2012: A Blogging Top 10 - Part 2

Here is the second part of my list of the most popular posts on my blog this year. As I noted yesterday, it reflects only those written and published over the course of 2012. Stats courtesy of Google Analytics.

At Number 6, some thoughts on The Voice UK. I'm not sure it lived up to it's initial promise - but the format still had a lot to recommend it.

Number 5 was another musical post, this time a review of a concert by del Amitri frontman, Justin Currie, at The Fleece in Bristol. It was a brilliant evening with a man completely at home on the stage, happy to banter with the audience and take requests. *Mental note to self: go to more concerts in 2013.*

Not quite making it to page (part) 3 of this run-down was piece in support of the campaign to persuade Dominic Mohan to end Page 3. This isn't a campaign about censorship - merely sense. Anyway, here is the post at Number 4 in the run-down - it's Not Safe For Work.

Andrew

The Voice UK Final

Regular readers will know I've been enjoying The Voice UK - and up until last week I hadn't thought any of the decisions (on the live shows at least) as to who should leave each week were drastically wrong.

Last week in the semi-final, though, the public voted and that changed. My favourite contestant and tip to win the show was voted off. It was an unbelievable result as her competition in Sir Tom Jones' team was (imho) nowhere near as gifted.

This was my initial reaction:

Fellow Lib Dem blogger Jennie was a little more forthright, in her own inimitable style. Sir Thomas Jones Woodward KBE was also stunned (livid?), when the result was announced - he also pledged to everything he could to support Ruth in her career.

If you're settling down to watch the final - do enjoy. But be aware of what you're missing:

Andrew

Sunday Sounds 43: The Voice UK Live Show 2 Edition

I'm going to spoil you this week with to Sunday Sounds, both taken from last night's episode of The Voice UK.

First up is Max Milner with what I think is an incredibly special version of Tom Petty's Free-fallin', which was already one of my favourite songs. Max imbues it with real Soul and Emotion - the performance of the night for me:

Whilst that may have been my personal favourite from last night, I also really liked Vince Kidd's rendition of Always on My Mind. I love both Elvis' and the Pet Shop Boys' versions; and I was pretty impressed by this take on it too:

Andrew

The Voice UK Judges - 4 - Jessie J

The final judge on The Voice UK - at least in the order I've chosen to feature them - is Jessie J. Although still in the infancy of her recording career, not many artists can say that a song they've written has been Number 2 in the US Billboard Hot 100 (Miley Cyrus' Party in the U.S.A.).

Jessie J went to the BRIT School, which also produced (or rather honed) other talents such as Adele, Katie Melua, and (in part) The Feeling. An early recording contract fell through when the label went under and her subsequent songwriting contract came before a new attempt at recording led to Do It Like a Dude... The rest, as they say, is history...

The song I've chosen is Who You Are which is quite often played in the gym I attend - but not this acoustic version, though! Enjoy a pared back, raw performance:

Andrew

The Voice UK Judges - 3 - Danny O'Donoghue

So, last night was the first of the two Battle shows on The Voice UK - and the second is tonight. Before that, though, there are two more judges to feature on these pages. First, Danny O'Donoghue of Irish band The Script.

The band boasts two Irish and UK Number 1 albums, with the second also getting to No.3 in U.S. They are one of those bands who have, slightly passed me by, but I think it's fair to say that their best known song (and certainly their biggest hit in the UK), remains The Man Who Can't Be Moved. So here it is, enjoy:

Andrew

The Voice UK Judges - 2 - will.i.am

Second in my features on The Voice UK's judges is the rather improbably named will.i.am. Star of the Black Eyed Peas and producer of everyone from Carlos Santana to Britany Spears, Rihanna to Mary J Blige, Ricky Martin to Mariah Carey, Kelis and Usher to, well, you get the idea.

But which of his own tracks to choose? I was tempted to go back to 2003 and Where Is The Love? from the Black Eyed Peas - I hadn't listened to it for some years but it still stands up as a great track. Instead, though, I've chosen the much more recent T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever) feat. Mick Jagger and Jennifer Lopez as far more representative of what will.i.am is about: it's the sound, the drawing influences from all over the place and the message. You can go hard or you can go home:

Andrew

The Voice UK Judges - 1 - Tom Jones

Earlier I blogged about The Voice UK and promised a series of 4 posts (two today, two tomorrow) showcasing each of the judges. I'm starting, as one should, with Sir Tom Jones - a man who needs little or no introduction. Suffice to say, every time will.i.am name drops about working with Michael Jackson, Tom Jones can mention Elvis or Aretha Franklin...

(If you do need an introduction to a man who has been in the recording industry for over 5 decades, I'd recommend you listen to his Desert Island Discs appearance.)

So, what to choose? Well, I was going to choose this, but then I found the following video and it gave me goosebumps. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Sir Tom Jones with "If I Give My Soul":

Andrew

The Voice UK

People who know me (or follow my Twitter stream) will be aware that I get sucked into watching various talent shows. Last year, despite my protestations that I really didn't want to commit to 3 months worth of The X Factor, I ended up following it all the way through - and was a particular champion of Misha B.

But The X Factor is a circus with a variety of acts, some of which are designed merely to amuse, some of which are cruelly taunted. For every Misha B, there's a Jedward or Ceri Reeves*. As TV singing contests go, though, it has limited competition.

A couple of years ago, Sky had a go with Must Be The Music (won by Emma's Imagination). This was a different type of show: open to singer-songwriters and bands in all genres and judged by credible musicians (a route The X Factor has subsequently gone down to some extent). Unfortunately, Sky axed it after just one series.

Now, the Beeb has got in on the act with The Voice UK and I'm hooked. The format is simple but effective: The initial audition stages are blind with the Judges' chairs turned away from the performers. Over the course of the auditions, each judge builds up a team of 10 singers - choosing whether they want to work with an act based on what they hear. Should more than one judge turn round, the act has the choice over who to work with.

There are importantly differences with The X Factor - firstly, all the acts can actually sing. The format simply wouldn't work with novelty acts so contestants have been pre-screened/scouted to provide a certain level of talent/interest. This means that the tone of the judges feedback is more constructive & positive and less crtitical or abusive than some of the unfortunates on The X Factor are subjected to.

Secondly, the line up of judges can, fairly, be described as stellar - Sir Tom Jones (no description necessary!), Jessie J (singer-songwriter, Brit School Alumni and very "current"), will.i.am (Songwriter, Producer and star of Black Eyed Peas) and Danny O'Donoghue (singer-songwriter and lead singer in Irish band The Script). The X Factor may have been able to boast a line up of artists (plus Louis Walsh) last year, but this was a first for them.

Thirdly, the judges all genuinely seem to get on. There may be occasional skirmishes (and possibly more as the show moves towards its latter stages) but in the audition rounds, they were encouraging each other to turn round to see acts - either once they had turned round themselves or if they thought an act better suited to another judge's skills or team.

Fourth, the dynamics between the judges changed over the course of the audition shows as they gradually filled up their teams of ten and became more focused on finding acts that differed from the ones they already had. A typical exchange would be: "Turn round!" "I can't, I've already got two that are similar to him - you should, though"

Finally, although the audition shows were more chronologically linear than those on The X Factor, the judges all wore the same for each show - meaning you weren't distracted by changing hairstyles and outfits and (subconsciously?) reinforcing the impression that this was about the acts not the judges.

Tonight the show moves to its next stage - Battles. Each judge will have their acts reduced from 10 to 5 through a series of Vocal Duets. It's another innovation and looks intriguing.

It's fair to say I'm a fan of the show and it's format. Even with Reggie Yates and Holly Willoughby, neither of whom I'm a particular fan of. (So far, their on screen presence has been minimal and their voiceovers haven't been too excitable).

For all its novelty, The Voice is a back to basics Talent show. By which I mean it's actually about Talent, as well as Show.

Andrew

I had intended this post as the first of four today featuring each of the judges - I seem to have wittered on, so two more posts will follow later, with two tomorrow!

*This link is to The Sun