Make You Feel My Love by Sean Rumsey

I first heard Sean Rumsey's cover of Adele's "Make You Feel My Love" over a year ago, and I still can't put it down.  I absolutely love his rendition of the song.

I learned today he was actually a contestant on The Voice currently airing in the UK.  According to the Mirror "he is on the verge of being signed by a "host of record labels"".

 

Blade's Box of Jams: Track #5 - Moves Like Jagger

Currently listening to... 

Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera

Definitely one of the best hits of the summer!  I first heard "Moves Like Jagger" on NBC when Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera did a collaboration together on the hit show, The Voice.  More often than naught, you would find them bickering at each other; Who knew they would make a good team? 

I really liked the song then, and it has been one of my favorites this summer, hope you enjoy it too.

For previous tracks in Blade's Box of Jams click here.

The Voice Crowns It's First Winner

And the winner is....  

Really? Do I have to go there?  

Ugh, as I have stated all season, Javier Colon does nothing for me - he is just more of the same.  So instead of going for someone amazing and really outrageous, like Beverly, Dia, or Vicci, America chooses Javier?  And to think that only 2 percent of the votes separated the top two, is mind-boggling to me.  What a Hot Mess!  I'm sorry America, but you always get it wrong! Always!

About the only good thing about last night's results show, were the duets the finalists sung with people other than their coaches.  Beverly McClellan sang, "Good Life" with Ryan Tedder from One Republic, Dia Frampton sang, "The House That Built Me" with Blake Shelton's wife, Miranda Lambert, Vicci Martinez sang, "Drops of Jupiter" with Pat Monahan, the lead singer from Train, and Javier Colon sang, "Landslide" (how fitting) with Stevie Nicks.

Other than that, you can catch the Top 8 contestants, Xenia Martinez, Nakia, Frenchie Davis, Casey Weston, Javier, Dia, Beverly, and Vicci, as they kick off their summer tour in Los Angeles on July 27th.  Regardless of the ouctome, Ryan and I really did like the show, and we're looking forward to the second season in 2012.

Feel free to watch last night's duets after the jump if you're interested. Their coaches really did say some nice things to their young artists. Enjoy!

The Voice: Final Performances

You know I'm going to be straight-forward with you.  

All season long I've been saying how great The Voice has been with the production, time, and sets of the show, but last night's 2-hour-long fiasco was a bit much.

The coaches commenced the show with another performance by Queen, "Under Pressure." It really wasn't that great, and when you have to see them again on stage singing with their team finalist, it kinda makes you wonder, is this promotion really necessary?  Geez, the judges have gotten more airtime than the contestants.  They also had a Ne-Yo duet with Pit Bull, and a Brad Paisley performance on top of that.

For their final performance, each of the contestants sang an original song.  Many online sites, including my partner, Ryan, mentioned that they should have sang a cover instead of an original.  I could "maybe" agree with that, but then again, I can't.  If you would have given one of these original songs, to let's say, Adam Lambert, or hell, all of the judges - they would have belted these same songs out like there were no tomorrow.  Seriously, if you cannot take an original song, and make it your own, then you have some problems.

Let's watch the performances:

Javier Colon sang "Stitch by Stitch" written by Rodney Jerkins.  Honestly, I was falling asleep listening to this number.  First, the title sounds like something out of Disney's Lilo & Stitch, and finally, like I've said it all season long.  He's just "more of the same."  Nothing unique about his voice.  If he wins, its because of "fan favorites," and not-so-much "an out of this world" performance.

Vicci Martinez sang "Afraid To Sleep" written by Butch Walker. In my opinion, this was the worst of the night.  "Afraid To Sleep," really?  You probably had difficulty sleeping last night, after this hot mess.  At this point, I'm really disappointed with the contestants.

Dia Frampton sang "Inventing Shadows" written by Frasier T. Smith.  If I had to rank last night's performances based on this song, I'd have to say Dia would be in the top 2.

 

Beverly McClellan sang "Lovesick" written by Bill Appleberry. Obviously the best performance of the night, Beverly actually sang the song like all the others should have.  My guess is, favoritism will decide the winner, and not so much their talent.

The Voice: Semi-Final Results Show

And the final four were chosen.  If you missed yesterday's post on the Final 8 performances from Tuesday night's show, you can go here to view them, and read my reviews.

As I've mentioned many times before, The Voice has truly proven to be a better show than American Idol.  In MHO (my humble opinion), I think the producers knew what they were doing when they put this show together.  It was very entertaining, and all the semi-finalists are really good, despite some of my comments on Javier Colon.

So this is how the votes are calculated.  You have the public's votes and the judge's points from the previous night combined together to make it a total of 200 points.  On Tuesday night's show, each of the judges were given 100 points to distribute between their two contestants.  It was obvious from last night's show, the public's votes were converted to a scale of 100% in order to make up the total of 200.

In reality, the Judge's votes are important, because they can actually make it to where one of their "favorites" makes it through regardless of the public's votes.  All they would need to do is award their 100 points to one contestant, which was not the case last night.  It came close, but it didn't turn out that way.

In brief, this is how it went down...

Team Cee Lo Green:  Vicci Martinez garnered 124 points and Nakia 76 points;  Cee Lo had awarded Nakia 51 to Dia's 49, but in the end the Public voted her through.

Team Adam Levine:  Javier Colon garnered 138 points and Casey Weston 62 points;  Simply put, Adam was a douche.  He awarded Casey only 35 of his points and Javier 65.  You obviously know who his favorite was, not that he really had to coach him, because the old guy can sing already.

Team Blake Shelton:  Dia Frampton garnered 106 points and Xenia Martinez 94 points; Their total award was practically the same as Christina's team.  Both judges gave each of their contestants 50 points each.  Add in the public's percentage, and it gave them barely enough to overcome their competitor.

Team Christina Aguilera:  Beverly McClellan 107 points and Frenchie Davis 93 points; As the case with Team Blake, the public's percentage helped Beverly make it through to the next round.  Gay Power!

I'm voting for Beverly to win next week, but America will probably put Javier through.  Ugh!

The Voice - The Semi-Finals

Ryan and I watched The Voice last night, and I'd have to say it was quite entertaining.  I really enjoyed the show, especially the performances by Adam Levine & Christina Aguilera.

To begin the show, Carson Daly revealed who were the winners from last week's battle between Adam and Cee Lo's teams.  He started with Cee Lo's team, respectively.  The one with the most votes was Vicci Martinez, which is exactly how I called it last week.  Nakia, the Thompson sisters, and Curtis Grimes were left for Cee Lo to decide on, and with no surprise at all, it was Nakia.

Next up was Adam's team, with Javier Colon garnering the most votes - this one I didn't get right.  I don't think his voice is unique - not unique enough to impress me, but oh well.  In what came as a big surprise, Adam chose Casey Weston over Jeff Jenkins.

So with the Top 8 chosen, the competition got under way with the first contestant being, Frenchie Davis.

Frenchie sang "Like A Prayer" by Madonna, and while I think she did well, she wasn't great.  It wasn't powerful enough for me, and she was breaking up at times.

Continuing with Christina's Team, Beverly McClellan sang "The Thrill Is Gone," by Roy Hawkins, and this was absolutely fabulous.  She had a strong performance tonight, and I find her safe.

While both of Cee Lo's proteges were amazing, Vicci Martinez hit a homerun with her performance last night. She's got this in the bag, if not the whole competition.  Nakia sang "Whataya Want From Me" by Adam Lambert, where Adam Levine claimed to not know who originally sang the song.

Vicci sang, "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence and the Machine, and this performance was by far, the best of the night.  Her hair, the drums, and her voice were all this night needed to make it really entertaining.

As the night progressed, Blake Shelton's team took to the stage, starting with Dia Frampton with her rendition of "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M., which in my opinion, was exceptionally well.  She will be safe tomorrow night, not sure by how much, but she's a sure bet.

Xenia, Blake's favorite girl.  You can tell he really cares about his 16 yr old protege.  My heart of heart tells me he may try to save her by giving her more votes than Dia, but I'm going to be believe he doesn't.  I know he truly cares about these two girls.  Xenia sang "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" by The Script.  Unfortunately for Xenia, she still sounds shaky and afraid while performing on stage.  I think as she matures she will be a force to be reckoned with. Her voice is so unique.

Some people say Adam had the strongest team of the night, but I beg to differ.  It was quite obvious that Team Cee Lo kicked everyone's ass.  You can't compete with two powerful voices like Nakia and Vicci.  The only one on Adam's team that I think is worthy enough to be on the show, would be Casey.  She is young, and definitely a lot easier to mold into a great artist.  You can't do that with Javier, he's too old, and has a wife and two babies at home.  Which is where he should be, not over here on stage with young kids singing.  He won't amount to anything, because his voice is too much of the same - I've heard it before.  I know I sound bitter, but that's just my opinion.  Casey Weston sang, "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton.  Not the best song of the night, and certainly not the best vocalist, but a good version of the song nonetheless.

Javier Colon sang, "Fix You" by Coldplay.  As I mentioned earlier, nothing new, nothing different, nothing unique - I've heard it all. Lionel Richie, Ruben Studdard, Luther Vandross, Ben E. King, should I keep on going?

My picks for the night are Beverly McClellan, Vicci Martinez, Dia Frampton, and Casey Weston

Team Cee Lo vs. Team Adam on The Voice

While I commend the producers of "The Voice" on the great progress the show has made, I'd have to say I was rather disappointed with both teams this week.

If this had been the semi-finals, Team Christina and Team Blake would have "owned" Team Cee Lo and Team Adam. I am shocked at the way these guys performed last night.  They should have been the top two teams.

The two-hour episode started out with Carson Daly revealing the first 2 contestants who made it through to the semi-finals next week.  Ryan and I laughed, because afterwards, Carson stated that it only took 5 minutes to reveal the results, when in reality, it was more like 13 minutes.  Christina Aguilera just couldn't keep her damn mouth shut. As I predicted last week, Frenchie Davis and Beverly McClellan made it through, and you can easily see why by catching their performances right here.

At the end of the show, Blake Shelton learned his team's fate, and what seemed to be disappointed look on his face, when he found out America voted for Dia Frampton.  I think he was upset with America choosing Dia, because he then had no chance of saving Xenia, whom you could tell in his heart of hearts, sees something in her that nobody else does.  That was exactly what I told my partner, Ryan last week.  

Blake knew Jared Blake and Patrick Thomas were great, but he shocked America last night by choosing the girl he loved most, Xenia.  And I can't say I blame him, I would have done the exact same thing.  Hey, at least I got 3 out of my 4 predictions correct - woo, hoo!

So just like last week....

Each of the contestants sang a solo performance, and then later in the evening, they performed as a group.  In this particular case, it was Cee Lo and Adam Levine.

Only one person from each of the teams will be able to advance depending on the viewers votes, but another one will advance solely on the judge's discretion.  What does all this mean?  It means Cee Lo will lose half his team and Blake will lose half his team.  I loved it last week, and I love it again this week.

As with Christina and Blake last week, the judges provided one-on-one coaching, and they spent some time getting to know their contestants.  Cee Lo chilled at the spa with his team.

Watch the performances, and my reviews after the jump...

The Battle Rounds - Week 4

Last night, my partner Ryan, and I watched the final Battle Round of The Voice, and I'd have to say, I was really disappointed with the Judges this time around.  I don't think they were thinking straight, or maybe they were so tired from a full day of coaching their teams, that the last round didn't matter to them as much.  

Maybe I shouldn't be so harsh.  Surprisingly, I felt Blake made the right decision this week, and I blatantly disagreed with Christina's and Cee Lo's choices.

It's all or nothing for these ladies and gents - next week is the Live performances.  We'll get to see how well they were coached by their judges.
 
I have posted each week's Battle Rounds on my blog, so click one of the links below if you wish to see the battles for the first time or watch them again at your own leisure.

Battle Round - Week 1
Battle Round - Week 2
Battle Round - Week 3

Here's a look at last night's battle rounds...

In the following video, Jeff Jenkins and Casey Desmond battle it out, singing, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" by Elton John

I already knew who I wanted to win this round.  I wanted Jeff to take this one home, but after watching Casey give him a run for his money, it left me speechless.  They worked really well together and their chemistry was fantastic, but in the end I felt Jeff should take it home, because of his vocal ability.  Adam Levine made the right decision, and went along with me on this. :-). Continuing from last week's record, I'm 11-2.

In the following video, Xenia Martinez and Sara Oromchi battle it out, singing, "I'll Stand By You" by The Pretenders

What a Hot Mess!  Both of these girls were shy from the 'get-go.'   It was evident in their coaching segment with Blake and his mentor, Reba McEntire.  While I felt Sara Oromchi had this to win it, she didn't perform it well enough to take it home.  Xenia wasn't any better either, but there's something about her voice that draws me to her.  She's soft, but I believe with the right coaching, she can do more with her voice than Sara.  I'm not sure if Blake is the right coach for the job, but he did agree with me on choosing Xenia for the win  12-2.

In the following video, Cherie Oakley and Lily Elise battle it out, singing, "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson

I don't know what the hell Christina was thinking.  Lily? Really?  She was mediocre at best.  I'm sorry, but it was so obvious Cherie won this round, all the other judges agreed as well.  I do commend Reba McEntire for bringing up the fact that Cherie wrote a hit song for her. She's a true diva!  As for the disaster that was Lily, I think Christina picked her over Cherie, because of the slutty outfit she was wearing, and not for her vocal incapability.  She could have done so much more with Cherie, she was belting it out like nobody's mama. 12-3

In the following video, Emily Valentine and Curtis Grimes battle it out, singing, "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum

What a great way to end the Battle Rounds!  Well, not so great, because the one I chose didn't cross Cee Lo's mind.  But it was the greatest performance of the evening.  Emily and Curtis ended their performance with a kiss, and what a kiss it was.  We all knew Emily had a crush on Curtis, because she didn't stop saying it throughout the show last night, but the kiss was definitely unexpected.  They were truly amazing together.  I felt Cee Lo would've been better off with Emily, because of her vocal range.  I thought she could take it further than Curtis, because he sings country, and country star usually stick to their own genre of music.  They don't broaden their horizons, and use their vocal ability to move beyond that. Good job to both of them though. 12-4

Remember! Next week the show goes LIVE; Make sure to watch it!

The Battle Rounds - Week 3

Now this is what I'm talking about!  This week's Battle Rounds was fantastic!  Loved each pairing, and the battles were tough. If you've missed the previous two rounds, don't worry, because I have posted "Battle Round - Week 1" here, and "Battle Round - Week 2" here.  Next week is the final Round before the contestants go live in front of a large television audience, where we will decide their fate.  Not sure how this portion will work, but I'm sure they'll explain it as they did the Battle Rounds segment. 

As with the previous two rounds, Sia, Reba McEntire, Adam Blackstone, and Monica were back to help the judges with their contestants.  They offered advice, and suggested a few changes to their styles of singing; a few of them were nervous, but so were the judges.

In the following video, Julia Eason and Raquel Castro battle it out, singing, "Only Girl" by Rihanna

I didn't take me long to decide on this one.  Raquel looked intimidated by tiny Julia Eason who was kicking her ass on the song.  But it wasn't just the singing, it was the outgoing personality Julia contributed to the performance.  Luckily for Christina, she agreed with me on this. 8-1

In the following video, Serabee and Dia Frampton battle it out, singing, "You Can't Hurry Love" by The Supremes

Wow, what a tuffie!  It was the preacher girl against the soft-spoken angel.  While Dia didn't belt it out like she was in the church choir down in the Bible belt, she held her own and was consistent throughout her performance.  It didn't take long for Blake Shelton to make his decision, during the mentoring session he stressed how much he didn't like loud singers or runs.  While most of America probably would have chosen Serabee, I chose Dia.  I don't know why, there's just something about her that I like. I lie. I do know why.  She's a damn good singer!  A little soft, but she was able to stand up to that preacher girl.  She was "Born This Way" dammit! 9-1

In the following video, Rebecca Loebe and Devon Barley battle it out, singing, "Creep" by Radiohead

OMG - definitely the best performance of the night!  I'm surprised Adam chose two of his best singers to perform against each other.  I think he knew he made a mistake, and it was too late to change his mind.  At one point he stated he couldn't pick anyone, but in the end he had to.  And he chose Devon.  There's something about him being the son of two doctors who want him to go to school instead of following his dream, that makes it bittersweet. Rebecca and Devon really sounded great together - they would make a cute couple too :-) 10-1

In the following video, Kelsey Rey goes up against sisters, Tori and Taylor Thompson battling it out to "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield 

What the hell crawled up Cee Lo's ass!?! Seriously!  Kelsey took this to the bank and back, and he chooses the Thompson sisters?  Really?  Where were you when they won "American Juniors?"  They still suck - nothing's new.  This was definitely disappointing. 10-2

Remember! Next week is the final Battle Round; Make sure to watch it!

The Battle Rounds - Week 2

I won't bore you with the whole process of how the competition works, because I already explained it last week, but I will say...   

Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, and Adam Levine didn't really have any hard decisions to make this week.  Each pairing had a very strong contestant and a weaker one.  I look forward to next week's round, because the previews show some "very hesitant" judges not wanting to pick their winner. Could be interesting.  If you missed Battle Week - Round 1 - click here.

In the following video, Tje Austin and Nakia battle it out, singing, "Closer" by Ne-Yo

Nakia knocks it out of the ballpark.  At first I thought Tje was going to take it home.  But Nakia's voice is so damn powerful. He had me in his pocket the moment he belted out the first words.  My fingers were crossed and Cee Lo agreed!  I'm 4-1 counting last week's results.

In the following video, Elenowen and Jared Blake battle it out, singing, "Ain’t No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tami Terrell

There wasn't no competition here, Jared had this in the bag, hands down.  He felt the couple were at an advantage, because there were 2 of them, but I disagreed with him, and agreed with Blake Jackson on this one. 5-1

In the following video, Angela Wolff and Javier Colon battle it out, singing, "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King

My favorite performance of the night.  Javier took this one home, and rightly so.  His voice rocks.  Angela held her own, and she did amazingly well, but Javier outshined her in every aspect of their performance.  They did sound great together though. Adam Levine seemed to agree.  6-1.

In the following video, Beverly McClellan and Justin Grennan battle it out, singing, "Baba O'Riley" by The Who

Beverly was the bomb.  She showed her strength and absolutely took this home.  She showed great desire and heart was in her performance.  I felt Justin lost his pitch several times and kinda floundered towards the end. 7-1

I ended week two of the Battle Rounds and stand with a 7-1 record! Woohoo!!

The Battle Rounds

Did any of you watch "The Voice" last night?  It was absolutely television at its best.  No, it literally was.  If you missed the first two weeks of auditions, that's okay, because this part of the series is even more exciting. I was kind of hesitant at first, but after Ryan and I watched last night's episode I had a change of heart.  I can definitely sit through 4 weeks of battle rounds compared to "let's go home" episodes of American Idol.

The way it works is, each judge, Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, and Adam Levine have 8 contestants.  They are to choose 2 members from their team, and let them know what song they're singing.   Once they learn of the song, they are introduced to a celebrity friend of the judge who will help mentor and advise them in preparation for the battle.  Christina chose Australian singer, Sia, Blake chose famous country diva, Reba McEntire, music producer, Adam Blackstone assisted Adam, and Cee Lo chose singer, Monica.

The stage is set up to look like a boxing ring (minus the rope) - it's very glitzy.  The singers are introduced by Carson Daly of MTV fame, and they walk onto the stage to sing their battle song.  Whoever comes out the victor will be performing in front of a live-studio audience in front of America, but their win in this round solely relies on their judge.

In the following video, Frenchie and Tarralyn Ramsey battle it out, singing, "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" by Beyonce

Frenchie took home the win, and I definitely agreed with Christina on this. I thought Tarralyn had an attitude problem that needed to be adjusted. She wasn't very respectful. I'm 1-0.

In the following video, Patrick Thomas and Tyler Robinson battle it out, singing, "Burning Love" by Elvis Presley.

 

I totally disagreed with Blake Shelton on this, and so did my partner, Ryan.  I think he made a mistake playing the "country card" in choosing Patrick.  He needed to look at the fact that it would be much easier for Tyler to move beyond his vocal ability in the live competition.  Patrick could be his downfall, because of his inability to go beyond a "country music" mentality. 1-1

In the following video, Tim Mahoney and Casey Weston battle it out, singing, "Leather and Lace" by Stevie Nicks and Don Henley.

 

 I agreed with Adam's decision on this one - If Casey were to move forward in the competition. I think it would be a lot easier down the road. 2-1

In the following video, Vicci Martinez and Niki Dawson battle it out, singing, "Perfect" by Pink.

 

Wow oh Wow!  And what a battle it was!  This was definitely the best performance of the night.  My fingers were crossed that it would be Vicci taking this home, and it was!  I was thinking Cee Lo was going to pick Niki, but he obviously felt what I felt, Vicci was ripping it up "hardcore" and he saw something there - he saw a winner! 3-1

As I mentioned earlier, if you haven't seen this, you should.  It is definitely a million times better than IDOL.

Can "The Voice" Bring Back Our Diva, Christina Aguilera?

Quite Fascinating...

If there were ever a job that could bring someone back from the brink of self-destruction, it would be "The Voice."  This may be Christina's saving grace after all.  The show is title is such, because the judges are literally with their backs turned to the singers, and only get to hear their voice.

Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Cee Lo Green, and Adam Levine will be the judges on NBC's new show, set to premiere on April 26th.  Oh, and Carson Daly will be playing the host.  You may remember me blogging about it 3 weeks ago, and I wasn't to keen on the idea of a new singing competition, especially during American Idol, but I may have a change of heart.  Maybe.

I'll be honest, after watching the promo and learning more about the show, I got a little intrigued.   In the promo, Adam Levine explains, “The biggest difference between this show and all of the other vocal competition shows is that it’s a blind audition…Remember the ’70s? There were some sketchy-looking people that had gorgeous voices.”

Can this save Christina?  You be the judge...

The Voice - A Major Fail or Success? You Be The Judge

Okay, really?  The Voice?  Really?  NBC doesn't get it.  American Idol is the number one singing show in America, it has been for 100 seasons!  The X-Factor is the number one singing show in the UK and Simon Cowell (it's creator) is bringing it to America this fall.  What is your their reasoning behind this?  Do they really think that bringing Adam Levine, Cee-Lo Green and Christina Aguilera to the show will help entice a whole new crop of singing sensations?  You can bet your life on it!

It was originally titled The Voice of America, but NBC later changed it to "The Voice."  I guess it sounds more catchy.  It premieres on April 26th; set your DVR.  

So here's the deal, four music coaches will bring in their experts of producers and song writers to work with their team of singers they selected during the blind auditions. Then America will decide which singer is going to win the grand prize of $100,000 and a recording contract.  Sound exciting?  Well... let's add to the fun, former MTV Jock Carson Daly will play the "Ryan Seacrest" of the show.  

What do you think? Do we need more of these singing shows?  Personally, sitting through two hours of an American Idol episode for 2 days in a row and then an hour on the third day, leaves no room for shows on mine and Ryan's DVR this spring; it will burst into flames.  And then you (NBC) air the show during and American Idol season, seriously?  

I don't know, you be the judge.