The Voice Review: Cupid Kerfuffle
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On the heels of news that Usher and Shakira will be replacing Xtina and Cee Lo on this spring's fourth season of The Voice - as the latter two take a hiatus for other projects - the Blind Auditions continued on Monday, showcasing plenty of talent that will vie for positions in this year's live shows.
Like always, there were a few featured artists who didn't make the cut on Monday. The most interesting was Cupid. Yes, that Cupid. The man who made the "Cupid Shuffle" tried out for The Voice and failed to turn around a single chair.
He came on the show to prove to everyone that he was more than just his pop phenomenon line dancing song. I get that. He wants to prove he has a voice, something that wasn't really showcased in his signature track. So what song did he choose to sing for his audition?
"Cupid Shuffle." What?!?!?! I could not believe it when I heard him say it. Was this seriously happening? It's a shame, though, because just judging by his performance, it sounded like he had a good voice. It's too bad he wasn't singing a song that gave the coaches an inkling of an idea about what this guy's talent level may or may not have actually been.
Team Cee Lo
Monday: 3-for-6, Total: 7-for-24 (29%)
After giving him such a hard time last week for not being able to persuade anyone to join his team, Cee Lo sort of proved me wrong on Monday, going three-for-six on turn arounds, winning one contestant over all three other coaches, and eventually ending up with three strong and interesting singers at the end of the night.
He first picked up internet sensation JR Aquino, who apparently is in the top 100 subscribed-to artists on YouTube. Because I wasn't the biggest fan of his voice during "Just the Way You Are," I'm assuming he sounds a lot better in his track that has had 5 million views. JR's falsetto was severly lacking and there was way too much vibrato, but the dude had style, which could get him further in this competition than a great voice might. Cee Lo telling JR about his issues was exactly what landed him the artist. The kid likes constructive criticism and you have to respect that.
In classic Cee Lo fashion, the coach picked up yet another hopeful that could only turn Cee Lo's chair around. Unlike some of the other times that has happened, this time I really liked the singer. Nicholas David was smooth, he had interesting voice quirks, and he had a magnificent beard. I enjoyed hearing about his recovery from booze and being overweight, and most importantly, his rendition of "Stand By Me" was seriously original.
Finally, the pink cockatoo owner landed prodigy Avery Wilson. This was the first time I saw Cee Lo going all out for a contestant. He wanted Avery bad. He wanted him so bad, he kind of started getting religious about it in his pitch to the talented 16 year old. I didn't think Avery's "Without You" was the best we've seen this season, but all four coaches turned around, so that's saying something!
Team Adam
Monday: 4-for-7, Total: 9-for-18 (50%)
Adam was seriously busy to start week of two of the blind auditions, picking up four team members, including two of the first three to grace our screens. Melanie Martinez began things with a haunting version of Britney Spears' "Toxic." I'm not sure how long she can keep of this shtick - a similar one didn't take Lindsey Pavao to the end last year - but this performance was so quirky that it more than proved she deserved a spot on a team.
Brian Scartocci put forth a smooth rendition of "Isn't She Lovely," but didn't get most of the coaches' attention until he unloaded a wealth of rasp on them. Alessandra Guercio, meanwhile, used her performing arts background to impress Adam with an imperfect "The Climb." It was those little mistakes that almost made this performance more interesting though. I really liked her, and not only because she looked like a mini Indira Varma. Adanna Duru, who we saw very little of, also earned a spot on Team Adam.
Team Xtina
Monday: 2-for-5, Total: 9-for-17 (53%)
It's almost like Xtina tried to not turn around for anybody to start, because she didn't want them to pick other coaches over her. At some point, though, she realized she had to add to her team. The one duo that made it through on Monday ended up on Team Xtina.
Beat Frequency was a married couple who have finally come together to sing. Even though they looked like they came to the audition straight out of the 90s with Natasha's crimped hair, Beat Frequency sounded great together. I'm not sure if either one of them would have had a chance on their own, but as a duo they sounded fantastic. Xtina also picked up Paulina, who we didn't get to see much of.
Team Blake
Monday: 2-for-5, Total: 7-for-17 (41%)
It was a relatively quiet night for Blake. Well, other than making all of that noise with his ACM Vocalist of the Year Award that is. Blake added Kelly Crapa and Liz Davis to his squad on Monday. We didn't see much of the former, and the latter was a straight up country girl who would have been dumb to pick any other coach. Liz's "Here For the Party" was powerful, and there was a lot of fight to her vocal.
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Now each coach’s team is just about half way full. Who do you think has the best squad thus far? Which coach made the best moves tonight? Who was your favorite performer on Monday? Was there anyone who surprised you?
Dan Forcella is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter.