sound and come off as regular people!
As it is, contestants who didn't make it through probably picked up a good 20,000 fans if they have any kind of online presence and downloadable material. More on that in our next installment...
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