The Voice of The Philippines

I am a huge fan of the American adaption of The Voice and that is why I am really grateful that we were able to bring the franchise on our country. It's no question that Filipinos are probably one of the best if not the best singers in the whole world. Charice, Lea Salonga, Arnel Pineda and Paolo Valencia to name a few. Hahaha. It's not surprising though since we Filipinos really love to sing and belt our lungs out during our Karaoke times with our friends.

The expectations were really high, from the set, to the hosts and to the contestants, the pressure will be there for the production team of TVOTP. But I have to give props to them for giving their all on this one. Of course we can't compare USA to us, for obvious reasons we lacked something, from the location to the stage setup but what's important is the talent that we will be witnessing on that stage. Talent is still greater than all of those. 

Now we go to the judges, this set of judges is probably the best set of judges on any singing competition we've ever had in our country. Bamboo-Sarah-Lea-Apl. They created their own name in their own music genre. 

Bamboo provides that cool and awesome vibe that will make you really believe that he wants you to be on his team, plus the fact that he really has an eye for very beautiful ladies even he hasn't seen them yet! That's an awesome gift! Ms. Lea Salonga gives that very lively and positive vibe. She shows how she wants you badly, and really gets into it whenever someone performs really well. She is just very transparent. Apl De Ap clearly gives that international feel whenever he talks, you know he clearly knows what to do to make it to the international scene. Sarah Geronimo provides that certain charm and lights up the whole set whenever she speaks. 

I am very excited for this season! I've been watching the audition clips and I must say that the poor stage setup is being outpowered by the great voices of the contestants! All in all, I am very proud that we were finally able to raise our singing competition to a higher quality!

After the blind auditions, I can safely say that in my opinion, Team Apl is the strongest team followed closely by Team Lea, Team Bamboo then Team Sarah. Stay tuned for my next blog for the explanations. I'd also give my predictions for the Battles.

Who stood out for you during the blind auditions? Tell me! :)

PS: Grabbed photos from Google.

Keep the Faith.

Paolo 

The Voice of Country Music?

The Voice of Country Music? 

The Voice Season 4 Top 6

I think NBC's The Voice should think of changing their name. Kidding. But c'mon. I am sure you were all surprised when Judith Hill and Sarah Simmons, two of the front runners of this season got eliminated last week. If you ask me, I am not surprised with Judith Hill being eliminated, I was more surprised by Sarah getting booted out. Why?

Judith's performance last week was definitely her weakest performance plus the fact that she was the first one to perform. That served as a disadvantage to her. Whereas Sarah, she did a very good job. A lot of people saw Judith taking this season since she was one of those who really stood out from the very beginning. I think people also thought that she is way too good and experienced for this show. She will be famous, let's hope.

Blake Shelton is a very good coach and I am really surprised on how big the fan base of the country music really have. I agree with Adam Levine. He has the right to be really pissed. Now, Blake has a 3 out of 6 chance of winning this season! Blake has the chance to win back-to-back-to-back this season! That's amazing right? Although I am rooting for Michelle Chamuel (Team Usher), I am seeing this vibe that Holly Tucker and Danielle Bradberry will both have a very great chance of winning this season. I just hope this season's winner will translate to success.

One issue that I have about The Voice is why the contestants especially the winners doesn't translate to success. Why is it that after winning, we haven't heard from Javier Colon and Jermaine Paul? Well, Cassadee Pope just won so we should giver he some more time. But with Javier and Jermaine? What happened to them? Where are they? This is the difference between American Idol and The Voice. American Idol can make anyone be a successful artist whether they won or not. Talent is needed but in terms of marketing an artist. American Idol is way ahead of The Voice. I really have high hopes for this show since this shows proves that talent is better than the physical appearance of a person.

Season 1 Winner: Javier Colon

Season 2 Winner: Jermaine Paul

Season 3 Winner: Cassadee Pope

The Voice might have a better format, but I hope someday, we get to see some of The Voice artists on the hit charts.

With the 6 remaining contestants, I hope to see Michelle Chamuel, Holly Tucker, Danielle Bradberry and Sasha Allen on the finale. Team Usher for the win! As what the fans said, It's #4EYESONTHEPRIZE for Michelle Chamuel :)

Do you agree with me?

Keep the Faith.

Paolo

The Voice Season4: Battle Rounds Ep10

Tomorrow will be the start of the knockout round for The Voice so I saved my last review of battle round for today. I must say that the last episode was a hard act to follow since all of the singers were great and really made themselves shine. 

First to perform are Brandon Roush and Shawna P of Team Shakira. I got bored on their performance and I was surprised that Shakira chose Shawna. Clearly Brandon has a bigger chance than Shawna. Pretty sure Shakira knows she made a big mistake on this one.

Shakira chose Shawna P.

Duncan Kamakana and Sarah Simmons of Team Adam was next to perform. Sarah Simmons just murdered the song! She is really great! She ate Duncan alive! Sarah can sing with a clear voice then stretch it out to have a raspy one! Adam has a lot of great singers on his team. I am 60% sure that Team Adam will bag this season! Just too much talents!

Sarah Simmons won over Duncan Kamakana

Shakira's Cathia and Mary Miranda battled for that one last spot on Team Shakira. I personally think Cathia will win this one but I was quite surprised Mary Miranda did much better. Finally, Shakira got right on this one! But to sum up Shakira's team, her team has got to be the weakest. I don't know why, but if Kris Thomas won't make it until the end, I'll be dead. Haha

Mary Miranda won and Cathia was stolen by Usher

One thing I hated this season is that the producers of the show doesn't show everyone's performances. I think that is unfair. How can the others have a following if they don't have any chance to prove themselves on screen?

Michelle Chamuel won against Chelsea M.

Adam chose Amy Whitcomb

Blake chose Justin Williams instead of the Morgan Twins

I'm excited for tomorrow's new episode!!

Credits to NBC The Voice for the photos!

Keep the Faith.

Paolo

The Voice Season4: Battle Rounds Ep9

This episode of Battle round has got to be the best battle round I've ever seen on this show. All the singers that performed were all great that I had to watch this episode thrice! Maybe it just fell on the right place and on the right time. From the beginning till the end of this episode, I was amazed with all the performances and hoped that no one will be sent home. 

Here's my take once more if I think the judges made the right decisions:

First to perform was the powerhouse vocalist Jessica Childress and the RNB Singer Vedo. I honestly hate the fact the Usher made them face each other since I believe that either of these two can take Usher until the end. I'm sure that this will be an epic performance but at the same time regret the fact that the other one will be sent home or be stolen by the other coaches.

Usher picked Bruno Mars' Locked Out of Heaven. Great song choice. Both did great. Usher chose Vedo. I agree with Usher. He did the right decision. Why? I see Vedo as Usher prototype, therefore making it easier for Usher to really mold Vedo into what he wants, the experiences of Usher will surely benefit Vedo in the long run of this competition and even on his music career after The Voice. Vedo's voice is clear, and flexible. You can do anything and sing anything with him! However, I was disappointed that no one stole Jessica. Common! She's one of the greatest! She deserves to be on that show! 

                                                                 Usher picked: Vedo

The next one to perform are the singers from Team Shakira. Monique Abbadie and Luke Edgemon. I honestly thought that Luke had no chance of winning against Monique because of the facts that she is a Latina like Shakira and that she has a really powerful voice. But after their performance, man, Luke ate Monique alive! He was a surprise! I thought that it was also a little bit unfair because Monique got more solo time than Luke but still Luke edged her out on this one. Shakira chose Monique Abbadie. Shakira just lost another chance of making it to the finals by eliminating Luke.

Surprisingly, Blake Shelton used his last steal on Luke. Which gives Blake a much stronger team because of Luke. Bad mistake Shakira! Costly mistake on this one!

Shakira chose Monique Abbadie

Blake Shelton's Savanah Berry and Jacqui Sandell. I think Blake got it right this time, Savanah Berry delivered the better performance of the night, although I really think Jacqui has the potential to be a very good singer. The song choice may have been a factor for Jacqui since she is not that familiar with country music. Nevertheless, she did great. 

Blake chose Savannah Berry

Up next is my personal favorite on the whole competition Kris Thomas going against C Perkins. I thought Kris got this one, it will be easy for him to win this one but I was surprised with C, he sang and really gave Kris a good fight. I definitely agree with Shakira's decision to choose Kris Thomas. He is the best on her team and I am 90% sure he will take Shakira until the end. I am also glad that Usher stole C Perkins. Usher will make C Perkins a better singer! A win-win situation for #TeamShakira!

Shakira chose Kris Thomas

I consider the next one as one of the best of the night. Team Adam's Midas Whale and Patrick Dodd. Adam changed up the melody and it paid off. Midas Whale definitely out shined Patrick on this one. I can see Midas Whale staying a little bit longer on this competition but will definitely not represent team Adam on the end.

Adam chose Midas Whale

Usher definitely got great singers on Orlando Dixon and Ryan Innes. Ryan Innes was one of my favorites but it was interesting on how he will go up against Orlando. They have different styles and I was hoping Usher will choose Orlando but Ryan really got the better of Orlando on this one. Orlando was overdoing it and Ryan was just singing it cool and smoothly. Usher made the right choice. It was also nice that Adam chose Orlando. He can still show us more.

Usher chose Ryan Innes

(Photo credits from the Fanpage of NBC The Voice)

This episode has got to be my favorite episode for Battle Rounds! I hope the last episode of Battle Round will be as good as this one!

Do you agree with me?

Keep the Faith.

Paolo

     

The Voice Battle Rounds 1&2

One of the best parts of the show are the battle rounds. A lot of things are in stake, and you can definitely see that the contestants really wanted that final 6 slot on their coaches' team. Since the rounds 1 & 2 are already done, I pictured myself as a coach, and did my own decision making too. Let's see if I have the same decisions with the judges.

First to perform are #TeamADAM's Amber Carrington and Sasha Allen. I honestly thought Sasha Allen will eat Amber on stage but I was surprised that Amber stood out better than Sasha. I agree with Adam Levine on this one. Amber really did better that night. Their performance was one of the best of the night.

Team Adam#1: Amber Carrington

Steal: Shakira = Sasha Allen

Next was #TeamShakira's Garrett Gardner and J'sun. The Voice did not show the audition of J'sun but I had a feeling that he is a great singer. And he proved it, I disagree with Shakira on keeping Garrett, she should have chosen J'sun. With J'sun's voice, the sky is the limit! He deserved a steal for his performance!

Team Shakira #1: Garrett Gardner

#TeamBlake's Holly Tucker and Michelle Raitzin was the next one to battle. This was an easy one for Blake, for me Holly Tucker is one of the strongest singers on his team. No brainer for me, Holly Tucker really showed her talent.

Team Blake #1: Holly Tucker

I am excited with #TeamUsher since these two singers are both great, Jess Kelner and Taylor Beckham. they have different voices, and I agree with Usher that this is a very hard decision. But in the end, I agree with him. Jess Kelner did slightly better than Taylor.

Team Usher #1: Jess Kelner

Steal: Blake = Taylor Beckham

The next one are #TeamBlake's The Swon Brothers and Christian Porter. It could have been much more challenging if Christian Porter did something different, I think he was just out shined by the brothers. I just hope Blake don't use all his spots for all country artists. I hope he will try to make a balanced team. This was a right decision for Blake.

Team Blake #2:  The Swon Brothers

And the last one, Team Adam's Judith Hill and Karina Iglesias. Karina is good, but Judith's experience is just too much to handle for any contestant on The Voice! She's really great! Stage presence and all, she is in it to win it! ha! 

Team Adam #2: Judith Hill

Steal: Shakira = Karina Iglesias

#TeamAdam's Warren Stone and Michael Austin battled out the next night, it's nice to see two country artists not on Blake's team. Adam got it wrong on this one, Michael showed greater vocals and performance. 

Blake should have stolen Michael!

Team Adam #3: Warren Stone

#TeamUsher's Josiah Hawley and Jeff Lewis are up next. After watching their performance, I could only think of one thing; wrong song choice by Usher. That is not a great song to start with. On the other hand, Usher should have chosen Jeff Lewis!

Team Usher #2: Josiah Hawley

I hate that the producers are not showing all the performances! They deserve some spotlight!

Team Blake:  Grace Askew vs Trevor Davis = winner: Grace Askew 

Team Usher: Audrey Karrasch vs Jamila Thompson = Winner: Audrey Karrasch

Team Shakira: Tanya Reynolds vs Mark Andrew = Winner: Tanya Reynolds

I am excited for the next one since Danielle Bradberry will be performing, I think she is also one of Blake's strongest singers. Caroline Glasier did good too! I was surprised, their version of Put Your Records On are great! 

Team Blake: Danielle Bradberry

Steal: Caroline Glasier = Team Adam

(Photo credits: All photos are from the NBC The Voice)

Can't wait for next week! After the first two rounds of battle rounds, Team Adam definitely is way ahead from the other teams!

Keep the Faith.

Paolo

The Voice Season 4 Blind Auditions recap

Now that we are done with the blind auditions, I will make my assumptions on who will stay longer on the competition for each team, my basis would be their auditions plus their charisma and stage presence. I will also include which team is the strongest and weakest. Let's see if we have the same picks.

STRONGEST TEAM:

#TeamADAM @adamlevine

I chose Team Adam as the strongest team because of Judith Hill. 90% of my decision was simply because of her. She can win this. No doubt that she is the person to beat this season. I just hope she sustains her intensity and improve every week!

Members of Team Adam that I think will also do well in the competition:

- Sarah Simmons, MidasWhale, Sasha Allen and Duncan Kamakana. 

Not behind by far, #TeamUSHER @UsherRaymondIV . His team is my 2nd team to beat, although  he wasn't able to get Judith Hill(which I still think would be the perfect fit for her) he was still able to form a very strong team!

Save the best for the last! I think Usher got two-three singers who could be with him until the end. And that is a good thing for him! 

In my opinion, any of Vedo, Ryan Innes and Jessica Childress can totally be with him until the end and win The Voice!

Usher has a deep team, probably the most talented team this season, he still has Josiah Hawley, Michelle Chamuel and Jeff Lewis!

Third team, #TeamBlake @BlakeShelton

Definitely Blake has come up to win this one for the third straight time, and I was right about him getting Cassadee all the way to end and she eventually won! I think his team is not that strong this year, but definitely two talented great singers are on his team!

Danielle Bradbery and Christian Porter will be his main guns for me.

He still has the Morgan Twins and the Swon Brothers to back him up.

#TeamSHAKIRA @Shakira

I'm still having second thoughts about her team, but she definitely has one of my favorites, and she is very lucky because he might bring her until the end!

Kris Thomas will be her main guy, and I am confident that he will be the last guy standing on Team Shakira. But the likes of Cathia and Monique Abbadie, the Latina singers are also forces to be reckoned with! Luke Edgemon is also good!

I can't wait for the battle rounds!! :]

Do you agree with me? Who are your favorites?

(Photo credits: Google, Facebook and NBC The Voice Page)

Keep the Faith.

Paolo

The Voice Season 4 Episodes 5-6

I was expecting a lot since this will be the last 2 episodes of the blind auditions and I am glad that they delivered. Some are good but only few stood out for me. The judges clearly showed that they mean business! I really enjoyed all the cat fights, and the fights between Blake and Adam, and also Blake and Usher! Shakira also is doing her thing! :) They're all amazing!

Jeff Lewis -  sang an Usher song, I can see him go far in this competition. He's new, original and definitely has the voice.

Caroline Glaser - she is way up there! She is really good! The nerves are still there, but she really did great! I'm a big fan of hers!

Mary Miranda - Latinas represent! She was good but I think Shakira already has too much Latina on her team! Cathia and Monique are better than her.

My new favorite! He is good! Ryan Innes! He sang Gravity! This man will go places! Usher got a lot of good talents on his team!

Luke Edgemon and Jessica Childress are definitely on the top of my list! They're the best! Definitely save the best for the last! I was more impressed with the Episode 06 than the Episode 05! 

(Credits: Images are from the NBC The Voice Fanpage)

Can't wait for the Battle rounds to start! Thoughts: Usher and Shakira are really doing well as new coaches, I can't wait to see them train their team come battle rounds.  Team Usher all the way!

Keep The Faith.

Paolo

The Voice Season 4 Episode 04

After catching the latest episode of The Voice, I can't help but wonder where are those great talents that we've been looking for? This episode felt flat for me. The only thing that made me finish this episode was the judges. It is really damn good to have this kind of really great judges.

I can't really say anything that much about this episode, I just hope they'll do good in the competition. However, I would like to point out some things, Shakira should really choose wisely. I felt that she filled up the slots easily without really thinking about the right decision to do. And the last one would be for country artists who will be joining The Voice, I don't have anything against Blake Shelton but it would be really great to surprise the world, like choose Usher, Shakira and Adam. You don't want to be on the same boat with people singing the same style as yours. You want to standout, do a bold choice.

I still envy every single contestant that will be mentored by Usher! Like man, USHER! THE USHER! 

I still have to download their studio versions, but I'm sure it's really good! 

Photo credit: NBC The Voice FanPage

Keep the Faith.

Paolo

The Voice Season4 Episode 03

Just heads up, I'm still stuck on the audition of Judith Hill that's why I'll be more critical about this episode. I still think no one came close to her audition and the judges seem to choose the wrong singers to join the competition. 

Here are the 11 contestants who made it on the 3rd episode:

Swon Brothers - they're good but not great enough to last on this competition. They're country artists so the obvious choice is to choose Blake Shelton.

Taylor Beckham - another normal performance. She's really lucky that Usher pushed his button. I don't see her surviving the first knockout round.

Karina Iglesias - one the better auditions of the night. Rocker-chic / Latina singer. She is good. And she even hit the crazy high notes at the end! She is on team Adam.

Garrett Gardner - Shakira was the only one who was interested on him. Raspy voice but its not that spectacular. Great story but another spot wasted for a  better singer.

Holly Tucker - She made judges push all their buttons. Yes, her voice is really good, but with the star quality. I'm not sure about that. Another country artist, I hope the other country artists chose another coach, so that they won't have a lot of competition on Blake's team.

Michelle Chamuel - I honestly did not expect her to sound this good! Talent is really a special thing! You will not expect the shy looking girl to sound and rock this good! Interesting addition to Team Usher.

Monique Abbadie - Definitely the best performance of the night! This is a match made in heaven. No doubt that she will choose Shakira! I want to see more of her!

Warren Stone - I don't know what the judges heard but it's a normal country sound for me. Nothing extraordinary.

Here are some of the artists who also made it but their audition was not shown:

Recap:

This is just my opinion, but clearly if we would be basing it from the 3 episodes, #TeamAdam clearly has this on his bag! No doubt, hands down. Judith Hill. Here are my Coach Rankings:

1. Team Adam 

Why?

I can see Judith Hill on the end with him. He also got the Dez Duron of this season, with Duncan Kamakana. He also has a good chance with Midas and Whale

2. Team Shakira

Why?

So far, I can see Kris Thomas' being her main weapon. Then Cathia, and Monique next. Hopefully she can get more good singers because I think some are not deserving to be there. Hopefully Jay-son whom we did not see his audition will be surprisingly good.

3-4. Team Blake / Team Usher

Blake scored jackpot with Danielle Bradberry and Usher got Vedo and Josiah Hawley. I still think they have yet to form a stronger team.

Excited for the 4th episode.

What are your thoughts?

Credits: The Voice for the photos.

Keep the Faith.

Paolo