Snore. Snooze. Overkill. Not another singing competition. That pretty much sums up the reaction to The Voice, which premiered last night on NBC. Even star judges like Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Blake Shelton, and Adam Levine couldn't save it -- in fact, they kind of just cluttered things up.
While it wasn't a total American Idol ripoff, it was clear the show was trying hard (too hard) not to be AI. So instead of just singing, there was a host of silly gimmicks, like the judges not facing the contestants, buttons to be pushed, and a competition for teams. A straight-up ripoff would have been more welcome. None of it worked, and while there was definitely some talent, it was difficult to watch without thinking, So if you're this good, why aren't you on American Idol?
Speaking of which, one of the contestants last night was a former AI reject. Remember Frenchie Davis? She was the one who got kicked off the show's second season when topless pictures of her were found on an adult website. Apparently, she's not too racy for The Voice. After belting out Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl," she was chosen by Aguilera.
The real problems with The Voice, however, "begin with the fact that it exists," as Ken Tucker at Entertainment Weekly says. "TV has just about reached the bursting point of 'discovering new talent'; there’s nothing in this show that you couldn’t have gotten from American Idol, America’s Got Talent, or The Sing-Off."
It's not just in singing either that we've reached the point of competition show saturation. There are multiple shows for every competition one can think of -- from singing to dancing to modeling and home improvement. When there's a game for everyone to win, we don't really care anymore who does.
Did you watch The Voice? What did you think?
Image via NBC.com
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Comments 15
I LOVED IT!!!! I was never bored. I thought it was interesting. A lot of the people were too old for Idol. Idol has gotten boring to me. I know the blind audition thing is a gimmick, but it's a gimmick I fell for.
I actually liked The Voice... it was a nice change of pace from the dramatic, and overly manufactured American Idol. I heard much better talent and it wasn't all about the overpayed judges who do nothing but sing the praises of the mediocre talent they have this year. It was strictly about the talent. I hope they don't change it and continue to focus on the "singing" like American Idol used to do...
There was nothing else on so i tuned in and I really enjoyed it!! I liked the whole panel, shockingly, i even liked Christina and some of those people on there could really sing!
and seriously???... if you're this good why aren't you on American Idol? All of the people on The Voice could easily sing rings around any of the contestants on American Idol this year (except for Pia).
I loved it. the contestants are picked to audition I'm guessing by some AR type peeps, that went looking for those that CAN sing and WANT it bad.
I will keep watching as I love shows like this. I can NOT stand shows like survivor/great race etc. no point other than to win money and 'hurt' others...
This is fun/good tv
I loved it. Apparently I'm not the only one.
I don't think the judges not facing the audience is a gimmick of any kind. I think it's SMART. Let's talk about how many people got through on American Idol based solely on their looks. You can't say it hasn't happened....and they've gotten pretty far in some cases.
Cee Lo made it clear last night that it does happen when the girl with Indian heritage didn't get through based solely on her voice and when he turned around and saw her wished he'd put her through.