Will.i.am, one of the judges on The Voice UK. Photo credit: HighTechDad http://flic.kr/p/9aud4J
The background
This weekend saw the fourth live show of The Voice UK, the BBC’s vocal talent show and ratings rival of Britain’s Got Talent, which wound up last week. The show, which has trumpeted its emphasis on vocal talent rather than sob stories, has been hailed and slated by the UK press in pretty much equal measure. Spiced up by stories of internal tensions between the celebrity judges, this week’s edition was no disappointment for viewers looking for a little Saturday night excitement. But it’s taken some stick for its odd format, wobbly performances and sloppy production mistakes.
Fireworks. Without the pyrotechnics
The Telegraph’s Isabel Mohan wrote that this week’s show was deeply disappointing: “Well, if the BBC were trying to stop everyone from accusing The Voice of being boring, they’ve certainly succeeded – tonight it exceeded all expectations of inoffensive blandness and was simply terrible.” The Huffington Post observed that “even The Voice website commented after this week’s show, ‘That was a good dress rehearsal. When’s the live show?’ after two technical hitches, a F-bomb on live television and a falling out between the judges all marred this week’s programme.” Digital Spy saw the mistakes differently, and said that the fourth live show “was many things – shambolic, chaotic, bonkers – but never dull … Slickness and professionalism was replaced with a bit of edge and a little more light entertainment”. The Guardian’s liveblog of the show picked up on the spats between the judges this week: “Will.i.am clearly got the internal ‘FOR GOD’S SAKE WE’RE SHEDDING VIEWERS, SOMEONE BE NASTY!’ memo”.
Format troubles
Entertainmentwise praised the fact that “people aren’t voting on cuddly backstories and easy charm,” but that recent infighting between the judges and production mistakes have “taken the shine off the show’s successful start.” The Guardian, however, thought that in terms of getting to know the contestants, “we know they can sing, but we barely know them as people.” They added that “then there’s the weird presenter imbalance. Why is Reggie Yates barely on screen? He’s a great presenter with an easy charm and a quick wit, but he’s stuck in a miserable box of a room and consigned to glumly read out tweets”. Digital Spy agreed, and said “there are still glaring problems – like the V-Room. I keep half expecting Holly to cut to Reggie Yates in his little studio, sobbing: ‘Why am I here, Holly? What’s even the point?’”
Wobbly performances
The Telegraph were the most critical of the vocal talent on the show. They commented that “there were just rather sub-standard performances” and accused Vince Kidd, “who, for want of a more appropriate expression, murdered a Whitney Houston song. It’s lucky it’s probably too soon for her to turn in her grave.” The newspaper also called 18-year-old contestant Becky Hill a “crimpy-haired, growly voiced brat”. Entertainmentwise disagreed, admiring “the teenager’s appealing feistiness,” whilst The Huffington Post commented “what she lacked in hitting every right note, she made up for in attitude and chutzpah.”
Here’s the contestants in action:
