Even with the absurd amount of hype and publicity surrounding NBC's new reality show "The Voice," last Tuesday's series premiere turned out to be a refreshing and entertaining spin on the typical televised singing competition.
Unlike "American Idol" — from which this show desperately tries to differentiate itself, to varying degrees of success — judges in "The Voice" only consider the singer's actual vocal skill; their backs are turned to the singers during their performances, so it's impossible for them to judge the person based on physical appearance or body language. If the judges approve of the person's voice, they simply have to press a big red button to turn their chair around and see the singer for the first time.
This element of mystery fosters a sort of free−for−all environment in regard to who is allowed to audition. "American Idol" generally doesn't take anyone too far out of their early 20s, but "The Voice" has no age restrictions — or any limitations on who can audition, really. Just in the first episode, for instance, a 41−year−old bald, chubby lesbian tried out and made it. On the flip side, a stunningly beautiful woman also auditioned with the hopes that her looks wouldn't overshadow her true vocal talent — and succeeded as well. The show makes it very clear that the only thing that matters is the singer's voice, and not any exterior image they might be projecting.
In addition to the show's emphasis on pure vocal talent, "The Voice" also assigns much more significant roles to the judges than "American Idol" does. Firstly, the judges are all accomplished singers — semi−fallen (but still cute) pop star Christina Aguilera, country hit−machine Blake Shelton, Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green, the Soul Machine himself. Their talent serves as a welcome contrast to Randy Jackson or Simon Cowell's lack of vocal ability.
This is where it gets complicated: These four artists are competing with each other to assemble teams of eight singers. When a judge presses the big red button, it's an invitation to join his or her team; this often creates a funny scenario in which multiple judges press their button and then have to woo the singer into joining their team instead of one of the others'.
If no one presses the button, the judges briefly turn around and explain to the singer why they didn't — but the likes of Simon Cowell's bitter criticisms are nowhere to be found here. Bizarrely enough, all four of the judges are nice people.
Granted, it's easy to be nice when every single singer auditioning possesses a fantastic voice. In another attempt to break away from the "American Idol" format, "The Voice" has already pre−selected great singers to try out and doesn't utilize bad auditions for comedic effect. It's quite a daring move, especially considering the general consensus that watching terrible singers in the preliminary rounds is the most entertaining part of "Idol." But while "The Voice" can get a bit boring as each singer hits every note perfectly, the show still entertains by generating suspense and conflict among the judges (who seem to simultaneously help and compete with each other).
Once the "blind auditions" finish, the judges will proceed to the next stage of the competition, which involves whittling down each team until only one person receives the honorable title of "The Voice." The winner will receive a record deal and $100,000, which provides adequate stakes to keep the drama going. However, it's debatable whether or not the show will be able to maintain its individuality as it moves into this phase. Once the initial gimmick of "blind auditions" is through and the judges know the faces that match the singers' voices, the show could easily transform into more of an "Idol" rip−off than an antagonist.
But right now, "The Voice" exceeds reality show expectations and offers a fresh, liberal perspective on becoming the next big singer. If it maintains its high production values and innovative competition strategies, this show pretty much has it in the bag.
