The Voice: Episode 11 recap

Every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night I sit down to watch The Voice. Some of you will know that I don't watch much television. In fact, strictly speaking I don't actually own a TV. I watch The Voice on my lap top as it airs live on Channel 9. I watch it for a few reasons.

1. I love the judges. I'm a huge fan of Delta Goodrem and have been for the last 15 years since she released Born to Try. I've also seen her live in concert and think she's one of the most genuinely nice Australian stars. She is this generation's answer to Kylie Minogue.
2. I love singing. I'm a singer and writer myself so I like to see what I can learn from the contestants.
3. Outright entertainment and curiosity. I generally don't like reality TV but there's something about The Voice that has me captivated.

Now as some of you would be aware, the blind auditions ended last week, which meant that tonight was the first of the battle rounds.

Up first were a trio of guys including Jackson, Aydan and Josh (a little 15 year old). I've loved Josh since he stepped up onto the stage in the blind auditions. He has a great personality and there is just something about him that keeps you interested. Their coach, Joe chose Ariana Grande songs. Of the contestants though, Jackson won the round but luckily Jackson and Josh were saved by Kelly and Delta respectively.

Hopefully Josh will go far in the series and even if he doesn't, he's young enough at 15 that he could use this as a stepping stone to a music career, either on stage, or as a radio or TV presenter.

The next round was Delta's contestants singing Pink songs, and despite her insecurities, Jacinta won the round. Aimee was sent home but Mikayla who hadn't been comfortable singing a song she didn't know was saved. She'll need to be more open to singing songs she doesn't know if she's to progress much further in the competition.

George's contestants who were an eclectic bunch - Jackie the singing grannie, Joel the obese chef and Chang the man with only one eye took to the stage afterwards. All of them sung well but as we know with these shows, only one can progress to the next stage. The contestant that progressed was Chang. Joel is a great singer, but as I've said on Twitter, he needs to lose weight and try out again when he's a healthier size. He also needs to work on his confidence.

More of Joe's contestants performed; and Sally won the round. Neither Pete nor Anyerin were saved. Pete has a good personality but he doesn't have the best voice. He also needs to work on being less hesitant when he's asked to sing a song outside of his comfort zone. The arrangement didn't work and the artist didn't suit his voice. Anyerin was professional in how he dealt with it and had no issue with singing a song he didn't know by Demi Lovato. Unfortunately though he was sent home. It's a shame because he really is a talented singer and should definitely keep up with the gigging.

The final round of the night saw Brock Ashby, Hannah Pearce and Lacey "Lady boss" Madison sing Lady Gaga songs. Brock Ashby should need no introduction because he was in the band Moorehouse who came fourth on New Zealand's X Factor. He sung Million Reasons and was singing it for his late mother. He absolutely nailed it. Lacey was cocky behind the scenes but she delivered a sincere rendition of Joanne. Hannah performed The Cure wonderfully. Only one of them made it through though and that was Brock Ashby.

Lacey Madison needs to work on her arrogance if she's to have a lasting career in the music industry and that is what let her down. She can still be outgoing and bubbly but right now she comes across as conceited and it could be the reason she didn't progress to the next round. If she becomes more down to earth then the public will be more receptive to her next time around, if she tries out again. She has a great singing ability, but nobody likes arrogance or a show off One of the reasons Delta Goodrem has lasted 15 years in the music industry is because she is genuinely nice. Hannah just needs to keep performing and it will be her time eventually. She has the right look and personality. It just wasn't the right time for her.

Brock on the other hand won the round because he's there already. He's a performer and a writer. He's got the right look and has the voice to match it. He's previously released music in New Zealand but it hasn't really taken him to where he wants to go so potentially he could win this year's The Voice.

If I had to pick the top three performers from tonight's episode I would have to say the standouts were, in order of favourite:

1. Brock Ashby
2. Josh Richards
3. Jacinta Gulisano

I'm picking Brock to win the season though because he has a Stan Walker quality about him and is determined. He hasn't let knockbacks dictate how he approaches his music in the future. More importantly though, he's not arrogant and that makes a huge difference when you're starting out in the music industry. He also has the ability to write which gives him an advantage over other contestants who may not be able to write their own songs. Brock also connects with the songs and is very attractive and even though The Voice isn't supposed to be about anything other than singing, looks go a long way and can make a huge difference to how the public perceives you.