S07.E04: Blind Auditions (4)

[DownTheShore]

I didn't even know he got married, so I wouldn't even recognize her even if she is in the US commercials - sorry.

 

I really want to give props to the backup band on The Voice.  They are truly an asset to those singers, supplementing their performance but never overwhelming it.  Ditto, for later shows, the set designers.  I was watching America's Got Talent this summer and I was really surprised how much the sets and lighting actually worked against the performers and distracted from them.  I've always felt that the sets on The Voice have complemented the song choices and the singers.

[kj4ever]

This is the exact same reason I'm enjoying this season so much. I used to be a huge fan of Maroon 5, but after watching Adam on 3 seasons of The Voice, the love I had for the band has diminished.

 

And has anyone else noticed that Behati (Adam's blushing new bride) is in a lot of the commercials they show? They have her on the VS ads and the Joe Fresh ads as well....or maybe that's just in the Canadian version?

I know a lot of famous men marry women way younger than them, but man Adam looks like her creepy Uncle.

[Padma]

Not sure why many think Adam has not been as successful in the 4-chair turn category.  So far this season, they have gone 5 for Adam, 1 for Gwen, 4 for Pharrell, and 1 for Blake.  If anything, Pharrell has been challenging Blake more.  (In season 6, four-chair turns went 4 for Adam, 1 for Shakira, 2 for Usher, and 4 for Blake.)

 

I wouldn't have guessed that. Maybe Adam is losing out more than usual in the majority of turns he's part of? It does seem as if he's not as effective as in other seasons. Blake's been pretty laid back, but Pharrell at least seems to be giving Adam a run for it with his superior (and much more sincere-sounding) pitches. I love how he's so calm and polite but still is a good salesman. (I'm a little over Adam, but had to laugh when he was trying to sell himself and talked about -his- record label and how he wanted a name artist who, oh, yeah, it turns out, didn't actually want to record with him. Great story, Adam, lol.) I do think he's intimidated by Pharrell in a way he hasn't been before--and it's all to the good. Hopefully, since he's so extremely competitive, it will make him work harder and better during lives, too.

Edited October 5, 2014 by Padma

[mercfan3]

I would love a season with Pharrell and Usher..I wouldn't even care who the other two were. I always thought Usher did a poor job with trying to persuade people to go on his team, but his actual coaching was excellent. Funny enough, he said that during season 4 Pharrell used to text him song ideas for his contestants (well really, just Michelle.) I just love Usher because from what I've heard, he goes above and beyond what is expected of him when it comes to coaching. From working late hours to having his entire team of stylists, music director ect..around them, to just the overall effort he put into it..it just seems like he loved the mentor aspect of it, and that's just good for the singers. My guess is Pharrell is going to be exactly the same way..and I'll bet he'll be very good at it. 

 

That's not to say that the other coaches aren't good, but I've just heard so many positive things about Usher that it seems like he went above and beyond. 

 

As for these auditions, in general..I'm really liking the season. I haven't found any huge favorites yet, but most seasons (other than last season, where Bria Kelly stole my heart in the audition and I wasn't jumping ship no matter how bad she sung. I've listened to Steamroller Blues so many times it's embarrassing.) that's the case. And it tends to work out better for me if I don't have an immediate favorite. But it's like season 4 and season 5 for me, where there's a few people I like. I think Adam and Pharrell likely have the best singers so far, but I think I actually like Gwen's team (I think the littler girl who sang Problem is going to end up surprising some people..) the best overall. And Reagan, on team Blake, might be the most interesting of the bunch. 

Edited October 6, 2014 by mercfan3

[viajero]

I finally caught up with last week’s episodes and like many, I’m still underwhelmed by the general level of talent this season.  Having said that, I did think the contestants on Tuesday night were a significant improvement over Monday’s depressing parade of mediocrity.
 
At least Gwen has significantly improved what had looked like an embarrassingly weak team.  I thought Anita was the best on Monday night and would put Amanda Peers as one of the best on Tuesday.  I loved everything about her performance of Put the Gun Down and found myself reacting just as enthusiastically as Gwen did.  I even thought Jean Kelly did a more than credible job with Already Gone, which is a very tough song to do live.
 
At this point, I see Blake as having by far the weakest team.  The only one of his singers that I find even remotely interesting is Reagan James.  I certainly wasn’t much impressed by his pickups in this episode.  Tanner is clearly not ready yet and I liked the idea of Craig Wayne Boyd more than his actual vocals, which came across to me as run-of-the-mill bar band. 
 
Other than Amanda, my other favorites from Tuesday night were Chris Jamison and Katriz Trinidad.
 

She wasn't that great; however, her talent was present and she could be molded into the kind of music star most people like.  I saw her and said, "Yep, that is what you want at a label. Someone you can teach."

 

I thought the first girl who sang was better than any 15 year that had ever previously been on the show. Could she unlearn some of that training like Gwen said? Sure. But she has great control over her runs, which not many 15 year olds have.

 
I kind of agree with both of the above comments.  I thought Katriz showed an amazing amount of vocal talent and stage presence for a 15 year old.  I wouldn’t have picked that song for someone her age, but I can certainly see why Pharrell was so excited.  There is a lot of potential there and I’m actually kind of excited to see what he does with her.

Edited October 6, 2014 by viajero

[BarneySays]

There is some degree of inconsistency in what they say as opposed to who they choose.  For some classic songs, they seem to want a note-by-note duplication of the original artist's phrasing, yet in other instances, they chide the performer for not making the song their own and stayng too close to the original.  I can't quite figure out why some songs are apparently sacrosanct while others aren't.

I think it has everything to do with the song.  Some songs lend themselves to multiple interpretations, while other songs are so propelled by the melody that you can't stray from it without losing the essential quality of the song.  It is, of course, wiser to pick the former type of song because the latter poses greater obstacles, most notably sounding like a cover artist in a local dive.  A great tone can potentially overcome the cover artist problem, for example.  Furthermore, if you sing a song that is widely known, you had better do something with it or you will bore the audience (and judges)- see Pretty Woman.  (For a dramatic counter-example, I would suggest something as odd, yet effective, as Patti LaBelle and the Bluebell's version of Danny Boy.)  If the song is relatively unknown, you may get away with a karaoke version because the judges have nothing to compare it to.  Song choice is always key for every artist- and every artist has at least one horrible song choice grave error in their past. 

[Padma]

I wonder if Blake is going to have the weakest team this time. He seems at a disadvantage in the pitches. Gwen's got the "girl card", the "stage presence card" and the "been in a band" card plus the "big star for a long time" card. It's not working -that- well for her so far, but she's still done better than Shakira or CeeLo.

 

Pharrell, imo, is the one that people who think of themselves as artists should choose and, as a producer and performer with a record label and hits, he's a good choice.

 

Adam has his apparently hypnotic charm, good-looks and salesmanship to snow singers again and again that "You -will- win this if you choose my team! Guaranteed!" Or, alternatively, his "I've got great ideas for you and while I love you, I'm in your corner and will be critical too in a way that will really help you!"

 

Blake wants more than country singers, but that's pretty much what he's left with, along with those in need of nurturing. Of course, while he's still my favorite and I think he's a good coach once the competition begins, his pitches outside his genre are awfully weak, "I was in Phoenix for two weeks last year!"  "I know you don't see your kind of music as a fit for me, but that's why you'd be perfect on Team Blake!" If this was his first season, I think he'd -only- be getting country singers.

[Noreaster]

Actually Gwen isn't really doing too hot in the blinds.  Just one 3-chair turn and one 4-chair turn so far.

 

Blake also certainly doesn't look very competitive.

 

Adam and Pharrell are both doing pretty well.  Maybe people are surprised by Pharrell's success because it's his first season as a coach? Maybe it's the editing that makes it look like Adam is struggling?

 

Anyway, Adam seems to be doing just fine.  Based on the contestant conference calls (links in media thread), some actually had Pharrell as their top choice but ended up going with Adam.  Also sounds like Adam filled his team first based on the yahoo article. 

[mercfan3]

Pharrell and Adam dominated. But I noticed Gwen beat Blake quite a bit when they would go toe to toe. 

 

I think part of the problem for Blake is actually that the two of them do have similar taste. Except, if you are a small voiced alternative female vocalist...Gwen is probably more appealing. (As, she was probably an icon for you.) Similar actually to how the young girls with big voices do tend to go with Christina..because they grew up listening to her.

 

I'll say this, it seemed the "girl card" works better for Gwen than it does for Christina and Shakira. But I almost think it's in how she approaches is. Instead of saying "I'm a girl, I get you." She's almost more specific. 

 

I'm interested in seeing how she does in coaching. Right now I kind of like her. 

[ChicksDigScars]

Gwen's got the "girl card", the "stage presence card" and the "been in a band" card plus the "big star for a long time" card.

 

Someone should have used the "how long has it been since you've had a hit" card against her.

 

I think Adam is intimidated by Pharrell. I mean, why wouldn't he be? The guy had a HUGE hit in the past year, which was nominated for an Oscar. He performed said hit on the Oscar telecast (and got Meryl-freaking-Streep to do the shimmy to it). He worked with that bizarre French duo who swept last year's Grammys, and may be doing it again next time, thanks to Happy. Oh, and there's that whole Blurred Lines thing.  Even the debate on whether Blurred Lines is a rip off of Marvin Gaye, roll off him like teflon. He's the "It Man" in pop music right now.  These kids trying out know that.  Adam's used car salesman pitch is taking a hit this season.  Plus, Pharrell is sincere as all get out. Adam is more smooth operator, less sincere.

 

Blake has always had a hard time keeping up with the more rabid sales pitches out of Adam. Trouble is that this season, he's got THREE of them tripping over their tongues trying to convince singers to be on their teams, but he's still laid back. Blake's strength has never been his sales pitch. It's in coaching and song selection (which is Adam's weakness).  Blake's teams come out of nowhere. Usually regarded as weak, but there they are, contending in the end. 

 

Pharrell has got to be the favorite. 

[Noreaster]

ChicksDigScars, your post makes a lot of sense.  Arguably Pharrell should be running away with the competition given his recent hits. However, that's not proven out in the numbers or interviews.  Adam isn't really taking a hit if he has been just as successful in the blinds as past seasons.  In the interviews, there were 4 or 5 contestants saying that they had Pharrell at the top of their list or that they were choosing between Pharrell and one other coach.  Yet chose the other coach.  Pharrell's pitches must really not be that compelling.

 

Granted the show has played around with this perception in the editing.  I actually watch very little of the show live but I did see episode 5.  And oh boy, they laid it on thick at the beginning that Adam was struggling because of Pharrell.  I guess that's the story the show wants to tell.  

 

Anyway, blinds are just one part of the show.  We have yet to see any coaching.  Hopefully Pharrell and Gwen will impress.  

[inmyeyes]

Even beyond just this last year when his profile became more mainsteam, Pharrell has a really solid resume and reputation that spans back to the late 1990s with his production work with the Neptunes. For me, if Pharrell turns, and you're a pop/R&B/hip-hop artist, you pick him. It boggles my mind when Pharrell goes all in and the contestant picks another coach. Adam must have some pretty strong mojo in person (and I say this as someone who still loves that douchecanoe, haha).

 

I think whether a particular coach's pitch works really depends on the personality and goals of the contestant. Like Adam's pitch to the Gravity guy; it worked on him because that was what he wanted from a coach, advice on how to get better. For others, a coach saying that they'll help refine who are as an artist is what attracts them.

 

I think that if Gwen can find an angle that works for her, she could be more successful. She does need to remove the words "cute", "fun" and "total package" from her pitch, IMO. Those types of comments add no value to her pitch and have zero persuasive power to convince a contestant to join her team. In contrast, I think Pharrell picked up the game very quickly (much more quickly than Usher, who I thought became more effective in pitching in his 2nd season) and figured out his unique selling point.

[BogoGog24]

Do the contestants know who's already on which teams? That could factor into why some didn't choose Pharrell because he had a lot of really strong singers on his team so obviously they might lose in the battles and knockouts.

[Donny Ketchum]

The other thing she writes is about that girl with the dead mom who went on Gwen's team. She said she had a really obnoxious attitude and actually asked Gwen and Blake to have a dance off over her, which they declined, and the studio was filled with awkward silence. Funny.

That would explain why Gwen didn't have that big of a smile on her face when she chose her.  After that, I'm pretty sure both she and Blake were hoping that the other would be chosen.  I bet she dumps her even if she's better than her opponent in the battle rounds.

[ToxicUnicorn]

oth are extremely accomplished, but for Pharrell in particular, his ascent into the heavens and huge noteriety to the general public is fairly recent.  More so than Gwen, I think.  She's been a lead singer, pop pricess & fashion inspiration in front of the mass markets for a long time.  Pharrell has had a less visible, yet still incredibly effective role in popular music, unless you're an industry insider.   But people definitely know who he is now.

Would someone please explain to me why Gwen is Pharrell's "boo"?  

 

A lot of these judges mean nothing to me until they appear on the show.  (Also, I get very excited - and then, very critical - whenever someone tries to do a Journey song.  I'm old, I own it.)  

 

I don't even know what a boo is, except it is something people used to say on Halloween.

[tmelange]

Pharrell wrote and produced some of Gwen's biggest hits, such as Hollaback Girl (under the Neptunes auspices). Boo simply means sweetheart.

 

I wouldn't really agree that Pharrell's notoriety is recent. He's been writing and producing hits for 20 years and has at least 2 producer of the year grammys. Producers, in general, are background people. It's like saying Dr. Dre's notoriety is recent because Beats was bought by Apple. What I would say is that many people don't pay a lot of attention to producers unless they also perform, which is true for pharrell. He now has the attention of people who don't know anything about producers because of Happy and Blurred Lines etc.

Edited October 11, 2014 by tmelange