TV review: The Voice
30th March 2012
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For those of you who haven’t heard of The Voice, it’s the BBC's hugely publicised new talent show which aims to base contestants simply on, no surprise, their voices. Contestants audition to the backs of four chairs where the judges sit, which are then turned around if the light is pushed to signal their approval. The aim is to eliminate any discrimination based on looks or age.
On the panel are Danny O’Donoghue, lead singer of The Script, will.i.am, Jessie J and Tom Jones. It’s refreshing to have judges that are credible, current and reputable artists, all with impressive musical careers behind (and ahead of) them, instead of former lacklustre mentors Danni Minogue, Cheryl Cole and Louis Walsh (yes Louis, we KNOW you created Westlife) that have graced past reality shows. It’s easy to regard their criticisms with respect, selling the show to music lovers who would have previously cringed away from The X Factor. The praise from Louis (‘you were born to be a star, you were made for this’) looks laughable. Truthfully, all four were enjoyable to watch. It’s young, fresh and humble.
Screeching power ballads by insane women and middle-aged men in their underwear are gone. The cringe-worthy initial auditions have been chucked out and no one is actually bad, a feature which will either attract or repel viewers. Some still don’t get picked though, and watching Sean from former boy band Five getting rejected is excruciating viewing, but even the failed auditions are handled maturely. Gone are the Simon Cowell and Nasty Nick comments, probably because the contestants simply don’t deserve it. There is no pantomime with The Voice, no gimmicks. Surprisingly, we’ve even lost the ‘sob stories’ that saturate Saturday night TV. It’s more ‘real’ than The X Factor ever was, the friendship and banter between the judges seems genuine, making very comfortable viewing.

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