The Voice Australia

[king_oxymoron]

You missed Ben off, clearly he is forgettable too

I think Chris is getting a hard time, he was good IMO!

Also in your iTunes list, Lakyn's Big Jet Plane is up there too - think he could be a contender to win.

[JimJim]

Chris was pretty crap IMO, unless there was something wrong with the audio. The Usher version put his to shame.

[JimJim]

Someone posted this on Whirlpool, looks like Carmen could be out...

I don't watch this show (well I watched a recap of first episode) but everyone likes a bit of goss.

My mate's mate is Carmen Smith. She was on the first episode, and I'm not sure when else, she was on uh team Joel.

I say was, because come monday she'll be getting booted off the show.

The story goes like this:

Is going through the off-air rounds pre-show.
Get's chosen to be on the show.
Goes to a lawyer to help modify the contract all contestants are made to sign.
She modifies so it allows her to work in the industry while the show is on. The shows producers agree. Hence why she was on the show.
About two weeks back the producers approach her to discuss her work outside the show.

She's in Guy Sebastians new single:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09H23bAO ... e=youtu.be

At some point the clip is put through a couple of edits.

A week later. JOEL and a camera man come out of nowhere to confront carmen to do the whole, 'we've just gotten some new information la da da'.

From what I gather she held her ground, and with everything she said, can't imagine how they can edit the conversation to make her look bad. She seemed to play it cool and made reference to Joel's paycheck, and maybe he didn't realise this issue was discussed with producers a week back.

Then rather than have Joel get rid of her, someone decides that basically her team can vote whether to keep her on the show or not. Since I don't watch the show I can't say for sure, but my mate says she was one of the more talented ones of that group, so of course they vote for her to go. Naturally, it's a competition.

Last I heard, she turned her phone off so Today Tonight can't reach her heh.
Also the show knew about it for weeks, and they seem to be letting her go on Monday's show, because Guy's playing his single on 7's dancing with the stars, the day before the Voice airs, so Carmen can't perform with Guy.

The show I guess put it to her, stop working in the industry or leave the show. Personally I think maintaiing one's job in the industry is a far wiser position to be in. There's also that whole 7-9 aspect to it as well.

I don't even watch the show but it's annoying to think someone gets the boot for already being in the industry. Is it really all about housewives and farmers :/ From what I gather she knew she wasn't going to win it. Probably just frustrated at the manipulation and sabotage. Despite her modification to the contract, naturally there's a clause in there somewhere, so the producers can let anyone go within reason.

[Virgostar]

Chris was pretty crap IMO, unless there was something wrong with the audio. The Usher version put his to shame.

Agreed...and also agreed with Jim's rankings. I'd put Ben in the OK list along with Sam.

I did see something about Carmen being in the video for Gold yesterday, but it didn't mention her getting the boot from the show

TBH it's not like other contestants haven't worked in the biz before/been on reality singing shows before, but as that article said, I guess Carmen's competition and she is a strong singer, so no wonder her team decided to let her go, if indeed that's what went down and that's what's true.

I wonder if this means Michelle (who she beat in battle rounds) gets to come back and fill her spot?

[king_oxymoron]

I am kinda hoping that's untrue...

It's annoying how long you have to wait for results!

[JimJim]

You heard it hear first!

News.com.au...

Guy Sebastian 'devo'd' as The Voice pal Carmen Smith gets the boot

GUY Sebastian says he is "devastated" and confused over the axing of his back-up singer and friend Carmen Smith from singing contest, The Voice.

Smith was asked to leave the show after Nine decided she breached the "spirit" of the rules and had an "unfair advantage" by singing on Sebastian's latest single, Gold.

Sebastian said it was "a real shame" his talented friend had been given the boot.

"It's all pretty awful," he told FOX FM's The Matt & Jo Show.

"She's the most honest, thoughtful, real sweet girl. She's a very close mate and so yes, everyone's a bit devo'd. It's one of those things, we just don't get it."

"I don't know all the facts quite yet, it's not nice. I just don't get it... I don't understand, It just doesn't makes sense to me."

Channel Nine said the controversial decision to axe Smith from the singing contest was made to ensure the competition was fair for all contestants.

"This was not a decision we ... took lightly," Channel Nine's director of development Adrian Swift said. "Our priority ... is all of the artists are on a level playing field.

However, Sebastian said Smith had appeared on most of his albums, including his latest record Armageddon and had been his back-up singer for about nine years.

Smith was understandably gutted.

"It saddens me that I am leaving The Voice earlier, much earlier, than I had hoped," she said. "However, I've loved every minute of it and respect the decision that has been made."

It is understood that once The Voice contestants reached the blind auditions, there were contractual restrictions regarding professional work.

[gagaculture]

Wow, that really pissed me off. I loved Carmen. It's so stupid, honestly. I wonder who will replace her? I guess Michelle?

I think the decision was absolutely stupid. Just ugh!

[king_oxymoron]

I don't really understand why they needed to do that, either.

[JimJim]

Apparently no one will replace her, rather just one person from Joel's team will go home.

I guess we'll find out on Monday anyways.

[JimJim]

At the risk of a tl;dr, here's my 2c...

Team Joel

Prinnie
- This song doesn't work in a live capacity because the original is a heavily electronic vocal, but she did well none-the-less.

Ben
- One of the best contestants IMO, did the song justice, but I'm not up for this whole high-five the audience crap, particularly if the song isn't upbeat

Laura
- Her theatrics got the better of her, but her homage to Samara (from The Ring) at the start was quite entertaining.

Lakyn
- Never got the fuss about this guy and I think he really hit a speedbump tonight, it just didn't hit the mark for me. He will get through regardless though.

Sarah
- One of the stand-outs of the night and the first time she has really shined so far, just became a real contender for the finals.

RESULT: Laura will be eliminated

Team Keith

Adam
- Much better than his Battle Round performance, his voice is really quirky, which can be great in defining yourself, but simultaneously it doesn't seem that versatile

Brittany
- An obvious favourite and deserving of that title, she is yet to slip up at all

Taga
- His stage presence is just as weak as his voice unfortunately, reminds me a lot of Levi from the first season of Idol

Darren
- His voice is so rich, it's just delightful. However, I struggle to imagine what he could be doing post-show.

Diana
- I wasn't up for the whole androgynous look, but her performance was one of the best of the night.

Jimmy
- His vocal wasn't too bad at all, but the way he meandered around the stage didn't do much for selling himself and I think he is already a hard sell.

RESULT: Jimmy & Taga will probably get eliminated

[gagaculture]

Lakyn was a disappointment tonight for sure. Although, I would say Laura should still go home over him. But man, Lakyn was disappointing. His whole performance came off awkward. But theres no way he'll go home, all the girls will vote for him and if he somehow doesn't get the votes then Joel will save him.

My favorites from tonight have to be Sarah and Diana. They both killed it! I agree with JimJim's predictions on who will go home.

Judging by the iTunes track list, they removed 'I Cant Make You Love Me' so I guess thats what Carmen was meant to sing.

[Virgostar]

First of all, not surprised overall by who got through from last week. Very clearcut via the voting system, no real surprises as to who got through thanks to the judges....cept maybe for Chris. Still waiting to see some magic from him.

Using Jim's Rating System© from last week, here's my take on last night:

The best
- Diana (Easily the best performance last night IMO)

Great
- Sarah
- Brittany

Good
- Prinnie
- Adam (MUCH improved from battle rounds, can tell he's got a quirk in his voice and I enjoyed his performance.)
- Darren (Agreed with Jim, not sure where he'd go post-show, but he does have a rich soulful voice and I likes.)

Okay
- Ben (Didn't entirely murder the song, but I didn't get a whole heap of emotion from it either. He did better in battle rounds IMO.)
- Jimmy (Vocally fine, but the whole meandering around the stage thing irked me too. Not a versatile singer either.)

Bad and/or Forgettable
- Laura (I think we can file Somebody That I Used To Know in the "Songs That Should Never Be Covered, Especially On Reality Singing Shows" folder now. She ruined it IMO, too theatrical, didn't connect at all. Also scared me a bit with that look at the beginning.)
- Taga
- Lakyn (Yep, I thought he was disinterested too and sounded awful. He'll get through regardless though. )

Who will get through?

Joel: Lakyn (unfortunately - he shouldn't based on that performance), Sarah, Prinnie, Ben.
Keith: Diana, Brittany, Adam, Darren. I hope. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease don't take Jimmy (especially Jimmy) or Taga through!

[king_oxymoron]

The results from last week were no real surprise, maybe I would have expected Delta to pick Ben over Danni for the long run, but otherwise as expected.

Of the performances I've seen so far...

Darren - I enjoyed this, Delta was right in saying he is very easy to like. Not sure it's entirely 'my thing' but certainly a decent showing.

Prinnie - Not an easy song to do in a live capacity.. it certainly didn't blow me away but nonetheless I was impressed by it, the best 'show' of any of them I saw.

Adam - YES! Where did this come from? He totally, totally connected - with me! And I'm halfway around the world. Amazing song choice, he sounded top of his game, LOVED that!

Sarah - Definitely a moment for her. Not perfect though, a few cracks and a bit draining to listen to it all 'up there' throughout but definitely a strong showing for her.

Jimmy - A very casual approach huh! I don't think that did him any favours, did he even sing at the judges. Don't like this oversung number so appreciated his ballad, flipped melody take on it. But when it got into the arrangement we all know, it did nothing for me. I am not really a fan of him either. HOWEVER I felt it was very unfair for Seal to bring up the backstage issues, if he liked the performance then that's all he needed to say. If he didn't it might have been different.

Ben - I was actually disappointed by this considering how much Delta loved it. The slowed down repeat at the very end was beautiful, otherwise I found he was trying to copy Ed, rushing parts and sounding weaker than I remembered.

Taga - Nice guy but so forgettable and the first line seemed off to me. I wouldn't expect him to make it.

[JimJim]

Songs for Monday (incl. team performances):

1. Ne-Yo – Closer
2. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
3. Ella Fitzgerald – Someone To Watch Over Me
4. Beyonce – Ave Maria
5. Kelly Rowland – When Love Takes Over
6. Fleetwood Mac – Landslide
7. Seal – I Cant Stand The Rain (originally by Ann Peebles)
8. Burt Bacharach – The Look of Love (also done by Dusty Springfield)
9. Des'ree – You Gotta Be
10. Alicia Keys – If I Ain't Got You

'Smells Like Teen Spirit' will likely be dreadful, whilst 'Closer' (for an uptempo track) I've found never really has the same energy in a live setting.

[gagaculture]

So 'You Gotta Be' and 'If I Ain't Got You' are the team performances?

You can tell Chris will sing 'Closer', that ones pretty obvious. I guess that means Glenn will sing Smells Like Teen Spirit.

I wonder who will sing When Love Takes Over?

[Virgostar]

Whoever's doing You Gotta Be better do a good job...that's one of my fave songs of all time. If it's not a group performance, my money's on Fatai for that one or IIAGY. WLTO has Danni's name written all over it.

[JimJim]

So 'You Gotta Be' and 'If I Ain't Got You' are the team performances?

You can tell Chris will sing 'Closer', that ones pretty obvious.

I thought 'Closer' was more likely to be Glenn.

[JimJim]

Ahhhh, I love this show, I'm officially obsessed

It's pretty late though, so I might leave my full recap of tonight until tomorrow.

[Virgostar]

Time for thoughts on last night.

The best
- Rachael (When she sang that final "over", I got chills.)

Great
- Glenn (Even if he forgot part of the lyrics in the first chorus - he went to sing "but I don't want to escape" instead of "from under her spell I can't break", but managed to get back on track.)
- Chris (FINALLY he stepped up!!! Great song choice and glad we got to see his talent finally.)
- Delta's team performance (Go Delts for hitting the big note too.)

Good
- Emma Louise (Not as good as her last performance.)
- Karise (Also not as good as we've seen from her, notably the bling audition. Note to Seal: Please please PLEASE stop giving Karise boring ballads to sing! Give her something where she can show off that gutsy part of her voice...was thinking this morning that she could possibly pull off Rolling In The Deep - I reckon it'd work with her growl. Or Piece Of My Heart.)
- Viktoria (That performance is going to polarise soooooooooo many people. I enjoyed it. Dunno if I could put it into the "great" pile though.)
- Fatai (I felt like it was lacking a bit of something...I think nerves got the better of her.)
- Seal's team performance

Bad and/or Forgettable

- Danni (Not bad, just forgettable IMO. Didn't soar like it should.)

Who will get through?

Delta: Rachael, Glenn/Viktoria. Wouldn't be too surprised if Glenn went through based on that performance.
Seal: This one's an open field IMO. Any 2 out of the 4 could...but given that Karise was apparently #1 on iTunes this morning, I think she's almost a dead cert to go through, even though her performance wasn't that good.

Overall, the guys stepped up, but the girls let nerves get the better of them.

[gagaculture]

Glenn surprised me, although I really hope Delta chooses Viktoria instead of Glenn. I feel Viktoria has been a better performer overall, but based on the performances I guess Delta might pick Glenn since it seemed that it was a better night for him.

Karise is #1 on iTunes yet again, she'll get through. I'm not sure who Seal will pick to go through with him. I have a feeling it'll be Chris, but I hope not. Just not a fan of him, personally.

I thought both team performances were great!

[JimJim]

Alrighty my turn...

THE BEST
Emma Louise
- Honestly, she could sing almost anything and it would be compelling. There is just something about her and ever since the battle rounds, I think she has not put a foot wrong. She won't get through on public vote, but I have confidence in Seal to take her through.

GREAT
Fatai
- Her best performance to date IMO, I felt it was cut short though, would have been nice to get the whole song

Glenn
- I noticed the mistake in the first chorus too, but like a professional, he just kept going. This was one of his best, but I still feel he lacks the x-factor and shouldn't be taken any further

Chris
- Finally stepped up his game, he was coasting up until now and it was bothering so much. I still think he is out of his depth though.

Rachael
- Another great performance, but I feel a little bored with her based on the last two performances.

GOOD
Karise
- She is going to sell well regardless (like Lakyn), but this wasn't her best performance, especially with such an emotive song.

Viktoria
- Even though I also enjoyed it (gave me Amy Lee sort of rock frontwoman vibes), terrible song choice, almost like an intentional way to get rid of someone. I think Delta should be wise and take her through based on overall merit.

BAD AND/OR FORGETTABLE

Danni
- It was far from bad, but it was forgettable. The irony is that her hip, young makeover actually ended up making her look like Denise Drysdale. Much alike to Glenn, she's great, but at the end of her road.

[king_oxymoron]

Just realised I forgot to comment on the end of last week. I liked Lakyn more than you guys did, Laura was not bad but I think it was obvious she would be the one to go. Diana and Brittany both did some of their best work, so Jimmy and Taga were rhg right two to go for me too.

This week I loved both group performances, what great work! Thought Glenn was especially well utilised as the only male singer in his group.

Of the individual performances...

01. Fatai Absolutely her breakthrough showing, there was just not a single thing wrong with it. So stunning and moving.

02. Viktoria The surprise performer of the series for me in every way, last week she killed it, this week she killed it, thought the judges were harsh as I LOOOOOVED it, amazing arrangement and atmosphere.

03. Chris Good to see this guy finally get his dues as that was a stonkin' confident performance. Just a shame he is up against the absolute favourite and two girls with beautiful voices, can't see him progressing.

04. Karise - Funnily enough this was my favourite from her, I did feel like she had sang it better in the rehearsal videos but there were parts which were just so stunning.

05. Glenn - The total professional, besides us music geeks most won't have noticed his mistake. Some really strong moments in there too, ang a great versatility.

06. Rachael - She has a stunning voice but in reality I was bored.

07. Ema-Louise - Same can be said here, beautiful tone but toally the wrong song as there was not a single moment for her here.

08. Danni - Sadly we can all agree this was the forgettable performance of the night. Not bad, but not for her. Surely going home.

Predictions
It seems fairly obvious Karise and Rachael will be the ones to make it. Pesonally I feel like Seal is choosing between Fatai and Ema-Louise, with little chance of Chris making it, and Delta between Viktoia and Glenn, with little chance of Danni making it? I think Seal will pick Fatai, and Delta Glenn.

So I think: Karise, Fatai, Rachael and Glenn
But I want: Chris, Fatai, Viktoria and Glenn

[JimJim]

I disagree, I think it will play out like this...

Team Seal
Public vote for Karise
Seal picks Emma Louise
Fatai & Chris out (due to circumstance)

Team Delta
Public vote for Rachael
Delta picks either Glenn or Viktoria*
Danni is out

*I think Delta is more likely to pick Glenn, but should pick Viktoria.

[Virgostar]

Yep, I agree with you Jim on how it's going to play out...I think it'll be a tough one for both of them to choose.

[king_oxymoron]

I wouldn't say we really disagree then... almost everything we said is the same - just E-L or Fatai different!