The Voice Season 2

Vocal Masterclass Discussion For The Voice Season 2: The Blind Auditions Week One

February 6, 2012 by Masterclass Lady 8 Comments


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Last night, Season 2 of The Voice premiered to stellar, record-breaking ratings.

Approximately 37.6 million viewers tuned in to watch the show, which aired following the Superbowl.

Although the Superbowl was a great catalyst for The Voice’s ratings heist, still it broke all kinds of records – and hearts if you are a diehard American
Idol or X-Factor fan.

Here is what The Huffington Post had to say:

“The Voice” kicked off Season 2 with a bang, scoring 37.6 million total viewers and a 16.3 rating among the coveted adults 18-49 demo. While the numbers alone are phenomenal, they also broke records.

The star-studded reality competition had the highest ratings for a non-sports telecast on any network in six years. It’s the highest-rated show since the post-Super Bowl telecast of “Grey’s Anatomy” in 2006.

Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green also beat the post-Super Bowl episode of “Glee” last year by 47 percent in the demo. In fact, the entire Super Bowl XLVI telecast scored an estimated 111.3 million viewers, which narrowly beat the 111 million who watched last year’s game.

The opening show last night was tremendous and the singers were exceptional. The banter between the judges proved to be great entertainment, yet, at the same time, straightforward critiques were delivered with heart and ingenuity.

This show is on fire and will keep other singing competition shows on their tippy toes.

Hopefully, all the singing fans will tune in to both shows. I think American Idol has discovered some wonderful talent this season and the judges have been super.

What about you? Will you be watching The Voice or American Idol or both? Who was your favorite last night? I loved all five singers. Now, there’s a first!

Music, Singing, Television, The Voice, Vocal Masterclass Discussion For The Voice, Vocal Masterlass Discussion For The Voice Season 2
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About Masterclass Lady

Rosanne (Giallonardo) Simunovic began her musical career in Timmins, Ontario. She studied piano with Anne Pizzale and later, at an advanced level, with Soeur Anita Vaugeois (Sister Cecile of Les Soeurs De L’Assomption in Timmins). Her vocal and accompaniment skills were nurtured by her aunt, the late Dorothea Mascioli. When Rosanne graduated from O’Gorman High School, she moved on to the University of Toronto where she continued her piano and vocal studies while attaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree. She was hired as a piano accompanist for several musical companies, most notably, the National Ballet Of Canada. She presently holds an A.R.C.T. Teacher’s Diploma in Voice from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Rosanne has studied choral conducting with numerous well known Canadian Conductors, including Wayne Riddell of Montreal, Quebec and the internationally renowned Dr. Elmer Iseler. She has been a founding member of numerous community-based arts organizations: the Timmins Arts Council, later known as Arts & Culture Timmins, the Timmins Symphony Orchestra, and, the Timmins Youth Singers…as well as the TYS Alumnus choir, the Timmins Concert Singers. In 1987, she was also selected to be the conductor of the Timmins Board Of Education Choir, comprised of talented students from Grades 5 to 8. In 1988, she was elected to the Board Of Directors of the Ontario Choral Federation (now known as Choirs Ontario), where she served as Chair of the Festivals Committee for six consecutive seasons. In 1996, in honour of the Ontario Choral Federation’s 25th Anniversary, Rosanne was selected as one of 25 recipients of the OCF’s Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contribution to the choral art. The ceremony was presided by Lieutenant Governor, Hal Jackman. In November 1997, Rosanne Simunovic was selected by the Rotary Club Of Timmins to receive the prestigious Paul Harris Award for her years of dedication to the artistic development of young musical talent in Timmins. In August of 2002, Rosanne Simunovic was selected by the Board Of Directors of Choirs Ontario to serve as Conductor of both the Provincial Junior and Teen Choir Camps, now renamed in honour of the Camp Benefactors, Don and Lillian Wright. In November 2002, Rosanne was the one of the recipients of the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, honouring her work in the development of the arts in Timmins. Under Rosanne Simunovic’s direction, the Timmins Youth Singers and the Timmins Concert Singers have been featured in numerous choral festivals and performing opportunities outside of Timmins. In 1985, they were selected to partici
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8 Responses to “Vocal Masterclass Discussion For The Voice Season 2: The Blind Auditions Week One”

  1. bee February 6, 2012 at 11:30 pm

    i love this show!! ‘they’ had said it would be ‘bigger and better’ and i thought, ‘oh no, please don’t change it’. there is so much energy and aliveness to it. last year for the first several shows i fast forwarded a lot, this time i didn’t at all. i hope they don’t bring that twitter person in..i love that they show the twitter comments of the judges on the bottom, that’s enough. mcl, that was a very interesting article that you quoted, thank you for that. it is interesting..that is what simon wanted to do and he failed.

    they definitely seem to have better singers this year. i love the interchange between the judges.

    i’ll definitely be watching both shows. i wish they weren’t happening at the same time.

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  2. Gene W February 7, 2012 at 2:05 am

    I’ll watch both.

    American Idol and the voice share a common problem, albeit at opposite ends of their respective seasons. Idol starts off slow and boring and builds to the much more entertaining live shows, culminating with the finale that should be, and has been in the past, the best show of the season. I think they have lost their way on the finales in the last couple of years, but that is basically how their season goes. I can barely stand this part of the season but if you don’t watch it you will be left behind during the rest of the season. You will also miss out on some of the great rejects that we get to meet each year. I follow some of them on the web like Emily Ann Reed, the great little jazz and swing singer from San Francisco last year.

    They have tweaked the show a little bit each year in an attempt to stay ahead of their competitors. This year the judges have obviously been coached on the use of intelligent remarks they can use after hearing an audition. Steven appears to have benefited the most. I hope it carries over into the live shows. BTW, the boy that I mentioned a few weeks ago, Deander, who was returning after being cut at the green mile last season, was shown on air three times; each time was about ½ second. He is up to about 10 seconds total now. He got his ticket to Hollywood and I still think we will see a lot from him. They may be trying to deemphasize the returning contestants.

    I hope that they will back off from the pimping of every act that has a new hip hop record to promote. There is such a wealth of Idol graduates out there trying to get some traction and air time that would be so much more entertaining than most who appear on Idol results shows. To their credit they did use some past Idols last year but I would like to see more.

    This year seems to be about emphasizing the American Idol brand. The contestants that we have seen seem to be good B and C+ students with room to learn and grow. I haven’t seen one that I’m in love with yet, which is unusual. As epitaphs are being written for the old standard, just remember that a competing show has yet to establish itself as a star factory to the extent that Idol has. It’s not unusual for anyone who makes the top ten to find a niche in the entertainment business. BTW(2) I received my autographed copy of Siobhan’s first CD three or four weeks ago.
    If Idol dies it will be a case of suicide, not murder.

    The Voice, on the other hand, comes out of the box guns a blazin’ with their audition round and battle rounds but loses its steam in the live shows. The finale was barley a whimper last year. I do like the fact that their judges are willing to perform music other than their own in a live setting. They have everything to lose and little to gain. At this stage of the season, my only complaint with the format is the amount of time they allow the contestants to choose their mentor. That could be shortened a little. They also make little mention of where they are during the auditions. The teams are shaping up nicely with a few interesting choices of mentors.

    The X-Factor should have been canceled half way through the first season. Who ever signed them for a second season should be fired.

    I liked the tall guy who was a backup singer for Elisha Keyes who unexpectedly joined Blake’s team. He seemed to have some breath support issues though. I was surprised that no one turned around for the kid from Yale. He may have been the best of the night. The woman who favored Chaka Khan was pretty good but her phrasing was odd. I hope they are able to bring out her best. The first night may have had the pick of the liter.

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  3. Darlene February 7, 2012 at 1:19 pm

    I also am watching both Idol & the Voice. I agree with you, Gene. I was surprised by their rejection of the kid from Yale. I genuinely liked him – I thought he had a solid voice & at least to my ear he connected with the song he sang. I liked the military woman but I’m a sucker for Pat Benatar :). I still think it’s going to be hard to beat Jesse Campbell. He is not only a natural performer and has a great voice but he has an incredible story (and if he lasts until the voting phase the personal story is going to count). The pregnant country gal who went to Blake was good too. I really enjoy the Voice & of course I’m utterly in love with Blake Shelton which, admittedly, clouds my vision somewhat.

    I also agree with your more general critique of the problems that the format of both Idol & the Voice present (I am also watching both). I think the auditions for Idol are so strange – you get (basically) at most a verse a capella. I think that’s a very hard basis for judging ultimate performance potential. On the other hand, the people on The Voice give it their all during these auditions and then where can they go? The best part of the finale show last year was Beverly McClellan – I think she was able to be herself because she knew that her chances of winning were not great.

    So I am looking forward to seeing what the two shoes bring to the table in the next few weeks.

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  4. Darlene February 7, 2012 at 1:21 pm

    Sorry – two SHOWS have to bring to the table.

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  5. Gene W February 7, 2012 at 4:51 pm

    Hi Darlene,
    For some reason I’m watching these auditions with my brain in neutral and not engaging with the contestants the way I have in past seasons. I agree with you that Jesse Campbell was very good and his choice of Leon’s “A Song for You” is on my all time favorites list. The songs that people choose to sing tells me a lot about them so it’s almost as important as how well they sing it.

    I have seen the young woman who was an Army Sergeant and her band somewhere else but I can’t recall where. I like Pat Benatar too but I thought song choice was a two edged sword for this girl. Her songs are hard to cover for even very good singers, probably due to the fact that Pat is a classically trained singer and her songs were written to show off her chops. I felt like it made this girl sound “pretty good” but not special.

    There is a program on CMT called Crossroads where they pair a popular singer from the country field with a rock star and the duet and take the lead of the other person’s songs. The pairings are usually pretty good. A few years back they paired Pat Benatar with Martina McBride. Martina mastered the rock star finger shake like a champ but she was working to keep up on a few of Pat’s popular tunes. Last week they paired Steven Tyler and Carrie Underwood.

    I agree with your comparison of the audition process for the two shows as well. I like the fact that you don’t see bad auditions on The Voice but you do see a few that didn’t make the mark. That’s exactly what I would like to see from Idol. The auditions that we see on Idol are at a point that is pretty deep into the overall audition process. The celebrity judges are about the fourth level of audition these people have performed for. There is no reason that they can’t have light accompaniment and a fully realized song at that level if they would just trim the fat out of the process prior to the celebrity judge’s level.

    I think the swiveling chairs on The Voice are pretty silly but they do add uniqueness to the show. I picked up a new term that has been coined from the chair feature. One contestant said that she hoped that she got a “good turn around.” That was the first time I have heard the term, maybe others have said it before.

    I’ve been looking for the people that I met in Nashville when we attended the Idol tour concert who were in town to try out for The Voice. No one so far.

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  6. Masterclass Lady February 7, 2012 at 9:32 pm

    It was a great show last night but the first night was better. Two hours is a loooong time to sustain interest and the talent selected was not as great as the night previous.

    I also thought the singer from Yale was good and was baffled why he didn’t get a turnaround. The “Heartbreaker” girl was good too but I am sure these singers are shown out of context to when they actually competed. The judges may have been tired or heard too much of the same style of singing on that particular day.

    I still love this show. The banter between the judges is pure entertainment and yet they are very precise in explaining to the singers why or why they weren’t selected.

    At it’s core, it’s all about the singers and I do appreciate that. Sure the judges have a competition going but their success depends on the singers’ success.

    And, unlike The X Factor and American Idol, I don’t feel manipulated as a viewer.

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  7. Kariann1 February 8, 2012 at 12:50 am

    I am enjoying The Voice and realize the majority of the contestants are professional in some way. I really enjoyed seeing Angie and believe she already has a built in fan base. I was one of those million that heard her song with the military band on YouTube.

    I will admit that Christina gets on my nerves, but the guys seem to like her. Yes, their ratings will probably be higher than American Idol. I hope Nigel will do things to make Idol even better than it is. Good judging is a start.

    Yes, I will watch both shows, plus Glee and Smash. I also tune in to political talk. Whew!

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  8. Kariann1 February 8, 2012 at 12:52 am

    Gene, Angie was on several morning shows with her band. Plus, she was on YouTube. Very popular, indeed!

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