The Voice in the Media

[Padma]

Thanks for posting the Billboard article. It's funny to read about how nervous they obviously were about Pharrell not being able to hold his own personality-wise with the other coaches. He's quickly become many people's favorite!

ITA. And it's nice to see from that that it's not an act with him (you always wonder), he really is that calm and low-key. He's not funny (there's Blake, and even Adam, for that), but I appreciate that The Voice doesn't feel viewers need "the mean judge" or that every judge has to have a BIG loud presence. Pharrell's even my favorite to watch while he's listening to a song. 

 

On a different note, funny how good Blake is at getting along with everyone. In an industry dominated by big egos and big insecurities, I don't think the show would want him to go, just for that quality alone.

[tmelange]

Blake did such a great job helping Usher fit in. And Blake even serves as the person who ensures things don't spin out of control when a judge says something that could be interpreted the wrong way or is too critical. He does a good job moderating Adam when he goes off the deep end. I think Blake seems like a genuinely nice guy.

[Noreaster]

I really like the diversity of the panel.  I think Blake is great and he does seem to get along with everyone and care about the contestants. But I would be so bored if all the coaches were like him.  To me, he is by far the most predictable coach.  He might not display his favoritism as obviously as some of the other coaches, but he is right up there with the one-sided pairings and song selections.  He favors contestants who stay within their wheelhouses and seems to balk at any sort of creativity or originality.  Pushing out such promising contestants like Gracia Harrison, Savannah Berry, etc.  Steals are mostly meaningless on his team.  He is very much set on what he likes, unlike Adam who kind of goes with the flow and is more willing to change his mind based on a surprising performance.

 

Not that there is anything wrong with Blake's approach.  I would probably be really annoyed if everyone was like Adam.  Diversity is key to an entertaining show.  

[Noreaster]

Conference call transcripts:

 

Battle round, episode 3: http://starrymag.com/?p=4626

Battle round, episode 4: http://starrymag.com/?p=4645

[pivot]

Thanks for posting the Billboard article. It's funny to read about how nervous they obviously were about Pharrell not being able to hold his own personality-wise with the other coaches. He's quickly become many people's favorite!

They should have been worried about Gwen. The blind auditions are edited to show the judges in the best light and all they could find for Gwen was her stupid comments on fashion and a bunch of zzzzz. Man, is she dull.

[Cramps]

While Gwen's pitches started badly, she's been a good coach. She started with what seemed to me like the weakest team, but their performances have been surprisingly strong. I'm actually impressed.

[dizzyizzy01]

While Gwen's pitches started badly, she's been a good coach. She started with what seemed to me like the weakest team, but their performances have been surprisingly strong. I'm actually impressed.

 

 

I'm impressed with her coaching and her ability to get some pretty good performances out of her team, but man the commentary is painful.  Then again, I kind of feel that way about all the coaches now.

[Noreaster]

Somebody asked about the audition process in the episode thread.  I thought I would post some links here.  FYI, the Paul Mirkovich interview has a ton of information.  Really a great read (though it's a couple of years old so things may have changed on the show since then). 

 

Cole Vosbury:  http://710keel.com/shreveports-cole-vosbury-explains-the-voice-auditioning-process/

“A lot of people get private auditions, meaning the show actually finds them and says ‘Hey, we would really love for you to audition for our show,’” Cole said. “And other people have to do the open call audition, which is what I did.”

 

He said it’s you and thousands of other people all singing in front of a judge. Of course, you’re not singing for Adam, Shakira, Usher and Blake just yet. Cole calls it a really cool process.  

 

“You go in there with nine other people, and there’s one judge. Basically, you get up for and sing for 90 seconds, or whenever he tells you to stop singing,” he said. “Once you get past that process, the rest of it’s pretty fun. You get a red piece of paper you get to hold up whenever you come down the stairs.”

 

After you do your open call audition, you get a call-back, which you do at the same location. For Cole, that was Houston, Texas. The judge said to prepare three songs, and he chose “Movin’ on Up,” the theme song by “The Jeffersons.”

 

That leads to an executive call-back audition, where you get to fly out to Los Angeles to play in front of the show’s executive producers and network people. If you get through that, you get to play the waiting game.

 

“They say you’ll know by this date if you got a blind audition,” Cole said. “After three months of work and preliminary auditions, I got a blind audition.”

 

Paul Mirkovich: http://www.museresearch.com/community/paul_mirkovich_interview.php

The large-scale auditions involve thousands of potential contestants, and those are held all around the country. I'm not involved in that at all. Once the large-scale auditions are complete, I get involved when they bring the top 200 contestants to Burbank for further auditions at Center Stage. Those auditions are held in front of the casting people and executives from NBC, along with producers from Mark Burnett productions and Talpa Productions (who originated the show in Denmark) Those auditions are live with the contestants singing to a track, or sometimes with me playing keyboards, or accompanied by a guitarist. After that we all give our 2 cents as to who should go through, so that group of 200 is reduced to about 150 or so, and those 150 go through to the blind auditions. I think this season we had about 138 people perform in front of the judges before the teams of 16 are filled.

 

Anonymous season 7 contestant: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2duqj3/iama_contestent_on_the_voice_season_7_ama/

There are 4 stages to the audition process. Open calls (open to the public), producer audition (most people on the show are found online by the casting dept. and start here), executive audition, then the blind audition (This is the audition that is aired on T.V.).

Edited October 30, 2014 by Noreaster

[Noreaster]

Here's another interesting Paul Mirkovich interview:

 

http://xfinity.comcast.net/blogs/tv/2012/04/23/voice-paul-mirkovich-interview-musical-director/

How would you describe their coaching styles?

 

Let’s start with Christina.

She’s meticulous, bordering on the somewhat obsessive, about what songs to pick for people. She’s very hands on. She emails all of her team a lot. Every time I think of her, I picture her with all of their pictures on her wall, pacing back and forth figuring what to do with each of them.

 

And Adam Levine?
He treats the singers as peers, as kindred spirits. He wants them to be artists first and foremost. And he’s very supportive of everyone, making choices with them and not for them.

 

Cee Lo?
He makes interesting choices for his people. Sometimes they don’t work well, but most of the time, he’s right on. Like when he had James sing “Don’t Know Why.” We thought it was odd but the first time we heard him do it, it was brilliant. At times, it might seem like Cee Lo is a bit detached but he’s always coming up with stuff that’s great for his team. He’s very much into pushing them to put on a show. He’s very theatrical, reminding them it’s show business.

 

Blake?
He’s the opposite of Cee Lo. He wants them to do songs as opposed to putting on a big show. First and foremost, he’s about the singer singing his or her songs and not letting a lot of production get in the way. His advice is to be musical. He’s very hands on with his team, acting as their friend and buddy as well as their coach.

 

[BogoGog24]

Basically how Cole described it is accurate to my experience. Except in my case the producer/judge told all of us that they had raised the bar very high for next season so they wouldn't be taking any of us. I saw one girl in the group before mine come out with a red piece of paper for a callback. 

 

When you think about how many people audition and how much time goes into just getting to the blinds, it really makes you scratch your head at some of those who made it to the blinds or who actually got a chair turn. 

[Noreaster]

BogoGog24, thanks for sharing!

[mercfan3]

While Gwen's pitches started badly, she's been a good coach. She started with what seemed to me like the weakest team, but their performances have been surprisingly strong. I'm actually impressed.

 

They also might have thought Gwen's comments about fashion were endearing and people would like it. 

 

I kind of think they are, to be honest. 

 

It's nice to hear that The Voice is nice to their contestants even before the blinds. I like that they are as organized as it sounds. Thanks for sharing!

Edited November 1, 2014 by mercfan3

[zxy556575]

Blake did such a great job helping Usher fit in. And Blake even serves as the person who ensures things don't spin out of control when a judge says something that could be interpreted the wrong way or is too critical. He does a good job moderating Adam when he goes off the deep end. I think Blake seems like a genuinely nice guy.

 

Entertainment Weekly kind of slammed Blake in their Bullseye column, saying he was a person they didn't want to see pushing a button, or something. Struck me as oddly mean because Blake is super nice and very funny. I'm also loving Gwen this season; these four are the best mix of coaches for me.

[mercfan3]

I'm still partial to Shakira/Usher cast, but I love Pharrell and Gwen too. 

 

I think a season of Usher/Gwen could be really fun..as..at least from what I've seen of Gwen so far, I think those two are the best two all around coaches. Plus, I love Gwen's ear for talent. I mean, 9 contestants going into lives were on Team Gwen at one point. That's pretty good. 

[Padma]

This has become my favorite panel of judges/coaches and I loved how Taylor Swift worked with everyone. She had excellent suggestions and I like her deadpan humor. I know variety is nice, but I really hope they'll bring her back like this next season. (Plus, I liked how she shut Adam's nonsense down about his "bionic parts". Really, he was just babbling and she was good to stop him rather than try to play along. She and Pharrell have the least chemistry, but I liked her with Gwen, and , of course, Blake.)

 

I haven't checked the team lists, but from memory it seems each one hasa dominant style and kind of different "personality" from the other three. This should make the music more interesting in the next round. (Sorry to rock fans but I can't say that I miss it this season.)

 

And, to guys who want to make out with Gwen? I have three word for you: black leather jacket. She seems to love them although I thought both Ryan and Craig looked dated, especially Craig with that chain. Taylor S. made the biggest difference just getting Craig to take off that jacket and perform in his black tshirt. He looked really good that way, pre haircut and straightened hair. Ryan was so not my type--just a pretty, innocuous boy band-er--but darn it! if he didn't win me over with his Neo song, strong vocal and apparent sweetness and sincerity. Maybe he's working it, but it really seems genuine and his performance was good. I could see Gwen getting very invested in him (and getting out of the suit was good, but, please, no more black leather jackets).  Hopefully Blake will "unstyle" Craig a little bit. 

 

I can't remember any season where the singers showed this much improvement across the board (Adam's team, imo, so far least of all.)

 

 

Here's another interesting Paul Mirkovich interview:

 

http://xfinity.comcast.net/blogs/tv/2012/04/23/voice-paul-mirkovich-interview-musical-director/

Thanks so much for sharing this. Very interesting (and tactful). He made each person's approach sound unique and valid--all while being very different from each other. As much as I don't miss CeeLo as a judge (imo, he brought very little to that role), I do miss having someone with an encyclopedic knowledge of popular music and also someone with his flair for stagecraft and showmanship. (Some, like "Everyday People" remain firmly, and fondly, in memory.)

 

Have the coaches performed together yet this season? Somehow, I don't think so. Wonder if they will? That was always one of my favorite parts of previous seasons.

[viajero]

Have the coaches performed together yet this season? Somehow, I don't think so. Wonder if they will? That was always one of my favorite parts of previous seasons.

 

The coaches performed the Gwen-Pharrell song Hella Good at the beginning of the season premier.

 

I also miss CeeLo`s big production numbers during his first 3 seasons.  His Love is a Battlefield with Vicci Martinez was one of the highlights of Season 1.  Perhaps the closest any coach has come to that since then is when Christina did that Jacksons medley with Jacquie Lee and Mathew in Season 5.

[Noreaster]

A couple of interviews with this season's contestants.  Regarding song selections, they say that it's basically a collaboration between the contestant, coach, and the producers.  

 

Ryan Sill: http://starrymag.com/?p=4869

Taylor Phelan: http://starrymag.com/?p=4897

[anonymiss]

Ugh, Adam. Here he is admitting they took advantage of Shakira's language barrier and how they traumatized Gwen

 

Video: Access Hollywood Interview with Adam & Xtina

Edited February 10, 2015 by anonymiss

[Jolie]

‘The Voice’ Coaches Respond to the Pressure to Find a Star

 

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/the-voice-season-8-pharrell-interview-1201430532/

[Noreaster]

Interview with an NBC executive on The Voice. Interesting read on how the network thinks about the show and potential changes:

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/voice-season-8-format-change-777221

[Kromm]

Interview with an NBC executive on The Voice. Interesting read on how the network thinks about the show and potential changes:

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/voice-season-8-format-change-777221

I don't think they'll get Adele in a million years.

 

Okay, 10.  When she's in her mid 30s.

 

That piece sounds like NBC P.R.  Trumpeting how the show has "managed to keep it's freshness"?  Propaganda (cause it just ain't true). And the article makes it clear that Blake and Adam are always going to be there.  Effing always.  

[Noreaster]

Of course that piece is for PR.  As are all interviews. 

 

Ratings are holding up okay for the show.  So arguably the show is staying fresh enough.  For me, the coaching changes have kept me engaged. Only reason I stuck around for all of season 7 was to see how Pharrell and Gwen would play out.  

 

I think the exec was pretty vague in that coach commentary and it's not a given that Blake and Adam will stick around forever.  My only takeaway is season 9's coaching panel is unlikely to be exactly the same as season 8's.  

[dizzyizzy01]

From that article, I got the impression that Adam and Blake are never leaving with the description of their "special bromance".  I think they really need to take a season off before they basically are the show and it becomes even more difficult to sub them out.  It might already be close to that point.

[mercfan3]

It's already at that point. 

 

Still really hoping for an Usher/Xtina season. Just for the coach performances. Christina brings a fire out of Pharrell that I love, and I'd like to see what she brought out of Usher. (Whose pitches are easily his worst part of his coaching ability.) 

[Kromm]

From that article, I got the impression that Adam and Blake are never leaving with the description of their "special bromance".  I think they really need to take a season off before they basically are the show and it becomes even more difficult to sub them out.  It might already be close to that point.

I've replied to this in the "Fix The Voice" thread.

[yourpointis]

GWEN STEFANI, USHER AND CEELO GREEN RETURN TO ‘THE VOICE’ AS ADVISERS FOR MONDAY, APRIL 27 TELECAST

 

 

In a First of Its Kind Reunion, Three Former Coaches Come Back and Offer Their Expertise to Those Remaining Artists Vying for the Title

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – April 21, 2015 – Former coaches Gwen Stefani, Usher and CeeLo Green will serve as advisers on the two-hour Monday, April 27 telecast of NBC’s Emmy Award-winning musical competition series “The Voice” (8-10 p.m. ET/PT).

Read more: http://www.rickey.org/the-voice-reunion-gwen-stefani-usher-and-ceelo-green-to-return-as-advisers/279909/#ixzz3XyuHbGJW

[TacoBoutIt]

Are Gwen, Usher and CeeLo advising all of the teams together or do they each advise one team?  Are they anticipating for Adam to be out of contestants already because who's the fourth adviser then?

[Sammich63]

Are Gwen, Usher and CeeLo advising all of the teams together or do they each advise one team? Are they anticipating for Adam to be out of contestants already because who's the fourth adviser then?

That's my question, too.

[Padma]

It'd be a lot more fun (even if it takes longer tv-time because of fewer contestants left) to see CeeLo, Gwen and Usher all advising together, as consultants for everyone, rather than one per team. Their interaction could make it more fun than the very serious advice (Usher) or whatever CeeLo would contribute when he can't affect production values (unfortunately) or song choice (also unfortunately)--and will be inhibited from leering per usual due to the bad news reports. 

 

Personally, I'd rather see everyone interact, even if its a train wreck.

[Donny Ketchum]

Any word on who will be on next season's panel?  Adam and Blake, who clearly have nothing better to do outside of the show, will obviously be back, but what about Pharrell and Christina?

[kakiphony]

Really interesting article on the connection between the song Sawyer sang in the Top 6 ("Shine On") and Joshua Davis.

 

Joshua is a member of the Earthworks Music Collective, along with the writer of the song, May Erlewine. 

 

Sawyer Fredericks gives May Erlewine’s ‘Shine On’ gleaming treatment on ‘The Voice’

[ProudMary]

Really interesting article on the connection between the song Sawyer sang in the Top 6 ("Shine On") and Joshua Davis.

 

Joshua is a member of the Earthworks Music Collective, along with the writer of the song, May Erlewine. 

 

Sawyer Fredericks gives May Erlewine’s ‘Shine On’ gleaming treatment on ‘The Voice’

What a great article! I'm very glad that you linked it.

I had assumed that Joshua had a number of original songs; it's too bad that contestants aren't permitted to perform at least one of their own songs during the course of the competition.

My assumption has always been that the contestants spend much more time with each other than they ever spend with the celebrity judges. Reading between the lines, it would seem that Sawyer has found something of a mentor in Joshua which is lovely to see.

[ProudMary]

Rolling Stone Magazine has an interview with Meghan Linsey.  Smart on her part to want to strike while the iron is hot.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/meghan-linseys-second-act-the-voice-runner-up-on-whats-next-20150522

 

 

 

"I'm relevant right now because I was just on last night, but I'm only relevant for a few more weeks, because people forget," Linsey says candidly. "I really think you have to move quickly."

 

 

[Dots And Stripes]

Any word on who will be on next season's panel?  Adam and Blake, who clearly have nothing better to do outside of the show, will obviously be back, but what about Pharrell and Christina?

According to Radar yesterday, they're still negotiating. I had previously seen Usher and Gwen, then Pharrell and Gwen, but nothing from really reputable sources. I'm surprised if they're still negotiating because in the past they filmed blinds while the previous season's live rounds were still airing. 

 

I hope it's not Gwen and Pharrell together. I think they're a little too quiet together. 

[jjjmoss]

Technically Sawyer has a T10 album on the Billboard 200 at #6.

It's only #25 in album sales, but this year Billboard changed their rules so that singles sales/streams are incorporated into the album chart. It's a little weird since Sawyer only has two of the T50 downloads this week (at #6 and #17), so I'm surprised that they flew his album up so high...

[dizzyizzy01]

It's still only 41k in album equivalents so it's not that huge a number to make up in streams.  It's also every single song that's been released during the course of the season so I guess it added up.  I still think the new billboard 200 systems makes little sense to me.  We have the hot 100 to count single sales already so it's just an odd chart to me.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Sadly, www.rickey.org is reporting today that Anthony Riley from this past season has passed away. He left the show prior to the battles to deal with personal issues/enter some type of drug rehab program...

[viajero]

I wonder if this means "Change Your Mind" is going to have legs.

 

http://tasteofcountry.com/video-countdown-june-5/

[viajero]

This is really sad

 

https://www.yahoo.com/music/the-voice-contestant-anthony-riley-dead-at-28-120870637326.html

[yourpointis]

Anthony Riley, Philly street singer and 'Voice' contestant, dies at 28

 

Riley took his life, and was found Friday in the basement of the Center City apartment where he was staying, said Tootsie Iovine, a co-owner of the Iovine Bros. produce store in Reading Terminal who said she was like "a second mother" to Riley.

 

 

[Donny Ketchum]

Noooooooo!  Anthony! :(

 

I was very much hoping he'd find a way to recover from his substance abuse issues and go on with his life, maybe try at the show again.  He had such a fantastic voice.  And instead . . . it sounds like he's silenced it forever.

 

RIP, Anthony. :(

Edited June 7, 2015 by Donny Ketchum

[realdancemom]

RIP Anthony.  That's sad.  He was very talented and entertaining.

[viajero]

So Gwen is back for next season.  I'm not sure how I feel about that.  She's nice enough, but I didn't think she was that good a coach her first time around.

 

https://celebrity.yahoo.com/news/voice-s9-coaches-revealed-162929116.html

[Donny Ketchum]

So Gwen is back for next season.  I'm not sure how I feel about that.  She's nice enough, but I didn't think she was that good a coach her first time around.

 

https://celebrity.yahoo.com/news/voice-s9-coaches-revealed-162929116.html

Gwen got her last person to just before the finale, so I think she did just fine.  And season seven was her first time coaching.  Perhaps she, like Pharrell, will have the bugs worked out and try and fix where she went wrong last time.  I just hope she does better in her Battle and Knockout decisions, because she did send quite a few capable people home in favor of less capable ones.  If Pharrell could change a fair bit as a coach, then so could Gwen.

[waving feather]

I think Gwen is fine as a coach. She has good ear for talent. Better than Christina who only chooses similar contestants. But Christina is more entertaining with her sass during blind auditions, which is my favorite part anyway.

[dizzyizzy01]

I thought Gwen was a pretty good coach in terms of getting good performances out of her team.  She's just terrible on the panel.  She needs to stop talking about clothes half the time.  Also for whatever reason, the Adam/Gwen/Pharell/Blake panel was the most lifeless of all the combinations.

[Padma]

I liked how Gwen and her husband put in a lot of time at home watching her team's performances and evaluating song choices. But I hated the clothes thing all the time and she was just a vacuous non-entity interacting with the others. Pharrell's already going for that "saintly nice guy" vibe. Gwen needs to mix it up a little--give some criticism and not always be a pushover for a pretty (male) face--like even the vastly improve Xtina managed to do this season.

 

Hopefully she's watched enough to improve.

[photo fox]

I liked Gwen and I thought she did okay with her team. But she's not entertaining teevee, which is why I watch this show.

[mercfan3]

I like having Gwen on the panel, in that if I like someone on her team..I trust her with that person. (Unlike a few...most..of the other coaches.) She's got a good ear for talent, made good song selection, helped her contestants with their stage presence. 

 

I'd just like to have a panel with some actual great singers on it. That's why I'm partial to Usher and Christina. 

 

Interesting thought..the only time Sawyer got star struck last season was with Gwen..I wonder if he would have gone with her. (And given us our first female coach winner.) 

[realdancemom]

I also liked Gwen as a coach.  She did a lot of research for her contestants.  She needs to work better with her pitches and not mention clothes so much.