The Voice

The Voice is back for its 11th season, this time with two coaches to replace Christina Aguilera and Pharrell Williams. Now we have Alicia Keyes and Miley Cyrus to join Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. Miley is a flake, but a funny, colorful flake with her sewn-flower outfit and machinegun chatter. Alicia is lovely and makes a good fit with the other three. Some preliminary articles wondered if there might not be some friction between the two ladies, sort of like what we saw on American Idol when Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj went at each other like two cats in heat. Didn’t happen. The two ladies now act as a buffer between Adam and Blake, who continue their good-natured banter, each trying to outdo the other in their insults. It’s all part of the act that makes this show so highly rated. They’ve now concluded the blind auditions with each judge having twelve on their team, forty-eight altogether. Next up will be the battle rounds (or the dueling duos, as I like to call them) in which each judge pairs two of their team to battle it out in a song chosen by the judge. The judge then decides which of the two should remain, which to go home. But, the other three judges can use one of their two steals to take the loser. That will get them down to thirty-two for the knockout round in which each judge pits two team members against each other, singing a song chosen by the contestant, after which the judge will pick the winner and loser. Each judge, though, has one steal to get a loser onto their team. The knockout round will bring them to twenty for the live shows. It’s all very complicated, but also fascinating to watch as each judge tries to out-coach the others. Adam seemed to throw up his hands when he picked his last two in the blind auditions, Natasha Bure and Ponciano Seoane (now there’s a name to reckon with), almost as though he just wanted to get it over with to move on to the battle rounds. Neither of them will make it any further and no one will want to steal them. Another curious one on Adam’s team is a young crooner named Riley Elmore. He stands absolutely no chance of moving on. A singer who croons would have to be as good as Michael Bublé to succeed, and Riley is certainly no Bublé. Others on Adam’s team who will probably advance: Simone Gundy, Bindi Liebowitz, Nolan Neal, and Billy Gilman. I’m picking Gilman to be one of the four finalists. It’s still too early to know how anyone on Blake’s team will fare, but here are the five that might make it: Dana Harper, Sundance Head (another name to reckon with), Blaine Long, Austin Allsup, and Courtney Harrell. Miley’s team has only two males, and I can’t remember who they are or how they sang. Here are four that may make it: Maye Thomas (a lookalike for Lady Gaga), Ali Caldwell, Sophia Urista, and Darby Walker. The other singer I think will be in the final four is on Alicia’s team. Wé McDonald is only seventeen but she has a 30-year-old voice. Others on Alicia’s team that may make it: Christian Cuevas, Lauren Diaz, Dave Moisan, and another curiosity, two sisters, Whitney and Shannon, singing as a duo. What will they call it when and if these two compete in the Battle round against another singer? Can’t be a duet with three of them, the two sisters sort of ganging up on the other contestant. I can hardly wait for next Monday to see how they all do.