Category — The Voice

The prize for canniest move by a Network this week must go to Channel Seven with news that Carmen Smith, she who was exiled from The Voice, will perform on Australia’s Got Talent tomorrow night.

News.com.au is reporting that Carmen will perform on the show with Guy Sebastian. Carmen “withdrew” from The Voice because it was seen that she had an unfair advantage of being in the music clip with The X Factor judge. The majority of people thinking this decision was unfair by NINE.

Anyway Channel Seven has guaranteed that Voice fans will be tuning in to see and support her. Hopefully something good will come out of this for her.

One of the interesting things about her performing on another show, is that normally reality show contestants are bound by contracts that don’t allow them to do media on another Network and it is likely she would have had to gain permission from NINE to do so.

Unless as part of her agreeing to leave the contract was torn up, or the other option is she decided to do it knowing if NINE kicked up a fuss they would attract a backlash.

Also if you want to get an interview with Carmen do you contact NINE or Seven?

It definitely will be an episode to watch.

Australia’s Got Talent is on SEVEN at Wednesdays at 7.30pm.

“For all the people at home that don’t really understand what is going on here when you rehearse here everyone sings great, when you are faced with the fact that seven million people are at home are watching, and it’s live that is what separates the men from the boys, and the women from the boys and you delivered such an incredible performance.” said Seal to Darren Percival. What? I know the media releases outlining the ratings have a bit of spin in them, but not that much!

Seal is the gift that keeps on giving and this week he was deluding himself about the size of The Voice’s audience in Australia. For the record the ratings are a very fine 2 million, one third of what Seal was suggesting. However the looks on the other judges faces when he announced this was priceless.

Also Seal’s delusion carried over to his clothing as really the shirt with the fingerless gloves was really not a great look. Don’t expect to see it on the high street soon.

However really these insignificant issues compared to Carmen Smith being told she had to withdraw because she had an unfair advantage because she was in a Guy Sebastian film clip.

However apparently there is no conflict of interest with Delta Goodrem saving back up singer Glenn Cunningham last night. Would love to ask Matt Hetherington and Ben Bennett what they thought of that. These two were the ones who ended up being punted from Team Delta last night.

Also Seal selected to save Chris Sebastian, brother of Guy. Now neither of these two male singers have given a stand out performance yet on the show, either in auditions, the battle rounds nor live performances.

On Team Seal Emma Louise Birdsall and Karise Eden were the two with the highest vote, with Seal electing save Fatai V and Chris Sebastian. Michael Duchesne and Sam Ludeman were eliminated.

On Team Delta, Viktoria and Rachael Leahcar had the highest public vote, and Delta decided to save back up singer Glen, and Danni Da Ros.

Rachael Leahcar has had significant publicity throughout the show and whether this gave her an advantage in the public vote who knows, but one singer who has had very little coverage has been Diana Rouvas who is on Team Keith.

And the Megan Washington replica made sure Australia sat up and took notice when she gave the outstanding performance of the night singing Love On Top. She showed she was sexy, charismatic and could sing. However she has barely got an inch of column space since the show began. It will be interesting to see if this has a impact on the amount of votes she receives.

The judges tonight gave more constructive criticism of the show, which does show how programs now react to comments on the internet. Speaking of social media I am not quite getting the V Room headed by Faustina. The concept is interesting however it does need to be fleshed out a bit more.

The Performances:

Team Keith – Darren Percival – Where Ever I Lay My Hat

With that song Keith was trying to get on side the people he thinks will vote for him –  which is the older female. He is probably right.  Seal thought it was an incredible performance, but then Seal thinks there are 7 million people watching him.

However Joel Madden also likes him saying, “Outside my team you are my favourite singer in this competition”.

Keith was starting to look peeved with the other judges as they just don’t shut up. Once he finally got his say Keith said he could feel there was a bit of weight in the pressure in his voice.

Hopefully he is safe, but his performance was not that memorable.

Team Joel – Prinnie Stevens – Turn Me On by Nicki Minaj

She looked as sexy as hell, but her high notes were a bit off, unless that is how that song is meant to be sung.  However the judges all love her and Delta thinks she is in her own lane, meaning there is no one else like her in the competition.

It was interesting to see that they gave her a fair bit of choreography in the routine compared to others which did make the performance pop a bit more on stage. Matt Lee from So You Think You Can Dance is the shows choreographer. He is doing a good job – adding to the performances not overpowering it.

Team Keith – Adam Martin –  Lonely Boy

He reminded me of a young Chris Issak. Will he and Lakyn be battling it out for the teen vote? He told Seal he felt more in his comfort zone. Seal said that he connected which was Seal’s buzz word of the night. Keith said you won’t be a lonely boy and he thought the routine had the right swagger and he hopes Australia agrees.

Team Joel – Sarah De Bono – Listen

Darren McMullen introduced her as Brittany Cairns? I hope that was not an omen for her. However he did apologise for it after she finished singing blaming it on the Brittany army that was in front of him when he was announcing the song.

She did sing well however expect there is going to be an amazing performance emerge from her at some stage if she gets to stay in as she has the voice. Joel said Australia witnessed the star that you are.

Team Keith – Jimmy Cupples – Sweet Child Of Mine

Jimmy doesn’t like taking direction well and was playing more up to the live audience then to the one at home.

However his voice is unique and very much like Axel Rose the lead singer of Guns and Roses, also considering he is a rock singer he was hitting a few less bum notes then some of his colleagues.  The cameras panned to his parents in the crowd and they are probably hoping their son may finally make a decent living out of music.

Seal was critical of him for missing rehearsals because he was sick, which apparently he has been all week. Seriously was he meant to come and risk contaminating the other 12 contestants? The only person he disadvantaged was himself. Seal was hinting his work ethic was not great.

I get the feeling that Keith won’t be saving him next week with his comments “You have the voice” and “I commend you on making artistic choices”.

Team Joel – Ben Hazelwood – Lego Man

Delta loves Ben apparently maybe she wishes she had him on her team.  The performance was not memorable, and Joel wished he had connected with the crowd more. He is in danger of going.

He also got his first tattoo influenced by Joel which shows he is not real bright either.

Team Keith – Taga Paa – Fight For You

He started off strong and then slipped a bit. He would be great in a boy band but not sure he can carry off a solo performance. His likeability factor is high but with all the other heart throb boys singing tonight he might find it difficult to find a voting niche.

Seal thought he delivered tonight.

Team Joel – Laura Bunting – Somebody I Used To Know

Laura is one singer I really want to like and she was one of my favourites after she sang Kate Bush at her audition, however tonight she should have ticked all the boxes but it didn’t quite get there for me tonight She looked rather demonic and it was overly dramatic or a bit too much musical theatre in it.  Delta thought it was the perfect song  but thought it was a little aggressive.

“Not sure the people watching understand you as I understand you,” said Joel. Laura is starting to fall behind the front runners.

Team Keith  - Diana Rouvas – Love On Top.

Why hello Diana. Stand up and take a bow, while your at it what about an encore? What there are time issues with the live shows? They are running late? Before tonight she unknown, but she seized her opportunity and today Sports Bet must be ringing off the hook with people wanting to place money on her to win.

If you missed it go here to check it out.

Team Joel – Lakyn Heperi – Forever Young

The Voice’s answer to Reece Mastin, however Reece did have better stage presence. Lakyn was a little bland. However with the amount of  squealing girls he would not matter if he had not sung at all and it looks like he will be safe this week.  It was one of the worse performances of the night.  Seal thought he looked a little disinterested.

Team Keith – Brittany Cairns – Different Worlds

She looks like she has a little crush on Keith Urban, but she would not be alone there. Great voice, but still a little beige for me. She has been given the pimp spot as Rachael Leahcar was last week, so they obviously want to see her get through.

Predictions to go:

Team Keith – Jimmy Cupples and Taga Paa.

Team Joel – Ben Hazlewood

It must break some sort of reality TV record, but The Voice judge Delta Goodrem has been linked with every male cast member, except Keith Urban, on the show.

First it was Joel Madden in a blind item on CDAN, and then after Seal broke up with Heidi Klum and after that kiss at the Logies it was thought the blind item had been about him.

Now the rumour is the person she maybe dating is host Darren McMullen according to the Herald Sun website.

Here is a novel idea maybe Delta Goodrem is not actually shagging anyone at all or at least not anyone on the show.

I am not a huge fan of Delta Goodrem since she inflicted her then boyfriend, Brian McFadden on the Australian public, but the rumours surrounding her love life are starting to look a tad sexist.

The rationale that her and Darren are on is that  he had a spray at Peta Jeffress on Nine’s Morning Show last week, who the night before had put the boot into Delta on Today Tonight. Apparently this defence of Delta MUST be because he is shagging Delta. Obviously just good friends don’t do that sort of thing…

It should be noted that I have reported on ALL these news stories so am contributing to this sexism, however yesterday it struck me that just maybe she is shagging no one, and none of the other judges are attracting this sort of attention. Particularly Seal who is also single and does not appear to be the type to lead a celibate life.

Well cyber space went mental yesterday with news that Carmen Smith had been booted off The Voice for appearing in a Guy Sebastian film clip, however it was also an opportunity for fans to barrack for their favourite singers to be brought back in.

One campaign that did gain traction yesterday on Twitter according to the Daily Telegraph was the bring back Mahalia Barnes. Now it is not like she had a low profile entering the show, with her garnering a fair bit of the publicity both before the show started and while she was on the show and a lot of it was to do with who her dad was.

In other The Voice news apparently there are allegations being aimed at Delta Goodrem that her new single “Sitting on Top of The World” has a riff that is from Canadian band Arcade Fire song Rebellion (Lies).

Delta denies that it is. (Source: Daily Telegraph)

If you are curious you can listen to both below.

UPDATED: Channel NINE has announced that Carmen Smith the funky 28 year old backing singer will be leaving The Voice. The reason given is she has an unfair advantage because she has a significant role in the new music video from Guy Sebastian and as such would be deemed to have an unfair advantage as the show moves into the public voting stage as the video is on current release and highly visible.

WTF? Chris Sebastian is Guy Sebastian brother, and he is allowed to stay.

The Voice producers made a big deal about looking for professionals and working musicians for the show, and this has meant some great talent has been found. They said they can continue to work whilst they are on the show but now it looks like you can be too professional.

It is unclear if Joel Madden will be bringing back another singer from his team to perform.

Channel NINE’s Press Release states:

In a move determined to be in the spirit of the show, Joel Madden’s team member Carmen Smith, will leave The Voice prior to the live shows on Monday.

Carmen has a significant role in the new music video from Guy Sebastian and as such would be deemed to have an unfair advantage as the show moves into the public voting stage as the video is on current release and highly visible.

Nine Network Director of Development Adrian Swift said:  “This was not a decision we and Team Joel took lightly.  Our priority as we move into the voting period toward the finale is that all of the artists are on a level playing field.  In our business we are often confronted by these tough decisions and unfortunately at this time it’s been decided that it isn’t appropriate for her to remain in our competition. We wish Carmen well and thank her for a wonderful contribution to the show thus far.”

“It saddens me that I am leaving The Voice much earlier than I had hoped. However, I’ve loved every minute of it and respect the decision that has been made by Joel and his team,” Carmen said. “I’ve sung on Guy’s albums and been part of his band for many years so I’m thrilled to be in the clip and am looking forward to getting back to work and also working on my solo career.”

Who would you like to see brought back? And do you think it was fair that Carmen Smith has to leave The Voice?

UPDATE: The font of all TV information Michael Idato from the SMH has told me that there will be no one brought back and only one of Joel’s singers will be eliminated. Also he has written an article where he think perhaps her having to leave came because Guy Sebastian’s record company is Sony NOT Universal.

Also Channel NINE are getting a bit of a backlash on the decision if The Voice’s Facebook page is anything to go by. The only winner out of this is Guy Sebastian who now has all The Voice fans watching the clip to see what all the fuss is about.

We’ve had the blind auditions, the battle rounds and now on The Voice it was the first of the live shows. However it is not team against team or coach against coach at this stage, it is team mate against team mate.

Even though there were twelve contestants singing last night it was really six competing within their six. After the public vote next week there will be two from each team eliminated. They only really compete with singers in other teams in the finale. This is advantageous if you are in a weak team for example team Delta but it is a negative thing if you are in a team of strong voices like Team Seal.

In theory the top four voices in the competition may not be the final four. I could be wrong as I am still getting my head around the format.

The first live show had its highlights and lowlights, however Seal was feeling the love for everything. I would love to know what is on his rider as I think that particular brand of vodka looks like a lot of fun. He was swivelling his hips in his group live performance and saying he was on the best show ever in a great country etc etc. His gushing did not stop there he also stated his admiration for not only  his singers but for the others as well, and maybe he was a bit too touchy with the girls in his group. Fatai V in particular received a lingering kiss on the cheek and she did look a bit uncomfortable. He has to remember there is a power relationship at play as he gets to decide two of his singers he can keep.

The positives about the first live show were Fatai V, Karise Eden and Emma Louise Birdsall who positively hit it out of the ball park, and I was intrigued by Viktoria’s rendition of Bang Bang. However there was some dodgy performances and it would have been great to hear the coaches (yes that is what you are meant to do) to give some constructive criticism.

They have to remember there are two million arm chair critics at home who might be thinking was the performance was off key most of the song, or that was ordinary real judgements from them helps validate or invalidate the views of the person at home.

Also a shout out should be given to Gabe Robinson whois the shows stylist. There was not one dud outfit.

Tonight it was Team Seal and Team Delta singing with Fatai V starting the show.

Team Seal – Fatai  V -  New York.

It was a fantastic start to the show, and it is hard to believe she is only 16 years old.Her voice is amazing and as Keith said she has set the bar so high. Seal however killed the moment with a long lingering kiss on her cheek, with even Joel commenting that  ”loved the hug”. He appeared to have his tongue planted in his cheek with that comment.

Team Delta – Matt Hethrington - White Noise

Not sure it was the best song choice if he is trying to ditch his musical theatre background as the arrangement sounded a bit rock musicalish.  However am considering flicking him a vote as he is great eye candy and there is not much in that age bracket on reality TV shows at them moment. Yes I know sometimes it is not all about “the voice”.

Team Seal – Karise Eden sang Nothing’s Real But Love

Seal is all about feeling the love, but he can also coach. He told her he wanted her to pull back her voice. She did so with great effect, and she is one singer who would be great to see sing live. The coaches deservedly gave her a standing ovation.

Team Delta – Ben Button sang One Thing

He better hope all the One Direction fans start hitting the phones as he was dreadfully out of tune just about the whole song, however Keith Urban said he knocked it out of the park!

Team Seal – Michael Duchesne –  Got To Get You Into My Life

He also seemed to be hit with first night nerves with even Delta looked a tad bored during his performance. Joel just avoided talking about the actual performance at all, and  Seal was talking about Michael being a red light performer, which meant when the light comes on he just goes. So didn’t he mean green light?

Team Delta – Danni Da Ros – Alone

There is no doubt she has chops particularly in her higher register, but have heard her sing better. But the coaches gave her a standing ovation. So maybe it sounded like she was spot on in the auditorium. I hope she gets through as I would like to see her sing again.

Team Seal – Sam Ludeman – Summer Paradise

He did a pop cute song which which meant the girls will love him. Was it the greatest rendition? No, but he did enough. As Joel said “if he had any problems getting laid you definitely won’t after tonight.”   Probably the strongest guy in Team Seal.

Team Delta Viktoria Bolonina – Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)

This performance intrigued me and for the first time thought maybe Delta was right in picking her over Peta Jeffress.  She is stunning on stage.  The last 30 seconds were great, maybe because she was so dramatic.

Team Seal – Chris Sebastian – Without You

Not sure playing an instrument first performance is a good idea particularly if you are only playing the piano for eight bars before you get up and sing. His higher register was good. Seal said some people have star quality and others don’t.  Seal thinks he does I don’t. I am curious to know what the public think of him.

Team Delta – Glen Cunningham – Heaven Knows

As they said being a backing vocalists means you have to blend in, and that is what he still did in this performance. Cannot fault his voice but he lacks the looks and charisma to take it all the way.

Team Seal Emma-Louise Birdsall – Never Loved a Man

She put her money where her mouth is and Australia did sit up and take notice of her last night. Her voice was amazing as was her sultry performance. She oozed sex appeal.Seal was looking like he wanted ot pounce on her, but just gyrated a chair instead, and Joel commented on how he was in her line of sight the whole performance, he did appear to be a bit flummoxed.

Team Delta – Rachael Leahcar – Hands

Rachael got the last spot known as the pimp spot as it gives you a better chance of being seen by the viewers and obtaining their vote as it is the last one they hear. She looked like a gorgeous dresden doll but I thought her voice was all over shop and have heard her sing much better. She is going to have to step up to grab the limelight back from those other girls.

Predictions on who will be eliminated:

Team Seal: Michael Duchesne and Chris Sebastian.

Team Delta: Ben Button and  Glen Cunningham.

Tonight for the first time on The Voice the viewer will get the first opportunity to vote for contestants on the show and it will be interesting to see which of the singers have managed to entrench themselves in the public’s pysche.

But let’s be frank will we be voting solely on The Voice or will it be other factors? I note there are not any unattractive contestants in the top 24.

Here are some of the things which may influence a viewers voting patterns:

• Looks;
• The back story;
• The contestant’s social media strategy;
• The talent;
• Song choice;
• If we know or have a connection with them in real life;
• Their coach;
• The amount of pimping they are getting from the publicity team, some do appear to be getting more than others;
• The montage we get to see of them before they sing; and
• Of course “The Voice”.

Now what is the format with the voting?

We vote for two to save singers, the judges get to select two singers to remain and two are eliminated.

How to vote?

Well the SMH has the full enchilada on this. You can vote via phone or text for SMS or for free on Facebook, but of course you will need a Facebook account. Also if you by one of the songs from itunes you get two votes.

The article queries the amount of money the show will be making from this. However there was a lot of money invested in the format and the judges so they should not be criticised about their profit. Channel NINE risked $20 million on buying the format alone and those international judges would not have been cheap. So before they even heard a voice there was some serious coinage spent.

If they keep production values high I am happy to pay to vote. We are a small market compared to the USA, and money must come from other thing then just advertising slots.

The other issues is whether the singers/contestants on the show should be getting a cut from the money that is coming in from the itunes sales. I am mixed about this. But let’s face it these issues are only ever raised when there is money being made and the show is a hit.

We know that currently the contestants would be on a weekly stipend to cover expenses they have in their real life but they are getting huge exposure and have the opportunity to win $100,000 and a record contract. Also other contestants this year will also receive record contracts and performing opportunities.

However I do think there should be a Survivor type payment system in place where the longer you stay in the more money you should receive. This should apply to all reality shows not just The Voice.

The Voice continues to push more boundaries with not just ratings but also their innovative social media strategy.

Channel NINE have now announced Faustina Agolley, will be The V-Reporter for the Live Shows commencing this Monday at 7.30pm.

She will be the face of The V-Room, The Voice’s social media hub. Channel NINE says Faustina – former Australian host of Video Hits, will bridge the gap between on-air and online. She will make regular appearances during the live broadcasts, monitoring social media feeds and reporting key tweets and statistics to the audience.

The Voice will continue to push the boundaries between broadcast and online by bringing social media conversations to the on-air show. Agolley will address real-time feedback from viewers, engaging fans and connecting them to artists and coaches from The V-Room via Facebook, Twitter and www.thevoice.com.au.

And good news for Matt Lee fans he will be the choreographer for the show ensuring that the contestants have the moves to go with their songs. Looking forward to seeing him on the small screen again. He has been touring with Mary Poppins for the past 12 months.

The Voice live shows commence Monday night on NINE at 7.30pm, and remember the public will have the opportunity to now vote.

Darren McMullen host of The Voice is a personality that publicity departments hate, but media outlets love as he does appears he does not have a filter on his brain. Hopefully he won’t get one.

Yesterday he was on Mornings on Nine and slammed contestant Petra Jeffress who had been on Today Tonight the previous evening bucketing The Voice. Unfortunately NINE Network have pulled the clip from online.

TV Tonight has the transcript of what Darren said:

“Obviously there was that idiot who was on Seven’s current affairs show last night slagging off the whole process,” he said.

He said she had the chance to perform before the “Most people she has ever sung in front of, and let’s be honest, will probably ever sing in front of because she’s not that good.

“She was rude to staff, she was rude to crew. She didn’t listen to anything Darren (Hayes) and Delta had to say. She was a prima donna, she knew better than anybody. She wasn’t happy with the way the song was arranged, this, that and the other.

“She came out and absolutely killed one of my favourite Prince songs of all time. It was hard to listen to. Screeching down the microphone.”

“Harsh!” replied Sonia Kruger.

“This industry is about attitude right? That’s the perfect example of why you don’t deserve to be on the show and why you’ll never make it, because your attitude stinks,” he insisted.

McMullen’s slamming, which belies the show’s positive tones, also contradicts his comments on stage after Jeffress sang Purple Rain with Viktoria Bolonia.

“Love that song! Great pairing!” he said at the time. But today he claims it was screeching.

When watching the episode I thought it was bizarre that Peta missed being picked to the girl who sang Purple Rain with a Russian accent but maybe she just did not connect with Delta. However Peta gives  a cracker interview to Today Tonight see below where she outlines the audition process which makes it look like it is not really about “The Voice”.

Also interesting that Delta’s mentor Darren Hayes said he would have picked Peta.

Sorry guys my computer has died. And yes I do have a back up one but it died two days ago as well so blogging from an iPad .

Because of the time consuming nature of blogging via iPad I thought while you were waiting for the recap you to chat about the episode and whether youthought the right singers were selected.