The Voice Goes Where Many Have Gone Before
Posted by BRADY in American Idol, The VoiceJune 22nd, 2011, 02:16 PM
The Voice: it’s got Carson Daly. Remember him?
If you’re at all like me, then you simply cannot get enough TV talent shows. I am always looking for more of the drama, the snarky judges, the humiliation, and (of course) the hackneyed song choices. So you can imagine my joy at learning that NBC feels the same way! Enter “The Voice”, NBC’s foray into the televised-talent-show game. “But wait,” you exclaim, “Surely that format was run into the ground years ago by the likes of ‘America’s Got Talent’, or ‘The Sing Off’, or even the by the goliath ‘American Idol’. How much undiscovered talent can there possibly be? Surely you can’t be serious.” Oh but I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.
NBC—not unlike M. Night Shyamalan—are banking on a new twist to keep things interesting. Instead of having the judges look at and listen to the contestants, the judges just be listening to them. So I suppose the implication there is that those pesky American Idol judges are entirely too superficial. Or perhaps the producers of “The Voice” were just hoping to create some stupendously awkward situations like this one, in which Maroon 5’s Adam Levine bemoans the type of genitalia possessed by a particular contestant. I can’t say I’ve ever seen that happen on TV before, so clearly NBC is breaking new ground here.
Arguably, the biggest draw that “The Voice” has going for it is its celebrity judges…er…coaches… or whatever they are. Joining Levine on the coaches’ panel is Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton—who is evidently a country music recording artist, just in case the name “Blake” didn’t give that one away—and soul belter extraordinaire, Cee Lo Green. It must be said that this is a pretty potent lineup of musical stars from a fairly wide array of genres. However, it would seem that not all artists or genres are created equal. Or at least they are certainly not valued equally by the show’s producers.
Apparently, it’s not even close. Christina Aguilera is worth as much as the other three coaches combined. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Aguilera rakes in more than $225,000 per episode while the other coaches—the aforementioned Levine, Green, and Shelton—earn a scant $75,000 per episode. While few among us would balk at the chance to be paid $75,000 an episode to confer our expertise to the unwashed masses, one has to wonder if Messrs Levine, Green, and Shelton will be having uncomfortable conversations with their management in the coming weeks.
Time will tell whether the viewing masses share my insatiable hunger for televised reality shows or indeed if NBC’s gimmick—and to be clear that is all it is—will prove successful in differentiating their show from American Idol. Logically, the obvious answer is “NO WAY”, so that can only mean that “The Voice” is in for many seasons of high ratings, trite medleys, guest appearances by aging rock stars, and Carson Daly.
Oh goody.
-This post brought to you by Dan
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