The Voice

Grading The Voice – Team Christina

May 9, 2011 by krisis

We move from Blake down the row of The Voice mentors to Christina Aguilera.

Of the panel, hers is clearly the voice that most deserves the capital T and V. She may pick some dull songs from time to time, or oversing good ones, but there’s no denying the power of her instrument.

As I watched Christina’s cartoonish “I’m thinking really hard” face in her turned chair I felt like I got a vibe for her strategy. This is someone who knows the characteristics of a good voice. You could visibly see her turn off to someone if they hit a bum note, or even if they were in-tune but out-of-key during a run.

I think X-Tina was on the hunt for two belters (one black, one white), one unusual pop voice, and one guy. Aside from losing out on quality men, she got just what she wanted. Once she had a favorite in the bag, she was looking for someone for them to battle – either to push them harder, or to make her choice simpler.

The minor problem with her picks is the minor problem with her. Note when she tapped in – usually on the basis of melisma and ornamental high notes. If an auditioner didn’t have that – or Adam gunning for them – then X-Tina’s interest wasn’t piqued. My evidence? She wound up with a seven-lady team with only one truly off-kilter pick (who, surprise, has a Linda Perry vibe).

Is her strategy all that bad? Nope. For all her wishy-washy arguments to join her team, I think once it gets down to singing in a room with them she’s going to be a hard-ass. But can a vocal prodigy like Christina articulate good vocal technique to relative novices?

Let’s take a look at her roster.

Team Christina

1. Julia Eason – “Mercy”
  Julia is my dark horse pick of the competition at the moment. She has a beautiful voice for pop and good instincts on how to use it. Christina was right, her runs were thoughtful and distinct. That said, she pushed a little too hard on the verse runs in her chest voice, which threatened to throw her out of tune. Quick runs like that take finesse, which she clearly showed on the intensely pretty higher run in mixed voice (where she physically couldn’t hit it so hard). I’d chalk it up to nerves. Even as she wobbled at points her vocal was connected, and only shouty on the highest chest note. I would have taken her in a heartbeat, and I think she’s the person Christina seemed the most genuinely excited to work with.(Not a shock that Julia’s already experienced in music – as Julia Harriman. She has a YouTube channel as Julia Harriman with two finely-produced songs – one country, and one alt-pop. )
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2. Tarralyn Ramsey – “Breathe”
  Did she luck out by being first, or is she the real deal? I say the latter. Despite two bad lines of nerves and some struggling in the top of her chest range, she has one of the most impressive voices of all the women in the show. Take note of all of the unforced head voice, in which she hits only one bad note. That’s not an easy thing to manage. I don’t think anyone else showed this sort of balladeer pipes, save for Javier and maybe Angela Wolff – both on Team Levine – and neither had Tarralyn’s range. I fear for her nerves and her handling of faster pop songs, but I would have recruited her in a hot second.(Another established artist, Tarralyn was signed to Verity/Warner and released a pair of self-titled Gospel/R&B albums. She’s also no stranger to reality TV singing competitions – she won VH1’s Born to Diva in 2004.)
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3. Frenchie Davis – “I Kissed a Girl”
  On one hand, that early in the competition I would have jumped on a powerful pop belter pretty quickly. Christina rightfully has some doubts about Tarralyn, so she by punching in on Frenchie she was stacking the deck in her favor (and in her wheelhouse). At points Frenchie pushed too hard, and it was interfering with her support and breath control. She also was a hair behind the beat, but maybe that’s how Perry performs it. (I don’t want to know; Perry is the death of Feminism. It’s another post entirely.) The combination didn’t inspire much blind confidence in me, which may be why Adam and Blake didn’t go for her. I would have eventually punched in to block X-Tina from snagging her, realized instantly (like Cee Lo) who she was, and then fought X-Tina for her. (Except, in this alternate universe I’d already have Tarralyn, who I am confident in, so I’d pass.) Will her years of pop and Broadway experience help or hinder Christina’s efforts to coach her?
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Grading The Voice – Team Blake

May 8, 2011 by krisis

I’ll admit it: I haven’t the slightest idea who The Voice mentor Blake Shelton is. I’ve never before seen his name or heard his voice, despite him being around for a decade.

Considering that my voracious taste in music runs wider than a typical Top 40 listener, I think Blake had a major handicap when it comes to team-picking on The Voice. Most contestants who aren’t country singers probably didn’t know who he was. Note that he only won over one non-country singer who had multiple choices.

Blake’s strategy was to go all-in for someone that moved him from note one, or to come in as a late speculator on people other judges had already turned for. I don’t know if it was an effective strategy – combined with his low name recognition he lost on a couple of people that he would have worked well with.

The resulting octet of singers is the weakest starting lineup, but Blake still has a chance. Why? As a country artist, he comes from a different background than his colleagues. I think he was acting less like a fan or a speculator, and more like an old-school A&R guy. He wants voices he can mold and improve, not sure singers who need a little tweaking.

I might not have picked his team, but I won’t be surprised if he finds success with some unlikely suspects.

How does Team Blake rank?

Team Blake

1. Patrick Johnson – “Live Like You’re Dying”
  I don’t know if I would have picked him blindly – certainly not as early as Adam and Cee Lo did! But, once they were in I would have gone for it too. Patrick did nothing wrong other than never really shift registers, and that’s the fault of a boring song. He’s got a fine, resonant baritone voice and he’s an incredibly handsome dude. If he makes it through to the voting rounds he’s gonna clean up on genre, good looks, and reliability. In his place, I would have picked Cee Lo’s genuine enthusiasm over Blake’s “mumble mumble country.”
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2. Dia Frampton – “Bubbly”
  Dia Frampton fronted a major label band with her sister Meg. Here, Here and Here was their one album on the label.
  
  Dia proved that The Voice can be subtle instead of screaming. I honestly loved her restrained take on “Bubbly.” It was a strong choice thanks to its distinctive melodic jumps. I would have went in on it around when Cee Lo did – at the delicate, high “yeah” before the second chorus. I don’t forsee people voting for her, though. Blake must cultivate a monster competitor in this laid back storybook author for her to survive in the competition.(Remember how the show said some singers were “invited”? Guess what? Dia fronted a pretty solid pop/rock band signed to Warner Bros. with her sister. The Eisley-esque band, Meg & Dia, released Here, Here and Here on the label and were dropped last year. Maybe they should have thought up a better name? They self-released a new LP, Cocoon, just a month ago. So much for her being too shy.)
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Grading The Voice: An Introduction

May 7, 2011 by krisis

I gave up television because of American Idol.

It’s true. It was 2004 and I was obsessed by it and angry with it. I looked at myself in the mirror and realized I didn’t want to have that kind of relationship with television.

Despite giving up broadcast television entirely, I still followed Idol by way of video swatches through Season 8. There I felt like I saw the two halves of my musical taste duke it out on screen – the artistry and interpretation of Kris Allen versus the genre-bending showmanship of Adam Lambert.

That was it for me and Idol. I thought I’d finally be free of televised singing competitions.

Then, in the past week, I started to hear about The Voice. (Remember, I don’t have the benefit of TV commercials to inform me of these happenings. I read about it on the internets.)

Four relevant, millions-selling artist mentors meant be constructive rather than destructive in their search. A search not for comically bad auditions, or style over substance. but for a remarkable, memorable voice.

The Voice. Which, aside from original Idol Clarkson, Cowell and Co. have never truly managed.

The glowing reviews wore down my “no television” stance far enough that I sampled a smattering of auditions last night. I was completely blown away. Of the four I sampled, even the worst one was someone I’d consider buying an an entire album from.

It begs the question – can a voice be relevant without an image? What if one of the contestants has a face for radio, an issue presaged by that Buggles classic? What happens after the blind audition is over and a mentor gets stuck with someone fugly?

Begrudgingly, I was hooked enough to want to find out. I spent last night last night watching the first two episodes of this madcap show that’s a twisted concoction of X-Factor, Hollywood Squares, and The Dating Game.

The audition rounds fascinated me because the judges experienced the contestants the same way I listed to Idol for half a decade: blindly. I heard the songs on the internet without the hoopla of their sob stories, stage lights, and snarky judge comments. Someone might have had a pretty face and visual panache, but were they behind the beat? Did the big diva go flat on all of her major melisma moments? I noticed this stuff while watchers ooh-ed and ahh-ed at the stage show.

On the other side, I am these contestants. I’m a singer. I’m an artist who has spent many years trying to turn heads in my direction. I’ve tried subtlety and screaming. The results depend on the room.

The auditions of The Voice were a solid B. Despite a lot of repeated soundbites and constant awkward interruptions by a bumbling, arithmetic-spouting Carson Daly, the three hours of show flew by. Never too long with one contestant, just enough time in the undeniably magical presence of the mentors.

So which voice was The Voice? How do each of the judges’ teams stack up?

I’ll follow up with a post on each judge’s team to get you ready for the subsequent (scary-sounding) battle rounds.