5/25 Finale Show *Spoilers*

[razorbacker]

Yep, so now Nigel will be encouraged to push the reality-show elements even further next year. Look for more cute and cuddly teenagers with average performing abilities to end up in the Top 2 again. It will be tween texting heaven. People will be more concerned about how adorable and saintly the kiddies' attitudes are than how well they can sing. Thank God for "The Voice," where they seem to care more about the singing than the personalities.

JLUVS Thanks so much for the report! It was nice of you to post it here.

Re: Haley and Tony: Loved their pairing, Haley really knows how to sing that classic type of song. Tony always sounds great. Loved Tom Jones---how does he still sound so good after all these years?--Maybe because he has been performing endlessly since he started his career. Loved Casey and Jack---my favorite duo--funny and talented. Loved Jacob, but I felt the arrangement for his song with Kirk and Gladys was jumpy and awkward--and there was too much of Kirk and not enough Jacob. Steven was in good form last night. Beyonce is an amazing, powerful singer, but I hated the audience's arm waving during her performance. It's such a distraction.
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To your first paragraph. I'm not sure I agree with the pushing of the reality show elements. I think Nigel is pretty irritated with the voting system & will change it, thereby giving folks other that WGWG a chance.

Also, Steven has already gone on record as saying Lauren should have won, & he didn't know what America was hearing.

Thirdly, "They" the judges may indeed care more about The Voice, but we have yet to get to the voting & we all know the public will most likely get rid of the two bald women almost immediately.

[pillbeam]

Looks like Tom Jones is about to turn 71.
Tony Bennett's voice IS pretty amazing, esp. considering his age.

Wow, they are practically the same generation. But Tony is part of the classic pop-jazz 1940s-50s generation while Tom is part of the groovy 1960s generation. Both are great in their genres. In Tony's case, his producer-son was responsible for Tony's resurgence with the younger generations.
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[Kaplan]

Wow, they are practically the same generation. But Tony is part of the classic pop-jazz 1940s-50s generation while Tom is part of the groovy 1960s generation. Both are great in their genres. In Tony's case, his producer-son was responsible for Tony's resurgence with the younger generations.
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Now thats a word I haven't heard in a long time.

[pillbeam]

To your first paragraph. I'm not sure I agree with the pushing of the reality show elements. I think Nigel is pretty irritated with the voting system & will change it, thereby giving folks other that WGWG a chance.

I hope you are correct, it would make AI fun for me again if they did. I do think the producers, through their mouthpieces ("the judges"), cheered on Scotty and Lauren endlessly, helping them coast to the finals.

Thirdly, "They" the judges may indeed care more about The Voice, but we have yet to get to the voting & we all know the public will most likely get rid of the two bald women almost immediately.

On The Voice, most, if not all, of the singers are great. So it doesn't matter who wins, because the producers have stacked the deck with uniformly wonderful singers. I don't care who gets voted off on The Voice, because whoever is remaining will be great. On the other hand, American Idol stacks the deck mostly with average or poor singers with cute or odd personalities. This year, there were only two or three remarkable singers, Haley being one.
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[JLuvs]

The had waving will never go away at the tapings. Especially the group that is in the pod right in front on the audience. Back during Bo's season I tried to abstain from doing the hand waving and Nigel literally came up behind me, pulled my hands up and waved with me.

[libgirl2]

On the other hand, American Idol stacks the deck mostly with average singers with cute or odd personalities. This year, there were only one or two remarkable singers, Haley being one.
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Because American Idol is "cast". Every year we seem to get a few contestants who follow a mold. A rocker, A country person, an R&B singer, a pretty blond with long legs (who they proceed to tart up), and then you have a few decent and occasional outstanding singers.

[pillbeam]

The had waving will never go away at the tapings. Especially the group that is in the pod right in front on the audience. Back during Bo's season I tried to abstain from doing the hand waving and Nigel literally came up behind me, pulled my hands up and waved with me.

Oh my, thanks for that tidbit, JLuvs! That just proves how manipulative the producers are on this show.
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[jsciv]

I hope you are correct, it would make AI fun for me again if they did. I do think the producers, through their mouthpieces ("the judges"), cheered on Scotty and Lauren endlessly, helping them coast to the finals.

I got the impression that Scotty really was Just That Popular in the voting the whole time, even without interference. They don't let us see the voting numbers, but every bit of circumstantial evidence this year seems to indicate that it was Scotty's to win the entire season, from "**** a duck" all the way until the end.

On The Voice, most, if not all, of the singers are great. So it doesn't matter who wins, because the producers have stacked the deck with uniformly wonderful singers. I don't care who gets voted off on The Voice, because whoever is remaining will be great. On the other hand, American Idol stacks the deck mostly with average singers with cute or odd personalities. This year, there were only one or two remarkable singers, Haley being one.

I'm trying to give The Voice a shot, but the Battle Rounds are just putting me off. I have no wish to get attached to a contestant for as much airtime as they're getting only to have them gone before the public even gets a chance to vote. At least the non-public rounds on AI, SYTYCD, AGT, etc. are relatively quick introductions. I don't want to invest in someone during the battles, so I end up fast forwarding to the songs. Just not getting into it yet.

[pillbeam]

I'm trying to give The Voice a shot, but the Battle Rounds are just putting me off. I have no wish to get attached to a contestant for as much airtime as they're getting only to have them gone before the public even gets a chance to vote. At least the non-public rounds on AI, SYTYCD, AGT, etc. are relatively quick introductions. I don't want to invest in someone during the battles, so I end up fast forwarding to the songs. Just not getting into it yet.

I understand what you are saying about "attachment," which has been a key element of reality shows---rooting for a particular contestant. On The Voice, I guess I am foregoing the pleasure of rooting for someone in exchange for the pleasure of seeing some great performances by folks who might not be there long. It is hard to see some of them leave. On the other hand, it's a relief, so far, that The Voice had not been obsessed with the performers' personalities or back stories. I'm tired of AI's over-reliance on the contestants' perceived personalities to drive the drama of the show.
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[razorbacker]

Tom Jones will be 71 on June 7.