Vocal Masterclass Discussion For Season 5 Of The Voice: The Blind Auditions Week Two

September 30, 2013 by Masterclass Lady 8 Comments


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Here we go again. Another stellar batch of singers were unveiled last week during the premiere episode of The Voice Season 5. And, even stranger, these singers came to this show with a strong sense of artistic identity and outstanding vocal technical skills.

So, why has American Idol struggled so over the past few years? There has been an handful of exceptional singers but, overall, during the past 3 years or so, the Top 10 has always left me wanting more.

Is it any wonder that The Voice ratings are so high?

Last week, singer after singer left everything on the stage and, if the rumours are true, this season is going to be extremely competitive.

Now, if this show would eliminate all the filler, it would be perfect. The backstory and the post-audition segments are beyond tedious. No one cares – we just want to hear these singers sing. A little info. Is fine but a full-fledged biography? Uhm no!

The show airs Monday and Tuesday at 8:00 PM on NBC.

Below, is a Vine clip tweeted by The Voice’s Twitter page. Pretty exciting sound!

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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 Season 5 Of The Voice: The Blind Auditions Week Two”

  1. Gene W October 1, 2013 at 6:48 pm

    I think that Idol has taken the wrong message from the success of The Voice. They seem to be of the opinion that it’s all about the judges when, of course, it has to be mostly about the singers if there is to be success. I don’t think their staff changes will make much difference in the big picture.

    The Voice is doing a great job of constantly putting decent singers on the stage. It is rare to be bored by one of their contestants in this round. Of course some are better than others, but seldom are they just unlistenable. I too hope they will continue to tweak the format and try to make it more interesting throughout, but the performances are quite good especially for the first audition level. They do this stage of the competition much better than the other shows do and allow their contestants to apear professional right out of the box.

    I was excited to hear one of my heroes name mentioned and one of his songs sang last night. The unusual fellow who was a R&B singer had sung with BB Kings band and the long drink of water blond woman near the end of the show sang his signature songs: “The Thrill is Gone.” Life is good. The only thing that would make it any better is if I could see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals right downtown in a small venue. Wait a minute; I did see Grace last Wed in a club that holds about 1000 people about 5 or 6 miles from home. Fantastic show! Get out to see as much live music being made as you can. There are so many good opportunities if you dig a little bit. That is one of the things that keeps me tuning in to these competitions is seeing good music made live.

    Two other good live music programs that you may be able to get on your cable are “Live from Daryl’s House” and” Latter with “Jools Holland.” This is a BBC program that can be seen on Paladia in the US. Jools is a famous key board player from the 60’s through the 80’s and is the closest thing you will find to Ed Sullivan these days. The guest range from people you have never heard of to the biggest names in the business.

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  2. Masterclass Lady October 2, 2013 at 3:19 pm

    Gene – as always, you are a wealth of information. I shall have to delve into your show recommendations ASAP.

    And right you are concerning the fact that the focus must be on the singers. I am hoping that Harry Connick Jr., who is a seasoned musician, will be able to find and attract singers who re uniquely talented.

    I was actually a little confused that he wasn’t a huge fan of Candice last season when he served as mentor. He was a proponent of Bree and, for the life of me, I don’t know why. Nice singer, nice girl but just no star power at all.

    So, this worries me. I still am not a fan of J-Lo on the panel. I don’t get it at all. Something tells me no one else wanted the “chair”. She is not a great singer by any stretch of the imagination. Great performer, yes, but that is it.

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  3. janey79 October 2, 2013 at 4:19 pm

    Live From Daryl’s House is a favorite of mine too! While it’s on the telly, you can also view all episodes here: http://www.livefromdarylshouse.com/

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  4. Gene W October 2, 2013 at 10:08 pm

    MCL,
    I like Harry Connick Jr a lot as well. I have my doubts that he will change the show in any significant way though. I believe there system is set in stone, and while some judges are more knowledgeable or articulate than others, in the end they all follow the system. I hope I’m wrong about that, BTW. I agree with you about J Lo but you have come up with a twist that I hadn’t thought of. I never considered that no one else wanted the job. She is just the wrong type for my money.

    I would rather see a younger, seasoned performer with a broad base of experience as a writer, singer, musician and leader of her own band who is comfortable working in different genres. Norah Jones, Sara Bareilles, Grace Potter, Kelly Clarkson and there are are several country ladies who fit the bill as well but they don’t need two country artist at the same time. Keith is very capable when he is at his best. It seems that they have already created the faux dynamic of tension between Harry and Randy that I’m sure we will be sick of before the top ten are selected. As always, I will hope for the best season ever.

    I was a little mixed about Candice as well. I loved her part in the Vegas week trio from the previous season and there was no question that she was a great singer. There wasn’t a performance this season that made me want to download a copy of it though. I can’t put my finger on it though. I was slow to warm up to Kree as well. No other contestant has ever performed as many songs that I have a copy of the original artist’s version in my collection than Kree did. So she scored high on song choices for me but I never felt like she got all that there was out of a song or that the song would have been as popular if she had been the original artist. Her original song on You Tube is good though. Harry probably liked her type somewhere in the Bonnie Raitt to Susan Tedeschi Blues rock, southern rock range with a twist of country. That’s what appealed to me.

    Janey,
    “LFDH” is a great show isn’t it? You’re right about it being available on the internet for anyone who can’t get it on TV or just can’t get enough of it on TV. It was originally only available on the net. The shows are slightly different on the net though. In addition to Paladia, I’ve seen it on FAMNET as well. I like the range of guest that he has from greats like Smokey Robinson or Joe Walsh to interesting new comers like Rumor or Ely “Paper Boy” Reed. There are 62 episodes so far. I went to Nashville a few months ago to see Hall and Oats performing at the Ryman Theater. It was actually the same great musicians that appear on Daryl’s show with the addition of John Oats. I had an extra treat of sitting about three rows back from Allison Krause who was trying hard to remain incognito, so even though she was directly in front of me as we filed out of the theater,I let her enjoy her night out and resisted the temptation to speak to her. Daryl said they were planning new shows for the near future.
    MCL, a cooking segment and dinner with Daryl, the band and his guest is part of each show and the table conversations can be quite interesting. They usually bring in a notable local chef and the guest usually helps in the kitchen a little bit. I found Booker T Jones, Smokey Robinson, Joe Walsh and Grace Potter’s dinner conversation segments especially interesting. I hope you get a chance to see these programs.

    I’ve never seen anything like Latter with Jools Holland before but his style as an announcer and the fact that it’s a musical variety show remind me of Ed Sullivan, and along with new acts, he has some of the biggest names ever. I’ve seen Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Norah Jones, Elvis Costello, Neil Diamond, Ce Lo Green, Jay Z (?) Bonnie Raitt and Adele. He also has guest in the audience who he interviews like Timothy B Smith and Joe Walsh from the Eagles, Ginger Baker from Cream and famous guitarist from the 50’s,Duane Eddy. The coolest thing about this show is that the stage is a large circle with each of the acts arrayed around it. Each act remains on their spot on the stage throughout the entire program and watch each other perform. Some of the shots are priceless like where you could see an unmistakable silhouette of Elvis Costello enjoying Paul McCartney’s performance and then giving him a standing O. It’s one of those shows that you have to take the good with the bad, but I enjoy it.

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  5. janey79 October 2, 2013 at 11:44 pm

    Gene, A couple of things I like best about LFDH are the amazing musicians he performs with and the top notch production. Stellar on both counts!

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  6. janey79 October 2, 2013 at 11:46 pm

    Speaking of The Voice, here’s Cee Lo on LFDH: http://www.livefromdarylshouse.com/currentep.html?ep_id=67

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  7. Gene W October 3, 2013 at 12:47 pm

    I couldn’t agree more Janey.

    The band has changed a little since the show began but all are outstanding musicians. Daryl said on one of the shows “we don’t practice much. Everyone does their homework and we show up and do our thing.” The quality of the work would make you think you were watching a recording session. They are just as tight on the road. The percussionist / backing vocalist is great, love his face. Charlie the sax player stole the show with a solo that ran about 10 minutes in Nashville.

    The production crew blends into the woodwork but always makes you feel like you were right there in the room. They always seem to show what I wanted to see at that time. Daryl’s sister has some role in producing the show but I’m not sure what she does.

    Cee Lo was a much better guest than I thought he might be. He’s a pretty good soul / R&B singer as well.

    When the guest has done their homework before coming to Daryl’s house you get the best shows. Diane Birch was one such guest. I had never heard of her before but I fell in love with her Laura Nero – Carol King-esk vocal style and I’ve never seen a guest become part of the band and hold up their end of the stick as well as she did. Grace Potter was a close second in that regard even though she is my personal favorite in that regard. She wore out Daryl’s “Room to Breathe.” She should record that. Paper Boy Reid killed the old soul classic “I Need Your Lovin’ Everyday” and the girl who calls herself Rumor was outstanding on “Sara Smile.”

    To tie this back to The Voice as well as American Idol, KT Tunstall who was the original artist for “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” tells that she was unknown in the US until Katharine McPhee got clearance to sing her song on Idol. She said her sales took off after that and she has become known in the world rather than just the UK. That is pretty much the opposite of how it would normally go. My favorite contestant on the last episode of The Voice was the young girl who sang this very song. KT was a great guest at Daryl’s House as well.

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  8. Gene W October 3, 2013 at 11:51 pm

    VH1 has become the fourth network to carry Live From Daryl’s House.

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