Season 3 of NBC’s The Voice has started and though you can’t see me right now, I have a big smile on my face because this is the only singing competition show (or for that matter the only talent search competition show) where I worship the audition rounds. Yes, the blind auditions are back — so are those gigantic swivel-y chairs as well as coaches Adam Levine, CeeLo Green, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton. Blake’s the reigning champ so for the first time ever, Adam’s not the only one to have bragging rights. And you know that CeeLo and Christina aren’t going to let those two show off that champion swagger for long. The first night of auditions went well, although I think that there are even more amazing performances headed our way that are going to outdo this first group of singers. My favorites (in order of performance):
- Terry McDermott, The Who’s “Baba O’Riley”
- De’Borah, Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister”
- Gracia Harrison, Patsy Montana’s “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart”
- Bryan Keith, Bruno Mars’ “It Will Rain”
- Trevin Hunte, Beyonce’s “Listen”
OK, so Trevin probably had the hands down best performance of the night vocally, and he had a great story, but I didn’t rush to watch him perform again. And while all four coaches turned around for Bryan Keith’s song, I didn’t have the urge to hit the rewind button either. And even though Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister” isn’t exactly my favorite song (by a long shot), I couldn’t deny that I loved the way De’Borah sang the song — she put her own spin on it — but even more importantly, I loved the person that she presented before a national TV audience. She was unapologetic about her misfit status. She was out and proud and her enthusiasm and her confidence were infectious. Everything about the former church gospel singer was light and bright and wonderful. De’Borah chose Christina as her coach which is a good move, although I wish she had selected CeeLo because it would have been great to have seen what he could do with the quirky character that is De’Borah. I liked her time in front of the coaches after her song was over as much as I loved watching her perform.
De’Borah sings “Hey, Soul Sister”
Bonus Rewind & Repeat Moment: The four coaches sing Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up”
More blind auditions are in order tonight when NBC airs The Voice @ 8/7c and then again tomorrow @ 8/7c.
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