Friday, May 25, 2012

Losing what I never had

I have this stupid instinct to wave at strangers who are waving at me.  Except that they are never waving at me. They are waving at other people.  It would be fine if they were standing with a crowd of strangers.  I could just pretend to be waving at someone else.  But I do not pretend, instead I lamely bring my hand down to my hair as if I had intended to fiddle with it but overshot by a mile.

Today my stupid instinct caused me not only to wave but to walk over to the handsome young Frenchman who was waving and beckoning to his mother.

I might have to get a tattoo on the inner part of my right arm that reads:
When a stranger waves at you:
1. Do not wave back.
2. Do not smile.
3. Ignore and go on with your business
4. If he's cute and age appropriate, look behind and around you.
    a. If there is someone behind or around you, see 1.
    b. If there is no one behind or around you, smile and then see 1.
It's not complicated.  I just always forget that I am not Jessica Alba and handsome strangers are not going to wave at me.

Untestable theories and love at first play

I have a suspicion that songs with simple chord progressions began with a riff or progression and that songs that started with the melody end up having a million chords or chord progressions that don't seem to follow simple patterns.

Examples:

Simon and Garfunkel's - America
(I am not convinced that this is quite the progression, but I think it's pretty close)

Queen's - Killer Queen

The Magnetic Field's - I Don't Believe You

Mind you, I have never tried to write a song on the piano.  It's possible that piano composition lends itself to writing songs with more than four chords.

But I do know that Stephin Merritt is dreamy.  With the line "So you quote love unquote me" I was hooked. Add to that fumbling my way through the song - call me a goner.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Hot Dawg

In general, I do not think about hot dogs.  I just eat them.  I scarf them down with lots of ketchup, some mustard and relish.  Sometimes with onions stewed in ketchup.  They are a quick means to an end.

There are exceptions that are dear to my heart:

I only eat them with sauerkraut, when my mother makes them.  I am not sure what she does but between the bay leaves, butter, bonito flakes and whatever else she tosses in there, magic happens.  But these dogs are eaten with rice, and not in a bun.

As a college kid, I ate chili cheese dogs from the WaWa to fuel my brain, feed my soul, and keep me company on lonely nerdy nights.

Besides these two instances, I have only noticed one hot dog in my entire life.  I was at Yankee Stadium with CK, her bf at the time and his best friend.  The Yankees were playing the Minnesota Twins.  I was not following the game but at some point, I was handed a hot dog and a packet of mustard.  Heaven.  Hot dog heaven.  I have not had a hot dog that comes even close to those hot dog heights.  Even on a return visit to Yankee Stadium, the dog did not compare.

Until now.

Yesterday I went to Dogmatic with the Fella.  Welcome to the next level in hotdoggery.  They have five kinds of sausage, six kinds of sauces and the most amazing bread.  Amazing Bread!!

Feel free to have your Beavis and Butthead moment during following:

They essentially poke a tunnel into half a baguette and stuff your sausage and sauce into the opening.  Making for a crunchy, saucy, sausage handful of deliciousness.  The sausage is a more than reasonable length.  The bread is so so good.

I had the chicken dog with truffle gruyere sauce.  The baguette held up surprisingly well for most of the meal, only springing a leak when I got to the last few inches of eating.

You might think that $5.50 is pricey for a hot dog.  It's a pretty substantial snack.  Perhaps you could even call it a meal.  The non-fried fries while being a good idea were so-so.  Not fried enough.  But perhaps cheese fries which are served with cheddar jalopeƱo sauce will have what it takes.  I will let you know after my next visit.

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Too Much of the Voice pt. 5

JK and I texted each other while watching yesterday's episode and did the same today.  It was weird to rush home to watch something on TV as it was broadcast.  While we were not in the same room as it happened, it was weird to share the moment like this with someone in real time.  The last time I can recall doing such a thing was in 2008 when Obama was elected President.

I even attempted to tweet about the Voice a few times but I am rubbish at the Twitter.

When it was all over this one of our last exchanges -

JK: "Is your faith in humanity restored?"
Me: "It is."

I am sure that this feeling will not last. But at this moment, I feel like something very right happened.  So let's have chocolate cake for breakfast.

Jermaine Paul is the winner. He won the Voice!

They announced that he was the winner, they brought his family up on stage, they dropped confetti from the ceiling.  And then they handed him a mic and announced that he was going to sing a song.

(!?)  Really. Really?!

You take an emotional moment, the culmination of a long hard journey, the moment when you get the thing that you were striving so hard for, a moment where you want to laugh and cry.  Maybe you want to be alone to take it all in.  Maybe be with the ones you love.  Hug them and kiss them. Then someone sticks a camera on that scene.  Then they hand you a mic and insists that you sing. Have you ever tried to talk when crying and overcome with emotion? Have you ever tried to sing in that condition?

 WTF. That is beyond bananas. It's redonkey donkey.  I say go the beauty pageant route.  Let them cry, wave to the crowd and hug people with that crooked crown barely perched on the head.

At first he was a little shaky but then he started to sing. And then while singing while he hugged his family, friends and loved ones. He did both, he did it all. The only things he didn't do simultaneous with this are make an omelet, burp a baby and change a spark plug.  This is must be what separates the pros from mere mortals.

Perhaps it was part of the auditions before the Blinds.  They hit you with a hammer and then force you to sing "I Will Always Love You."

I did not know what to expect from the Finale.  I thought they would just show a bunch of clips from previous episodes, interview people and announce a winner. Maybe bring in established recording artists to perform their new single or an oldie or have a new artist sing their single.  There was a little of that.  Only a little.

Instead, they had a great big grand old singing jamboree / contestant reunion.

"I Want You Back" Jermaine, Jamar, James, and Pip were a smash. It was as if they had been singing together forever. Seamlessly smooth, matching outfits and choreography.

"Bittersweet Symphony" Chris, Lindsay and Katrina were compelling and enjoyable.  So interesting.  It was a strange trio to bring together but it worked.  That particular mix kept them all sharp.  A nice turn away from Schmaltzville which vocally is probably due to Lindsay.  Surprisingly, they had pretty good blend and performance-wise were very integrated on stage.  I attribute this to Chris.  He seemed really attuned to Lindsay and Katrina while up there.

"With a Little Help from My Friends" Juliet, RaeLynn, Erin, and Jamar had a Voltron moment. Four strong singers came together and created an invincible performance without losing what made them each so unique. Soul, country, rock, soldier, sister, brother, friend.  They seemed to sing and individually really well. And I loved seeing Jamar onstage a second time rocking his red jacket.

"Superstition" Kim, Cheesa, Sera and Naia had a diva-off. Actually it was more of a diva-fest. When Kim Yarbrough was preparing for her battle round Whitney Myer, she asked her advisors how she should handle herself on a stage that she was sharing with another performer. Robin Thicke told her to be respectful and feel the love. And that is how the performance felt. It felt like an showcase of amazing singers and a celebration of a fabulous Stevie Wonder song.

"Go Your Own Way" Jordis and Tony were two seasoned veterans sharing the stage. I was happy to see Jordis again but their vocal ranges are not compatible. Jordis was singing too low in her range to have enough control and Tony was really pushing the upper part of his range.  Also, they had no blend.  I sympathize.  I am a singer who rarely blends.  But if you add the right third voice to the mix and all kinds of magic can happen, trust me.  The addition of Gwen Sebastian or Angel Taylor or Lex Land or the Shields Brothers would have smoothed out that mix into something very listenable.  That or have them do "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."  That song would have killed.  If fact, I want to hear them do that.

Everyone should sing a song with the Shields Brothers. I would watch a TV show where the episodes consist of all the other contestants on the Voice performing duets with the Shields Brothers. Well, maybe not a whole show but I would definitely subscribe to a Shields Brothers duets channel on youtube.  I would pay good money to see the Shields Brothers do a duet with Lindsay.  It's hard to imagine how it would work but it would probably be worth hearing.  She would make them sound less conventional and they would subvert the Pavao process and give it a wink and some zip.

It was great to see singers free to cross team lines and perform together.  Much respect to the musical producers/directors for this episode and the show as a whole and to the band.  Wow.

But I digress. I could digress further.  And I may on a future occasion.

I'm just kind of lingering here, steeping in the dregs of the moment, nibbling on the potato chip crumbs at the bottom of the bag and having a cup of coffee before hunting down my coat, thanking the host and heading home.

The Voice did not hold the meaning of life but it did hold my heart and my attention for several weeks.  I listened to music.  I was a fan.  I was invested in the stories and songs and fates of these people.  It has been a long time since I was able to say such things about myself.  And yes, it did restore my faith in humanity a little bit.  Or at least made me feel for a brief moment, like, America and I heard things the same way.

I hope that winning the Voice opens all sorts of doors for Jermaine and all the other contestants.  I hope that they have forged real connections and made lifelong friends.  I hope that really great music and breathtaking performances come out of this.  And that they find happiness, contentment and fulfillment.

I am not sure what I will do with myself now.  Maybe I will get to bed earlier.  And then look for something else to hold my heart and my attention.  Invest in my fate.  Work on forging real connections, making and keeping lifelong friends, making music, doing a bit of performing and finding contentment, happiness and fulfillment.

I hope the same for you too.

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Too Much of the Voice pt. 4

I woke up today remembering this Chris Mann moment during "You Raise Me Up."  Key change at 1:15 and then at 1:47 he pauses a beat and jumps back in.  Stylish.

Too Much of the Voice pt. 3

I am sad that Juliet was sick.  She seemed kind of low energy for most of the show but bounced back brilliantly at the end.  Requesting Freebird is the ultimate performance cliche.  But she is no cliche.  She was the real deal.  She had more song and less rasp  in her vocals and looked amazing in that dress.  I don't think any woman has ever rocked that hard in a red gown that beautiful.  She was ferocious and beautiful at the same time.

Jermaine's duet with Blake on "Soul Man" was fun and funky.  All of his performances were so strong.  "I Believe I Can Fly" and "God Gave Me You." He's got so much heart in his song.  He does not need elaborate staging.  He needs a mic and a spotlight.  He can bring it big or sing it simple and come across.  When he came down to Blake's chair and reached out for his hand, it was so heartwarming.  That's not a mere bromance.  That's genuine friendship.

Chris Mann performances were so approachable and open, so unaffected and sincere.  He seemed so connected and responsive in his duet or "The Prayer" with Christina.  I have not seen this from him until tonight.  I was really surprised.  There was a human soul expressed in all that technical mastery.  I got teary eyed at each one of his performances especially during "The Voice Within."  A singer thanking someone important to them through song.  His vocals were warm and tender.  I agree with Christina, he is a real man.

Tony Lucca tore up the stage with "99 Problems" and was marvelously entertaining.  The Jay-Z song is badass and the Hugo version is pretty swingin'.  And this was the badass rock alternative to both of those versions and to everything else people were singing.  But Christina does have a point - the lyrical point of view of the song is that a bitch can be one of the problems that you have, even if it's not the particular problem of the singer at that moment.  The song does not distinguish whether they mean a bitch as in a female dog, or a woman who is mean and confrontational and spiteful or the word bitch is being applied to any and all women.  And Blake does have a point, why perform a song with the word bitch in the chorus if you can't sing the word bitch in the chorus.  If this song was selected to allow Tony and Adam to call Christina a bitch while not calling her a bitch on TV, that would be really shitty.  I hope that this was not the intent.  I hope the intent was to do something badass and rockin' and fun and that they were just being thoughtless careless fun-loving idiots.  I have been uncharitable to not admit that his duet of "Yesterday" with Adam Levine was pretty decent.

Sunday, May 06, 2012

Too Much of the Voice pt. 2

While traveling overseas for work, I could not watch the show on TV or online but I HAD to find out what was going on. I went on Twitter and followed hashtags for #thevoice, #teamblake and #teamxtina. Let me give a big shoutout to everyone who helped me stay up too late and up to date on what was happening.

People often say that they are on Twitter but they are not sure why or what it's good for. Keeping track of the Voice in almost real-time when you can't watch. That's what it's good for.

The show has broken my heart repeatedly. I have become irrationally attached to so many of the contestants on the show. Even when I listen with a critical ear. Even while I judge harshly from home, I get totally sucked in.

It's probably all for the camera but I love the idea that The Voice is a big lovebug hugfest where everyone is nice and the best of friends. That is the fantasy. I like the coaching aspect. I like that Blake Shelton seems to tear up and to be insanely proud of every single person on his team everytime they perform. I like the supportive vibe, the celebrity advisors.

Of course it's reality TV so it's likely that everything has been engineered for heightened emotional manipulation and there is no hugfest going on back stage and they all openly hate each other. But if this is the case, don't tell me. Let me live with my illusions for a little longer.


Battle Rounds: Cannon Fodder and Lambs for the Slaughter

For the most part, the coaches picked a song that was perfect for one of the two battlers and an almost impossible stretch for the other. Sometimes the singer at the disadvantage pulled it off or brought something really special. Sometimes the singer who you would think had the upper hand, didn't. It's rare that performers are put on stage and compared in real time side by side on the same song. No Diva in her right mind would agree to such a thing.  The format favors those who have stronger bigger voices that project. It favors the good looking and people who are comfortable on stage.  In practice, it was very Darwinian and vicious.

Team Blake:

Pumped Up Kicks
I was not a Lex Land fan until the battle round. She and Charlotte Sometimes had my favorite battle. It is among my favorite performances on the show. It was so good that I am sad that the duet track is not available for sale online.  I have listened to their battle perhaps a bazillion times.

It's mostly due to Lex's singing. The song sounds so interesting because she made a lot of smart and interesting vocal choices.  Charlotte was more solid but Lex was more musical and multifaceted in her performance. It's worth watching the battle to see her pace around Charlotte, staring her down. Intense.  I am not sure how much further Lex could have gone but I would have loved to see her sing one or two more songs on the show.  I am listening to "Play In Reverse" Holy Shit.

During Jermaine Paul's audition, I thought he was a technically flawless singer but that his pipes lacked power and that the timbre and tone of his voice was weird. But with each performance I am forced to admit that I was totally wrong. His battle with Alyx was clear evidence to the contrary. He demolished that song. He elevated the song far beyond what Billy Ocean could have imagined.

We Belong
I thought Gwen Sebastian made interesting choices in her battle with Erin Willett. This battle was heavily set against her.  Erin's rehearsal clips were amazing.  Her tone is gorgeous.  Had Erin let go and sang the way she had in rehearsal it would have been no contest.  But there was something really lovely about what Gwen was doing.  And I was so sad that she did not make it through.

Blake was highly critical of Jordis' battle with Brian Fuente. It sounded strained and not in a good way. But when I listen to it again, I think that the problem was that the interval that they chose for their harmony parts was ever so slightly off and their voices don't have enough blend to smooth that over.

At the end of the battle rounds, it was a very sad farewell to Lex Land and Gwen Sebastian.


Team Xtina:

Xtina's battles were some of the best performances on the show (besides Lex and Charlotte) and very tough to call. In some cases, her decisions seemed to be very biased towards who she liked and not the better performance. Then again, if both performers are equally strong, perhaps you would.

If I Ain't Got You
Anthony Evans and Jesse Campbell were one of the first battles and perhaps the best. Lex and Charlotte's battle was my favorite but I think Anthony and Jesse's was in another league.  Anthony Evans stepped up to Jesse in a way that probably no other vocalist on the show could. This might have been the toughest call of any of the battles. It was a Melismafest like no other, Olympic level.

Heartshaped Box
Lee Koch and Lindsay Pavao had a very interesting battle. It was spooky. It was weird. It was creepy. I think Lee was the more musical of the two on this song. He stretched the most and I thought he won the round. Lindsay's voice had a really flat tone that was not entirely pleasant.  Lee did not go down without a fight.  I do think that Christina played favorites here.

Chain of Fools
Sera Hill and Geoff McBride had a really great battle. Singing Aretha is near impossible for a mere mortal. We all think that we can sing Aretha but this is because we are singing along to her records. These two delivered. I think Geoff was the stronger singer. His range does not have the highs that Sera does but his voice has a bigger projection. Her voice was swallowed up a bit. This seems to happen more and more for Sera as the competition went on.  Again, I think Christina played favorites.

Satisfaction
Moses Stone and the Line had the battle with the most potential to be a trainwreck. It turned out really electrifying. The Line was pushed to work the stage. Hailey Steele was on fire. She was a living fury on that stage. And Boy, was she pissed when the Line lost!  But Moses had the more engaging stage mojo - such a natural performer.

Ashley De La Rosa had the Geoff McBride effect in her battle. Her voice projected more strongly and carried in her battle. She conquered.

It would have been great for the Voice to record and release a lot of the battles as duets on iTunes.

Sad good byes to Geoff McBride and Anthony Evans.  We hardly knew you.


Team Adam:

For whatever reason while members of Team Adam were exceptionally strong in their blind auditions did not have such strong battles. Which was surprising. Perhaps because he had the most variety in ability and vocal and tonal quality in his camp.  In most cases there were clear winners and losers and the battles didn't make for interesting performances. The songs often seemed to be a weird fit for the singers.

No More Drama
Probably the best battle was Kim Yarbrough and Whitney Meyer. It's a shame that they were put up to battle each other. It would have been great to get both of them through to the next level. Kim's voice was just so much stronger. Much more power and richness of tone. If they had battled other people, I have no doubt that they both would have dominated.  Kim did have a really standout performance.

The other stand out performance of this team were Katrina Parker who pretty much seemed to channel Adele on Bleeding Love.

As a side note, I stumbled on an Angel Taylor single "Like You Do".  It's a great track and she sounds sooo good on it.  It has me rethinking Angel Taylor entirely and should probably cause me to rethink my opinion of every singer on the show this season.  In the right environment, under the right conditions, probably all of these contestants are amazing.  Reality TV is a very artificial platform.

Sad sad sad farewells to Whitney Meyer.


Team Cee Lo:

The battles on Team Cee Lo were the most unfair. Sometimes heartbreakingly unfair.

Jamar Rogers' battle with Jamie Lono was a heartbreaker. Plain and simple. It made me cry and cry. Because Jamie is extremely musical and so lovable on screen but in no way shape or form able to sing that Foreigner song in that way. It wasn't even remotely in his key. This was a total lamb for the slaughter scenario. Truth be told, very few people can sing that Foreigner song, they recorded it with a whole choir. To his credit, Jamar steamrolled through that track. But I cried and cried when Jamie got eliminate.

Jamie Lono has this very lovely cover of Blackbird and a  very catchy original My My My on the facetubes and is still very musical and lovable on screen.

Stay with Me
Sarah Golden was set up for a fall in her battle with Juliet Simms but she held up her end respectably despite the fact that the selected the key was in no way a good one for her.  Strangely when she sang so close to her break, she had this fantastic pop star quality to her voice that was very Jackson 5. If she could got little more comfortable there, she could completely rock the pop dance tunes, if she wanted.

Faithfully
Justin Hopkins was also set up in his battle with Tony Vincent. But he really delivered the goods. It would have been interesting to see what he could do in the kind of staging and theatrics that Cee Lo would have placed him in, had he advanced.  I think Justin could have stretched beyond that performance and was being pigeon-holed.  Journey is as impossible to sing as Aretha. Steve Perry has enormous shoes to fill.  And while Tony and Chris on Team Adam were terrified to do a U2 song but I think Tony and Justin would have been way more justified to crap their pants at the prospect of doing a Journey song.  It was a great duet.  Legendary.  If Justin and Tony had been battling Chris and Tony, on Faithfully, Team Cee Lo would have wiped the stage with them.

What's Love Got to Do with It
The Shields Brothers were also set up in their battle with Erin Martin. It seemed like the perfect song for her and one would think that she would have dominated. But it ended up being a really strong match.  Their battle was great.  The Shields Brothers brought the fire and Erin brought the sex appeal and the pterodactyl sounds.  It was a fantastic piece.  Erin and the Shields Brothers should consider becoming a trio.  Cee Lo should have moved the three of them to the next level together.  I think the Shields Brothers, like Justin, were pigeon-holed.

One thing that they did in this battle was to modulate the key of the song to accommodate each battle side. Had that not happened, this would have been painful for one of the two battlers. And had they done this for Jamar and Jamie, their battle might have been less of a blood bath.  The minute Jamie's voice cracked in rehearsal, that should have been a part of the discussion.

I have become a big fan of the Shields Brothers.
Their covers: We Are YoungForget YouPumped Up Kicks
Their originals: Addicted to You (sex!),  Rock and Roll Is Not Allowed

The super saddest of farewells to Jamie Lono and to the Shields Brothers.

My favorite battles:

Lex and Charlotte
Moses and the Line
Erin and the Shields Brothers
Lee and Lindsay
Justin and Tony

A quick word about the celebrity advisors - Babyface was my favorite followed very closely by Neyo.


Blind Auditions
The Blind Auditions were the most exciting part of the show.  The spinning lighted chairs.  Fabulous.  And these people can really fucking sing. The bar is set incredibly high from the very start.

But these the ones that really struck me.

Team Blake:
Gwen Sebastian, Stay, the flutter in her voice is gorgeous.  She has a Dolly Parton quality to her vocals.

Jordis Unga, Maybe I'm Amazed

Erin Willett, I Want You Back I don't know why I didn't note how damn amazing Erin's blind audition was on previous viewings.  And I don't know why Blake was the only coach to turn.

Team Xtina:
Sera Hill, I'm Going Down She had maybe one of the most compelling auditions and had an amazing battle round.

Jesse Campbell, A Song for You.  I still can't believe he was eliminated.

Lindsay Pavao, Say Aaaah had a really interesting audition, perhaps the most interesting of all the blind auditions, musically.  She has great taste.  I have looked up every song that she has performed on the show.  With the exception of one, I have really liked them all to the point of obsession.  But I have liked the originals better in every case.  I find this a little concerning.  The covers all go through the Pavao process and come out with a consistently weird, downtempo, low key feel.  I do wish that she had gone along with Xtina's suggestion of a Rhianna mashup of "S&M" and "We Found Love".  It's not really her style but it's SUCH an awesome idea.  I can almost hear it in my brain. Texturally, it's a great match with her voice.  It's possible that when singing her own songs, the Pavao process would lead to delightful musical outcomes.  But I am not sure.  I worry that instead they will come out weird, downtempo and too low key to be appealing.


Team Adam:
Mathai, Rumor Has It, unfortunately she peaked with this performance and never really clicked in after.  But this performance is incredibly strong.

Kim Yarbrough, Tell Me Something Good, power altos have a very hard time on these kinds of shows.  As an alto, this bugs me to no end.  I could write a whole blog post about it.

Orlando Napier, Waiting on the World to Change, I am really surprised that Orlando did not go further.  His audition was amazing.  But if he had, we would not have seen Karla Davis' best moment.

Whitney Myer, No One, had a really lovely blind audition and I do wish that she had had the chance to go further.  Putting anyone in a battle round with Kim Yarbrough is unfair.

Chris Cauley, Grenade, had a lot of style, so fluid.


Team Cee Lo:
Jamar Rogers, Seven Nation Army, I don't understand why they didn't all turn around.

James Massone, Find Your Love, made enormous strides while on the show.  He has a very high nasal tone but also a beautiful lightness.  His covers of Don't Know Why and Just the Way You Are were a great direction for him to take.  Having Cee Lo pick him in the battle round was a great moment of judge impartiality.

Jamie Lono, Folsom Prison Blues, I really love this performance.

Tony Vincent, We Are the Champions,  I think Tony also peaked with his first performance.  Somehow he never quite found his groove.  His last chance performance of Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) was what he needed to be doing the whole time.  He could use some new dance moves that are less spider-like.

Now all that is left is a discussion of the final performances and results and a meditation on the show as a whole.

Too Much of the Voice pt. 1

I have become entirely wrapped up in the reality television show, The Voice. I watch the show. I watch the extra videos. I read online blog posts and episode recaps. I look at the photos. I rewatch performances. I read contestant tweets. I read contestant blog entries. I watch non-Voice youtube videos by the contestants. I listen to the original versions of the songs covered. I suspect the energy I am directing towards this show reflects a longing, a deep desire for something. Not sure what perhaps - for meaning, for direction, for insight, for inspiration. The show is enjoyable but as could be predicted, however much I investigate the online media and content surrounding this show, I am left wanting more. Because the inarticulable thing that I seek is not there.  It does not contain the secrets of the universe or the answer to the question of the meaning of life.

The show is down to the final four contestants. Tony Lucca, Jermaine Paul, Chris Mann and Juliet Simms. By next Tuesday, they will have declared who is the Voice for 2012. Interestingly, these four have not competed against each other until now. So it's anyone's guess as to who has the most popular support. The show is structured to put contestants onto Teams. Although to clarify these are not teams where the singers collaborate, rather that they are in the same competitive division.  They compete for the privilege of representing their coach in the final show down.  The word Team is misused here in the same way that the word "Friend" is misused in social media. Teams are under the guidance of a coach, who is their coach, guide, producer, confessor, cheerleader, judge, jury and hangman in the early phases.  America does get to vote but only very late in the game and only in some instances.

I have wanted to gab about this show obsessively and incessantly but have spared you until now.

The Final Four

Tony Lucca is a handsome guy with famous friends and perhaps lots of fans. He is very comfortable on stage. But he needs serious back up singers to do the heavy lifting for him vocally. Standing behind a mic stand is not the right gig for him. He's best either behind a guitar or working the stage reaching out to the crowd. He cleans up cheesy, like an evangelical megachurch preacher. Keep that hat on his head, beard on his face and maybe the vest too. His best performances have been: "How You Like Me Know", "Hit Me Baby One More Time", and "In Your Eyes".

Jermaine Paul is even handsomer, perhaps the best looking man on the show.  He has amazing vocal control and command. He has mostly given soulful renditions of rocks songs and power ballads. Besides his staggering vocal ability, there is an immense amount of heart and emotion in his performances. He can carry a song on his capable shoulders and sell it like nobody's business. His version of "Living On A Prayer" gave me chills. It blew the original to bits. His version of "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car" also blew the original away. But really, he's been strong all the way through: "Against All Odds", "Open Arms". His blind audition song, "Complicated" was his weakest cut. Which is not saying much because it was also pretty damn great.

Opera singer, Chris Mann, has staggering chops. But the challenge is to find him the perfect song and the perfect genre. I am not sure that he has had a break out pop performance on the show. In part due to his application of an operatic singing style to popular songs.  The notes and those open vowels have considerable firepower and oh so much vibrato, but the words sound affected and formal. Although I did like the OperaMann version of "Bridge Over Troubled Water". He sounds very mannered and formal to me.  I'd like to hear him do a Queen song. I think bigness and bombast with a mild dash of raciness could work for him.  The precise articulation and vibrato would be well placed in that context.

Juliet Simms brings a compelling urgency to the stage. You feel like singing is the only thing that keeps her from being lowered into a tank of starving piranhas. She has consistently had some of the best stagecraft.   In her blind audition when she fell to her knees during "Oh Darlin" it was electric. With her curious voice the whole is definitely greater than sum the parts.  She's nasal.  She's husky.  She has little girl precious vocals.  She sometimes does this nanny goat thing.  She's has broad dynamics and control. And she brings the legit rock gravel and growl. She has been so strong all the way through. I am not sure how she will top her performance of "It's a Man's World." I thought the same when she sang "Cryin'" and minced her way back and forth across the stage in those wings and high heels. And I thought the same after she tore the roof off of "Roxanne." There is a lot of talk about the artistry and interpretive skills of Lindsay Pavao but Juliet's rendition of Roxanne is transformative. This girl is no joke. I did not think that she could beat Jamar. But she did (breaking my heart) and would have even without Cee Lo's support.  I cannot wait to hear her next song.

Upsetting Eliminations

There is something so winning, so endearing about Jamar Rogers.  His rock soul kungfu has been impressive: "Seven Nation Army", "Are You Gonna Go My Way", the slow jam version of "It's My Life".  He blew "I Want to Know What Love Is", out of the water and poor Jamie Lono along with it.  Cee Lo Green was critical of his version of "If You Don't Know Me By Now".  But I find it to be really lovely.  It kills me that we could not have Juliet and Jamar in the final four.

Katrina Parker really blossomed in this competition and has had some really great performances.  I like her version of "Jar of Hearts" better than the original.  "Perfect", ""Killing Me Softly", "Don't Speak" - she's done really beautiful work on the show, in particular, on "Don't Speak".  Unlike everyone else who covered Adele and mostly could not live up to the task, she evokes that quality and tone without ever doing an Adele song.  Her voice has a beautiful texture.  She has grown to the point where a coach like Christina Aguilera or Cee Lo Green would help her take the next step.  I am sad that she has been eliminated but I will credit Adam for taking her as far has he did.  It shows great integrity in his judging despite his smarmy onscreen demeanor.  But I would love to hear her sing again.

Other extremely distressing Eliminations from the live performances

Jesse Campbell - His blind audition "A Song For You", his epic "If I Ain't Got You" battle with Anthony Evans, "What a Wonderful World".  I grant you that "Halo" was not a good song for him and perhaps he was not progressing or evolving in the same way that some of the other contestants were but I really wanted to see him sing again and again on the show.  He's so damn good.  He was already starting from a very high level.

Ashley De La Rosa - She really developed on the show.  When she started to rock out - it all fell into place for her: "Right Through You" and then "Paris, Oo La La".  It's a pity that "Paris, Oo La La" was a last chance song.  She was on fire.  It was one of my favorite moments.  I would buy it on iTunes.  If she had gotten to do the song "Fighter" as a solo live performance, she would have crushed it to a fine powder.  I don't think that "Foolish Games" or "You and I" were particularly good choices for her.  The uptempo stuff is really her sweet spot, although with time she would certainly season into the sweeter, slower stuff.  If only, Rock Diva was a well established popular music category.  I do not know if rock diva is a frequently vacant category  because it is so hard to sustain or because divas have a desperate need to sing high sustained notes and then melisma their brains out - a need best met by singing ballads.  But I would love to see Ashley De La Rosa blow the roof off of the rock world.

Jordis Unga - After singing "Maybe I'm Amazed" for her blind audition things never really seemed to click for Jordis.  I am not sure why and it's a shame.  Frankly, covering a Heart song is insanity.  Her last chance song, "Wild Horses" was lovely.  Impressive because that song is endless and prone to being sooooo boring.    It was a breakthrough for her but I think her subsequent song was a misstep.  "Wild Horses" was a confidence building performance that put her on her feet and in a position to tear the roof off the house.  I got weepy when she was eliminated.  Her performances on Rock Star INXS show were mind-blowing.

I almost stopped watching when Jesse and Ashley were eliminated.  It's hard to want to keep watching now that Jamar is gone.

Outstanding Live Performances

Erin Willett did the most amazing version of "Livin' For the City".  It hit right in her sweet spot.  Her video of "I Love Rock n Roll" with the Shields Brothers is so great.  I am not sure the Voice was the best venue for America to see just how wonderful she is.  She needs her own talk show.

I was not a Charlotte Sometimes fan, until her performance of "Misery Business".  When she glances to her right with the slightest shrug of her shoulder, she expresses the superior sass and flirtation of the song.  Youtube recommended that I listen to her track "How I Could Just Kill a Man."  It fits her like a glove.

People were very critical of Naia Kete, (haters!) but I thought that her version of "Turning Tables" was beautifully vulnerable, tender, and real.  Even what was flawed in the performance played into the emotional tenor and expression of the song perfectly.  I actually liked her last chance version of "If I Were a Boy" too.  I hope that she is getting booked into venues and has not gone completely back to busking on the streets.

RaeLynn version of "She's Country" was the first time that the song didn't get away from her.  She's adorable and enjoyable in raw form too but this performance was her polished gem.  Her vocals were perfectly under control.  She stage swagger was spot on.  She knocked it out of the park.

I did not understand the fuss about Karla Davis until her last chance song "I Can't Make You Love Me."  She's skilled, soulful and has melisma chops to spare.  She makes smart and very musical vocal choices.  As Adam points out, she can stay solidly in the pocket which is a credit to her musicianship.  On her youtube version of "Airplane" she even raps.  It's great.  On the show, the tempo was a touch too slow for her.  If the tempo has sped up a notch, had she been less nervous, had she not been standing on an airplane wing, had she been allowed to rap - well, she would have clobbered it.  There really is something pure and beautiful and perfect about her voice.

I liked Cheesa's cover of Don't Leave Me This Way.  I did not like her eye makeup and her clothes.  I wish they had put her in a miniskirt or tuxedo hot pants with some boots.  But vocally it was great.  You could see that she was working on her stagecraft, with time that would get better.  But her real breakthrough came with I Have Nothing.  It's a brave and impossible choice.  We have all tried to sing this song at karaoke.  When I try, I break into a massive sweat and end up collapsed on the floor reaching for the remnants of my splattered lungs.  She tore it up.  It was fantastic match up between a big song and a big voice.  On this show it might have been the best one for any of the power altos.

This is only half the story.  Here we close the live performance section and step further back in time to the Battle Rounds and the Blind Auditions.