MiniCap: The Voice

The Voice

By TheCzar | Wednesday, June 8, 2011 | 1:23 pm | 20 Comments
Tagged: , , , , , , ,
Posted in: MiniCaps, Recaps, The Voice

This is it – the moment you’ve all been waiting for: The live performances of “The Voice!” And honestly, it’s not bad.

Minicap 6.7.11Let’s get this party started, people!

All of our judges have returned from a month-long hiatus looking fresh and relaxed. Adam brushed up on his guitar skills, Christina got a new weave, Cee Lo grew a porn stash and Blake got married. And that Miranda Lambert must be something, because he has really changed his attitude.

Yes, Blake Shelton is a happy, happy man. He spends most of his time providing great advice, giving compliments and waiving his left hand around for all to see his wedding bling.

And he sings. In fact, everyone sings – and despite the cheesy scenic backdrops, laser effects and fog machines, everyone sings pretty well (or at least that’s what the judges say). Even Carson Daly looks happy to be back. He’s not really any better, but he looks content.

There’s definitely love in the air. Maybe it’s Christina’s increase in confidence or Blake new marriage contract; or maybe it’s Cee Lo’s new red outfit; or maybe it’s because the producers put some drugs in the fog machine – who knows? All I can tell you after last night’s episode is the judges were beyond giddy to praise each and every singer after their performances.

The entire two-hour episode is dedicated to performances by the remaining members of Christina’s and Blake’s teams. And unlike in the battle rounds, the live performances play to each singer’s strengths. The rockers get to play their own instruments, the teeny-boppers get dancers and choreography, the cheesier singers get scenic backdrops and fog – you get the picture. But it makes for an entertaining show, and most of the singers seem comfortable in their own skin for once. I said most of them.

But that’s not all you get. The judges open the show with a mash-up of Queen melodies, featuring a guitar solo by Adam Levine. We’re also treated to performances by Christina and Blake with their respective teams.

And if you’re not already completely overwhelmed by all the goings-on of this episode, they’ve also incorporated a “V-Room” into the production, where they often cut to so we can see the musicians pretending to tweet on their phones. There’s also some model named Allison asking them really stupid questions, only to correct them on their answers (yeah, seriously, she does that).

You see, this isn’t any old singing competition – THIS is the most digital reality show in the universe! The V-Room is the hub of every social media site on the planet – and they’re monitoring whatever you have to say about “The Voice.” So in a way “The Voice” is watching you now. You better watch your back – I have a feeling if you don’t like this episode, Carson Daly is going to show up to your house with a bunch of thugs and quietly have you disposed of.

I’ll try to get the full recap to you as soon as I can. But don’t fret – you have until Monday to vote for your favorite artist. Oh, which by the way you can do by calling, going online or downloading their songs on iTunes. The money doesn’t actually go to the artists – it goes to the poor producers who are living in smaller mansions during these hard economic times, so please, give to charity.

Yep. It’s a digital world.

About

I'm new. Full bio coming soon. But in the meantime, let the hazing begin!

20 Comments

  1. 1
    Lauryn Morita
    Posted June 8, 2011 at 2:24 pm

    Definitely a good way to come back. Beverly kicked so much ass on that Melissa Etheridge song.

  2. 2
    vallegirl vallegirl
    Posted June 8, 2011 at 3:27 pm

    I thought she looked like a karaoke singer. It was Beverly doing Beverly with some amateurish-looking, funky chicken dance moves.

    In fact, I thought Blake’s entire team outperformed Christina’s, except maybe Frenchie for Xenia, who has a lovely voice but is still too young for a professional singing career. But Dia was the stand out.

    And that’s why I’m disappointed that they’re still competing on a “team” basis because someone good from Blake’s team will get the boot because Beverly will continue on to scream at me for another round.

  3. 3
    Lizbot
    Posted June 8, 2011 at 4:31 pm

    Wow, vallegirl, this time I have to disagree with you. I thought Blake’s team was completely outperformed by Christina’s. I felt bad for Xenia, because she totally looked uncomfortable and awkward during her performance. She still has a lovely voice though. Even though I wasn’t thrilled with the choice of Lady Marmalade song (and some of those outfits were hideous), I thought Christina’s group seemed so much more comfortable on stage. Blake’s team mostly left me bored and/or awkward, although they did have some nice moments. I think Dia is very talented but I’m wondering if her style will translate into mass appeal.

    But that’s the great thing about these kinds of shows — no matter our tastes we can usually find someone to root for.

    I agree with you, though, that Frenchie was amazing. I thought she was the perfect closer for the show. Go Frnechie!

  4. 4
    mere2142
    Posted June 8, 2011 at 4:48 pm

    I’m with you vallegirl re: Beverly. I thought she did a fine job with the song but it’s nothing we haven’t seen from her before. I felt the song choice was totally predictable – would have been nice to see her step outside of her comfort zone and really wow us.

    I find Xenia hard to watch just because she is visibly uncomfortable on stage but I do like her voice. I thought Dia killed it with the Kayne song and Blake made a great call having her behind the piano.

  5. 5
    WeaselSqueak
    Posted June 8, 2011 at 8:01 pm

    Team Christina:
    Raquel – I couldn’t stand her performance. Her dancing was subpar and she was off-key through the entire song.
    Beverly – Her funky chicken-esque dancing was strange, to say the least. She’s a little shouty for me, but at least she stayed on key.
    Lily – Okay, but ultimately forgettable.
    Frenchie – The best singer on Christina’s team by far, and probably the only one I would keep around if I were making the cuts.

    Team Blake:
    Jared – He has great stage presence. I don’t think he’s a fantastic singer, but the song choice worked well with his voice.
    Xenia – She sounds great, but she looks so awkward up on the stage. She would be one of my favorites if she weren’t so uncomfortable performing.
    Dia – My favorite on Team Blake. Great vocals, and the piano added a lot. I’d like to see more of the contestants completely transform a song like she did.
    Patrick – His singing bores me, and while I can hardly blame him for it, the backdrop was horrendous. Probably the weakest on his team.

    I’m looking forward to next week; Adam and Cee Lo have much stronger teams, in my opinion.

  6. 6
    TheMiki themiki
    Posted June 8, 2011 at 8:29 pm

    Thoughts: I like my girls with a little meat on em, and I usually think celebrities are too skinny, but holy hell, someone needs to tell xtina that booty shorts are no longer appropriate for her body. That was distracting.

    Xenia’s voice is something really special, but since this show stopped being about “The Voice” after the first round, the painful awkwardness will be her downfall.

    Dia was great. No argument there.

    Bald Brett Michaels is so effing annoying. I want to kick him in the junk, which somebody really oughta do anyway since he’s got six kids already. Get that jackass off my TV now please, voters.

    Beverly did fine, but yeah, choosing a song by an artist with an identical tone and range isn’t exactly blowing my mind.

    So I want Dia to go through and Bald Brett Michaels to go the hell home, but other than that I can’t say I really care. I kinda want to see Xenia make it farther just so I can hear her sing some more. Oh, and someone needs to beat the everlasting shit out of whoever is dressing the contestants. I almost got distracted from Dia’s beautiful performance by the fact that she looked like a sparkly child bride who escaped from the compound.

  7. 7
    itchy
    Posted June 9, 2011 at 1:41 am

    No one caught how Mr. Clean-with-six-kids was hitting on one of the girls in the audience? Quite the charmer, this one. Fortunately, since he’s bald, it’ll be easy to watch his head swell up from week to week.

    I agree about Dia, she’s the only real breakout of this bunch. If she stays long enough to get her confidence up/drop the shyness act, she’ll be great. The other girl with the similar voice is just too young for this.

    The cowboy is awful, hope he gets booted pretty quick. Bad enough we had to suffer through Snotty McCreepy these last few months. This guy’s just a slightly old clone.

    I’d like to see Frenchie booted. Seems to me she’s already a Broadway star, why does she need this show? Besides, she’s just…freakish.

    As is Christine. I’m trying to appreciate her, but I just can’t. Although she’s not nearly as hilarious as the round guy in the red. At least he took off those stupid sunglasses — that’s the only advantage of those long drawnout battle rounds — he got to see what an idiot he looked like. Not that the porn stache is any better. Ick. Can you just picture this guy having sex? Ick.

  8. 8
    lrhflute
    Posted June 9, 2011 at 8:12 am

    Personally, I thought Team Christina WAY out-sang Team Blake! Even Lilly surprised me!!

    But the main thing I needed to mention: is that Dia’s version of Heartless….wasn’t hers originally! That’s pretty close to the arrangement that Season 8 winner Kris Allen did on American Idol! I know he’ll never get credit on the show (cause I’m not sure it was his…but that’s where I heard it first). And I think Dia’s wasn’t nearly as good as his.

    That is all I have to say….and GO FRENCHIE!!! In my opinion, this is hers to loose! :)

  9. 9
    mommy2bree
    Posted June 9, 2011 at 12:28 pm

    themiki, I TOTALLY agree about those shorts Christina was wearing. That outfit did NOTHING good for her. YIKES.

    Also, I am so NOT a fan of Beverly. Do not like the yelling and shaking her head no thing at all.

  10. 10
    angelbayyb
    Posted June 9, 2011 at 5:20 pm

    thank u lrhflute!!!!!

    i was FURIOUS watching the show because the minute i heard her start i said “ooo someones copying kris allen…” but then when all the judges were praising her creativity and originality i was getting pissed… i thought, why doesnt she say something? then the real straw that broke the camels back was when adam asked her outright if it was her idea and she said yes lol…
    youre going to hell missy!!

    sorry i kno i got a lil carried away there but givve the credit where its due… kris allen did that version years ago and did it way better than she did..

  11. 11
    WeaselSqueak
    Posted June 9, 2011 at 6:41 pm

    OMG how dare somebody else do an acoustic cover of “Heartless”? Acoustic covers of “Heartless” are the intellectual property of Kris Allen! Never mind that The Fray did it first! Never mind that Dia’s version barely even sounded like Kris’s! I am outraged!

    Seriously, do you think anybody is actually stupid enough to willfully plagiarize an American Idol contestant on a show that is guaranteed to have a huge following of American Idol fans? “I’m certain fans of this show have never even heard of Kris Allen. I don’t think anybody will notice if I copy his version of the song.”

    Even if her cover sounded identical (it didn’t), I find it hard to believe she would intentionally ape his version of the song. Chill out.

  12. 12
    Brattygrl
    Posted June 10, 2011 at 12:18 am

    I’m with you, Weasel. I immediately thought of The Fray when they were praising her version of “Heartless”. (I don’t know about everywhere else, but it plays on the radio all the time here.) But, there’s no difference between her doing their version than if she did Kanye’s. She may have no intention of taking credit for it, but what is she going to do? Stop the judges & say “Hey, I didn’t come up with it.”? She’s super shy and barely spoke anyway! I still think she did an amazing job!

    As for Christina…just no…reminded me of when Jessica Simpson wore the mom jeans & leopard tank top!

  13. 13
    itchy
    Posted June 10, 2011 at 6:56 am

    She might have meant that it had been her idea to do this version of the song, rather than the other version. She comes off as being fairly sincere, that is, for a reality television famewhore. Plus, she’s pretty in a non-slutty way. Ker-thump-a-thump.

    Also, what’s wrong with TVgasm lately? Sometimes it takes forever to load.

  14. 14
    Moli Moli
    Posted June 10, 2011 at 10:36 am

    I loved Dia’s version of Heartless, I haven’t heard it performed that way so it was quite refreshing. I want to run onstage and give poor Xenia a hug. She is a tad looser than the first rounds, but poor baby was terrified! Beverly screams….the end. I thought that it was a group performance not Xtina and the backup singers, that annoyed me…..what annoyed me more….the whoooo ohhhh yeayea whhooooo(how ever you type it)at then end. Can’t wait until next week

  15. 15
    TheMiki TheMiki
    Posted June 10, 2011 at 11:42 am

    Does anyone remember all the flack when dude on Idol did that “Super original and creative” cover of Billie Jean, and then word leaked out that it was just the version that Chris Cornell had done years prior? When I heard Dia’s cover my first thought was, “I bet if I hop on youtube I can find a dozen different piano covers of this song.” I still thought she was really good though.

  16. 16
    jayem
    Posted June 10, 2011 at 1:38 pm

    Thank God I’m not the only one who couldn’t focus on anything but XTina’s booty shorts. Not. Cute. But damn, girl can sing! I think Beverly is a little shouty and has so far been given songs that are practically tailored for her, but I liked her performance (at least she cut down on the head bobbling and high notes a little) and I think she’s the standout on the team. Lily was forgettable, the little girl was okay, and Frenchie was okay. Can we keep 1 from this team and 3 from the other??

    Team Blake was much better. I love Xenia already (and would buy her album tomorrow if it were available) and I like Dia and the rocker guy. Not a fan of the country guy, cause I don’t hear anything outstanding in his voice. He’s kinda boring. And I’m still mad he got picked over Tyler(?). I am also starting to lovelovelovelovelove Blake. He is friggin’ hilarious. To do Adam’s song right in front of him?! The bromance. His corny jokes. Everything. Love him.

    PS – God, Itchy, when are you gonna stop with the “Snotty McCreepy” references?? The show’s over, he won, and it makes YOU look like the creepy one.

  17. 17
    vallegirl vallegirl
    Posted June 10, 2011 at 2:26 pm

    I think the difference between Lightbulbhead and Dia is that Dia didn’t do a direct cover from someone else that the show chose not to acknowledge.

    Listening to the three acoustic versions, they’re all different. Kris’s version had more R&B rhythms and syncopations while Dia’s was more in the alterna-troubadour vein and The Fray are more emo.

    Conversely, Lightbulbhead did a note-for-note cover of Cornell’s rearrangement of “Billie Jean” and when he was praised for his originality in creating that arrangement, neither he nor the show acknowledged Cornell. It was only when Cornell’s fans started pounding that drum that it got any play.

    And I think Adam’s question was about whether it was her idea to perform the song and she said yes. I don’t think she was claiming anything more than that because the only song that was acknowledged to have been chosen by the mentor was that awful song Xtina chose for Raquelle. I think all the other performers chose their own songs.

  18. 18
    TheMiki TheMiki
    Posted June 10, 2011 at 2:33 pm

    Hehe… Lightbulbhead…
    I’m with ya. I was just saying that this has happened before. I bet with enough youtube searching we could find a cover of “Heartless” that was very similar to Dia’s. So what? This show isn’t looking for amazing rearrangers of current songs. She sang it really well, which is why I liked it so much. Also, girls that play piano most of the time (even the famous ones) tend to look a little awkward when they have to sing without one. They should let her play every week if she can.

  19. 19
    Lizbot
    Posted June 10, 2011 at 3:39 pm

    Actually, I thought it was smart of Christina to have Raquel perform the Kesha song (even though I flip the channel every time it comes on the radio). For on thing, as much as I hate it, the song is current and there are a lot of tween Kesha fans out there (I assume, seeing as Kesha seems to have survived her first 15 minutes of fame) and that’s the vote Xtina’s probably gunning for with Raquel. The second reason is that Kesha’s version is so robotic and tuneless it was almost impossible for Raquel’s version not to be an improvement on the original. If she had tried to sing a song by someone like Mariah or Whitney or Xtina herself she would have been crucified. It would be smart for Christina to keep giving her catchy hit songs by mediocre artists (like Britney, Rihanna, Kesha, Miley) because any comparison will almost have to be in Raquel’s favour.

  20. 20
    itchy
    Posted June 10, 2011 at 4:19 pm

    What? You mean his name isn’t Snotty McCreepy? According to my spellchecker it is.

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