mamamedia recaps :: Episode 5 of The Voice Australia

RRROWWR! That cat scratch noise is for all the women of Australia who are ready to scratch out the eyes of The Voice producers for pursuing this downright insulting DELTA V JESSIE storyline. It kicks off now, so strap yourself in!

SPINNERS AND GRINNERS

Stewart Winchester, 24 :: First up tonight is music teacher Stewart who has apparently never been in love. Well, I'm sure there are plenty of ladies at home who are willing to change that after hearing his beautiful performance of Sam Smith's Lay Me Down. Including our lovely Delta, who pulls out the hardcore flirting to try and steal Stewart away from the rest of the coaches...although it doesn't get her very far, what with Benji interrupting and Jessie cracking up. In the end, Jessie's focus on vocals sways Stu to her team, and Delta is left to hurl her fan to the floor in frustration.

Poor Delta.

Sarah Valentine, 22 :: Interior designer by day, wedding singer by night, Sarah is determined to "stop living her back-up plan" and follow her dreams. She sings Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey and turns the chairs of the Mad Bros and Ricky. I was expecting her to be wooed by Mr Samba Pants, but surprisingly, Sarah decides to join Team Madden.

Lize Heerman, 27 :: After moving to WA for love, South African Lize has set her sights on The Voice stage, performing Nina Simone's My Baby Just Cares For Me. Ricky & the Maddens turn at the last second and, after a bit of disagreement between Jessie & Delta about how good her performance may or may not have been, Liza With An E chooses Ricky.

Nathan Hawes, 17 :: Beach bum Nathan is auditioning alongside best friend Grace...although Sonia seems to think they could be more, as she turns into the embarassing mum grilling them backstage. He performs an acoustic rendition of Drake's Hold On, We're Going Home which the coaches all praise. SUPER SLEUTH TIME: this arrangement doesn't appear to be Nathan's handiwork; rather, it seems to be taken from none other than Team Joel alum Lakyn Heperi's EP, Not Original Material. Anyway, back to Nathan: his audition is pretty spectacular, and the coaches agree, with all four chairs turning. They all pitch hard, with Jessie telling Nathan that he's her favourite audition so far, but it's clear to everyone how badly the Mad Bros want him on their team. Lucky for them, the feeling is mutual!

Grace Pitts, 17 :: Nathan's bestie is the last audition of the night, singing Jolene by Dolly Parton. FUN FACT: My friend's husband was once being pursued by an obsessive woman named Jolene, so we went to dinner on the wharf in Woolloomooloo, drank copious amounts of alcohol and sang this little ditty all night long. Good times. Anyway, back to Grace! Her peformance turns the chairs of Delta and the Mad Bros and although they try hard to lure her to their team, Grace is a smart enough cookie to realise that joining them could very well mean going up against her mate in the Battles and chooses to join Team Delta.

BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME, KID

Tina "Mys T" Alcarez, 22 :: Youtuber Tina has branded herself already, saying "Lady Gaga has her monsters, Mys T's gonna have her Mystifiers." Well unfortunately, no one was Mystified today by Tina's uneven performance of Lips Are Moving by Meghan Trainor. For a second there, it looked as though Ricky was considering hitting his button, but pulled back after T missed the big final note. Props to her family though for being supportive enough to wear I'VE BEEN MYSTIFIED! shirts on national TV.

Sam Rabbone, 37 :: Father of three Sam is singing for his mum who is back home in Perth battling terminal lung cancer. He sings the beautiful ballad All Of Me by John Legend but sadly fails to turn any chairs. Poor Sonia seems genuinely devastated for him.

Blake Galera-Holliss, 27 :: Tonight's most controversial audition would have to be young Blake here, who has been in a rock band since high school and decides to put an Oz rock twist on My Heart Will Go On. Mini Celine Delta LOVES it, clutching her chest and singing along. Jessie and Ricky however, are clearly baffled as to why someone would perform this, saying how "terrible" a song choice it is. After he's finished, an argument breaks out between the coaches over whether or not it was an appropriate audition piece or something that should be relegated to the karaoke clubs. As far as Delta's concerned though, he'll always be her Jack.

"It's just like I always imagined it would be..."

 

YOUR DAILY DOSE OF SCHAUDENFREUDE

I normally leave out the "reject montages" - artists that don't make it through but aren't given an entire segment - but there was a familiar face in tonight's reel. Remember winners of Popstars, Scandal'us? "Me, Myself and I-I-I-I-I-IIII" ringing any bells? Well then, you might recognise Miss Daniela Scala here. She tried to sneak in there with a shaky, shouty rendition of Pleasure And Pain. Jessie tells Daniela to "keep performing, keep practising" and I would have loved to see her respond with "Practice?! I WON one of these shows! DON'T YOU BITCHES KNOW WHO I AM?!?"

THE TL;DR VERSION

Nathan loves Grace (at least in Sonia's mind), Delta loves everyone, and sadly for Daniela, nobody loves Scandal'us. Womp womp.

mamamedia recaps :: Episode 4 of The Voice Australia

Yep, still slowly working my way through The Blinds.

Before we start: Can I just say how much I'm loving Ricky in his mint leather jacket? So suave.

SPINNERS AND GRINNERS

 

Jason Howell, 25 :: Jason performs what might just be the funkiest remix ever of Sexy And I Know It by LMFAO. Unlike most auditions, the song choice wasn't revealed to us at the beginning and it was really only once the chorus began that you were sure of what he was singing. After some initial hesitatation from Benji, the Mad Bros hit their buzzer, impressed with Jason's abililty to transform a naff novelty hit to something actually soulful. 

 

Jo De Goldi, 46 :: Jo is lovely. There. I said it. A former circus performer turned dance & circus teacher, Jo is an "old woman" (pshaw!) and "embarassing mother" (UM, HELLO? YOU WERE IN THE CIRCUS) who, to quote Joel, "sang the shit out of" Streisand classic Don't Rain On My Parade. Her booming performance turned the chairs of Delta and the Maddens, and Jo chooses to join Team Delta, saying "how can I go past the chair dancing?" They were some pretty spectacular high kicks...

 

 

Tim McCallum, 34 :: Tim is this season's "inspirational" contestant, which I normally have a little bit of an issue with, since in my opinion, disabled people aren't there to "inspire" us*. The difference here though is that Tim seems to really want to inspire people. Since breaking his neck on a sandbank, Tim has lost all sensation from the chest down, meaning he has no control over his diaphragm...which is a pretty integral muscle for a singer, ESPECIALLY when you're attempting Nessun Dorma. All coaches but Jessie turn, although she seems to genuinely regret this decision afterwards, describing her own fight against adversity after suffering a stroke at 17 and losing sensation to one side of her body. After a heated battle between the coaches, with Delta & Ricky both whipping out their operatic credentials, Tim is swayed to join Team Ricky.

 

Liam Maihi, 23 :: Liam performs a beautiful acoustic rendition of George Ezra's Budapest, inspiring Ricky to hit his buzzer almost instantly. He's not the only one though, as young Liam here is our first four chair turn in a while. YES SOMEONE HAS FINALLY BROKEN JESSIE J. The judges scramble to convince Liam to pick them, with plenty of interruptions and shouted pitches. After a well placed ad break to REALLY build the tension, Liam is persuaded by Ricky's passion, much to everybody else's disappointment. Delta is fuming and Jessie is heard to remark "Shit!" Mr Martin is en fuego tonight! Samba's for everybody!

 

Mark Stefanoff, 23 :: Mark here is another repeat offender, having auditioned back in Season 2. Although he didn't turn any chairs back then, Ricky did arrange for him to meet with his agent in New York and Mark spent some time on Broadway. This time around, Mark sings Johnny Farnham's Burn For You and at the very last second, Ricky turns, leading to this super sweet reunion.

 

Laz Chester, 30 :: Our final contestant of the night was taught music by his late WWII vet father, whose medal Laz carries in his pocket as a good luck charm. Performing Counting Stars by One Republic, Laz has a strong start with some jitters in the middle and by the end has turned Ricky, Delta and Jessie. Ricky pitches hard, saying that what sold it to him was hearing the moment that Laz went "Fuck, I want this so bad!"  By the way, Laz's adorable mother is very much Team Ricky. Jessie wonders how she can top that, but she needn't worry since Laz chooses her, much to the disappointment of Delts and the Rickster, and probably his mum.

  

BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME, KID

 

Damielou Shavelle, 22 :: Youtuber Damielou takes a huge risk by singing Do It Like A Dude, by none other than Jessie J. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone gave her the heads-up that Jessie is as tough as nails and it's going to take more than a nice song choice to get that chair of hers to spin. Bless her little cotton socks for taking the risk, but between pitchy notes and ill placed growls, her performance fails to make any of the coaches turn. Jessie, kind soul that she is, jumps up on stage with Damielou for an impromptu singalong and coaching session.

 

Aaleatha Sandstrom, 28 :: Former competitive swimmer Aaleatha has decided to trade in the pool for the stage, quitting her job to follow her musical dreams. Her fiance mentions that he hopes she goes well, as "she has no back up plan." In hindsight, she probably wishes she did. I'll be blunt guys. It...wasn't great. I think her big mistake was deciding to "perform" for the crowd, moving and dancing around the stage. As soon as you start to move and sing at the same time, your breathing is compromised. She sings like someone who hasn't had much formal training: the voice is there, but it's rough, and her breathing is all over the place. Because she's struggling to catch a breath, she's forced. to. sing. staccato, which ruins the flow of the song. She pulls out the big note, I'm guessing to prompt someone to hit the button, but all she gets is a forced smile with major side-eye from Delts...

Luckily for Aaleatha, the coaches are a bit kinder than I. Ricky tells her she has a great voice, but that it was just too much. Better luck next time Aal. Ten points for the pins though. They are some seriously stellar calves.

 

THE TL;DR VERSION

 

Delta did the cancan, Ricky was the man's man, and Jessie knocked back her fan...fan. Damnit! So close.

 

The Voice Australia airs Sunday to Tuesday nights on the Nine Network. Care to make it interesting? Play along with our drinking game here.

 

* For a far more eloquent take on this issue, I strongly encourage you to take a look at the TED Talk by the late Stella Young, entitled I'm Not Your Inspiration, Thank You Very Much.

Rest in peace Stella, we miss you.

mamamedia recaps :: Episode 3 of The Voice Australia

Episode three, let's go!

 

SPINNERS AND GRINNERS

Mikhail "BlackIndie" Laxton, 25 :: Mikhail starts his performance with a recognition of the traditional owners of the land, which I think is lovely. He performs a beautiful acoustic version of My Island Home, turning the chairs of the Mad Bros, Delta & Ricky. After Jessie asks to hear some of Mikhail's original work, Delta drags his girlfriend down from the audience as he sings to her. It's super sweet. Team BlackIndie! Despite Delta's "power play" and Ricky's attempt to sway his vote by "also being from an island", the Maddens walk away with the win.

Keely Brittain, 17 :: Keely is back for a second try after failing to turn a chair in last year's audition. Second time's a charm for little Keely, as Delta and the Mad Bros turn for her rendition of Christina Perri's A Thousand Years. Not a great deal of pitching shown, as I think the Maddens realised they didn't have much of a chance next to Delta.

Deanna Rose, 30 :: Deanna here is a bit of a broken bird after a rough childhood, but when she started singing Video Games, she turned Lana Del Rey's hit from a breathy little ditty into a ballad practically dripping in despair. It was pretty amazing, and Delta, Ricky and the Mad Bros agreed, begging for Deanna to join their teams. Deanna decides to join Team Ricky, because who wouldn't?

DELTA WAS EXCITED GUYS. 

Monty Cotton, 28 :: Monty has left behind the fast paced life of an accountant to work as a musician. What type of musician, you might be wondering? Well, ol' Monty here works as a singing telegram, specifically as Johnny Cash. Yep, apparently that's a thing. Anyway, unsurprisingly Monty performs Cash's Folsom Prison Blues - a little bit too "RSL tribute band" for my liking, but was strong enough to get the Mad Bros to spin.

Peta Evans-Taylor, 28 :: Last cab off the rank tonight was rock chick Peta, who sang Pink's Sober. I kind of agree with the Maddens when they say that only Pink should sing Pink songs, but she did a solid enough job to turn their chairs, along with Ricky and Delta. After a lot of pitching, including Delta asking if she should get tattoos (Peta's response? "You're too pretty") Peta picks the Maddens.

BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME, KID

Elysa Villareal, 16 :: Here's where I reveal my knack for remembering incredibly tiny, trivial pieces of information: In S1 of So You Think You Can Dance Australia, there was a hip hop dancer from western Sydney named Rhiannon Villareal. I wonder if these girls are related in some way, maybe. There's a facial similarity, I think. Anyway, first up tonight is Elysa, who performs Where Is The Love by the Black Eyed Peas. The coaches all agree that she's not yet ready and encourage her to return next year.

Joshua Monroe, 24 :: Originally from England, Joshua is absolutely delightful and I was really disappointed when he failed to impress with his rendition of the standard Feeling Good. Admitting that it's a tricky song to pull off, Jessie criticized his staccato style and advised him to work on his breathing. Absolute champion that he is, he takes every critique on board and walks away with a bounce in his step and a grin on his face. Come back next year Joshua!

Alana Patmore, 17 :: This one was pretty devastating. Alana performed People Help The People, sweetly, if just a bit pitchy and the Mad Bros and Ricky both hit their buzzers at the last minute...unfortunately, it was a second too late and no chairs turned. This prompted a pretty clear "Fuck!" from Delta and tears from Alana's friends in the front row. THESE GIRLS JUST CANT EVEN, CHAIRS.

Normally, teenage girls only sob like this for One Direction...

THE TL;DR VERSION

Singers sung, chairs spun (although not for Alana), and Jessie held out on EVERYONE.

The Voice Australia airs Sunday to Tuesday nights on the Nine Network. Care to make it interesting? Check out our drinking game here.

mamamedia recaps :: Episode 2 of The Voice Australia

WHAT'S UP NUMBER TWO? (Cougar Town reference - ten points if you picked up on it!)

 

SPINNERS AND GRINNERS

Cath Adams, 31 :: Cath is a country girl from Eugowra in western NSW, and is just adorable. She surprises everyone (seriously, even B jumped in our lounge room) by belting out Beyonce's Work It Out. Jessie & Delta love it so much that they get Cath to do an encore performance whilst they bust out their white girl moves. Quote of the night goes to Delta, who owns her outing as "the most un-rhythmic white woman in Australia." Thanks a lot, Wayans brother. Despite her awesome moves, Delta is unable to win Cath's vote and she joins Team Jessie.

Ollie Kirk, 19 :: Ollie attended my high school, ergo, he's obviously a super awesome cool dude. He is auditioning for his friend Min, who passed away from a stroke last year. God, that's awful. Way too young. Ollie performs Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud, prompting the Mad Bros, Delta & Jessie to spin in the final seconds of his performance. Despite walking into the auditions hoping to end up on Team Madden, Ollie is won over by Jessie J. She's a persuasive little minx that one.

Aviida, 38 & 28 :: Married duo Aviida contains a familiar face - wife Paula competed in Season One, getting knocked out at the Battle round against eventual winner Karise Eden. They perform a cracking version of Adele's One And Only, getting Delta and the Mad Bros to turn their chairs. As convincing as Benji's stuttering pitch was (seriously, I felt bad for the poor guy), husband Clay lives by the creed "happy wife, happy life" and they choose Delta.

Scott Newnham, 26 :: HELLO TOPKNOT. I don't know why it was that this hairdo transitioned from weird to weirdly attractive...but I'm kind of on board with it... Anyway, ahem. Scott is a "male revue performer" (read: stripper). He pulls off Red by Daniel Merriweather, but alas, no clothes. Ricky, Delta and the Mad Bros battle it out to be his coach, each coach standing up, yelling over the top of the others and slowly inching towards the stage, but in the end, Ricky's passion persuades Stripper Scott.

"Male revue, hey?"

Lyndall Wennekes, 19 :: Dance & acrobatics teacher Lyndall impressed Delta and the Mad Bros with Kelly Clarkson's Beautiful Disaster. This results in a bit of a heated stoush between Delta and the boys, as they try to convince Lyndall that she would be better off with them, rather than competing with all the "big voices" that flock to Team Delta. Delta furiously denies this claim, but it doesn't matter, since Lyndall chooses her anyway. This then leads to more bickering between the brothers, as a fuming Joel believes that Benji blew their chance. Time out boys!

Amber Nichols, 32 :: Pregnant mother of one Amber is chasing her dreams, to show her babies that you can achieve anything you put your mind to. I love her already! She performs London Grammar's Strong, impressing all of our coaches and becoming the first contestant tonight to turn all four chairs. All the coaches pitch hard for Amber, but in the biggest surprise tonight, she choose the Maddens, meaning they FINALLY have an artist on the board.

 

 

BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME, KID

Almaryse Burton, 40 :: Kids party DJ Almaryse pulled out karaoke classic Groove Is In The Heart by Dee-Lite. She might smash it out on SingStar but unfortunately, it wasn't enough to make anyone turn their chairs. I like her individuality though. Nice neck ruff.

Glenn Philp, 38 :: Firefighter and father of four Glenn belted out pub classic Save Tonight by Eagle Eye Cherry, albeit in too low a key. At least his kids looked happy afterwards - it kills me when kiddies cry because Mummy or Daddy didn't make it through.

THE TL;DR VERSION...

Good singers, hot stripper, brothers bicker, and plenty of bump 'n' grind. Bring on Episode 3!

The Voice Australia airs Sunday to Tuesday nights on the Nine Network

mamamedia recaps :: Season Four Premiere of The Voice Australia

Yeah, yeah, two weeks later...

 

After enjoying the first two seasons of The Voice Australia, I struggled to get into it last year. Not sure whether it was the contestants, the new coaches, the fact that I was gestating a tiny human, or some magic combination of all of the above, but I just didn't enjoy it as much. Maybe the shine has worn off, I thought?

And so it was that I approached the fourth season premiere with mild trepidation. Do I really want to have to abandon another series after losing interest? (This is where it would be helpful for you to know that I really hate not finishing what I start...hence why I continue to post recaps LONG after they've aired...) What convinced me to give it a go was the inclusion of new judges Benji Madden & Jessie J and the return of Australia's favourite white-girl-groover, Delta Goodrem.

Anyway, without further ado, let the blind auditions begin!



SPINNERS AND GRINNERS

Paris Cassar, 16 :: I'm guessing producers spotted Paris and thought, "YES, we've got our own little Lorde! Cha-CHING!" Paris performs Out Here On My Own from the Fame soundtrack, prompting the Maddens and Jessie J to turn their chairs. Jessie admits that she wasn't going to turn, as she didn't think Paris was ready, but felt she had to once the Mad Bros spun, as Paris needs "vocal and emotional coaching" that evidently, she feels the brothers are unable to provide. They look offended. I had to laugh, because...well, she kinda has a point boys. Paris picks Jessie, no surprises there.

Comparison courtesy of the official @TheVoiceAU twitter account...what did I tell you?

Nicolas Duquemin, 17 :: We experienced Nicolas' audition just like the judges did, with his face not being revealed until Delta decided to spin. He performed Beyonce's XO, leading the Mad Bros to believe that it was a woman performing. This obviously leads to a "hilarious" moment when they decide to hit their button and realise that it is, in fact, a man - as Jessie was adamant it was. It's not so much funny as it was...well, a bit...mean. I felt bad for Nicolas that Joel was making such a big deal about how he was SO SURE that he was a girl. The kid's only 17. Anyway, unsurprisingly, he picks Delta.

Chris Hoskin, 25 :: Arborist Chris performs a BEAUTIFUL rendition of one of my all-time favourite songs, Fall At Your Feet by Crowded House. He's the first artist of the season to turn every chair, leading to a BATTLE TO THE DEATH FOR CHRIS' SOUL. Or, just a bit of back & forth between Jessie & the Maddens, who are clearly desperate to have Chris on their team. Unfortch for them, Chris decides to join Team Jessie so casually that she doesn't actually realise he's picked her and continues pitching.

Rik-E-Ragga, 31 :: Rik-E takes us to Jamaica with the Bob Marley classic, Get Up, Stand Up. Delta turns, coz she's all about the reggae, mon. Jessie turns at the last minute, Ricky is too busy gyrating in his chair. No complaints here though, amirite ladies? Rik picks Delta, in what will surely be one of the more interesting artist-coach matchups of the season.





Gail Page, 51 :: Gail makes a triumpant return to the Voice stage, performing (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, after failing to turn any chairs in Season One. This time around, Delta and Ricky spin almost instantly, followed soon after by Mad Bros. After a bit of a spat between Ricky & Jessie (in summary: Jessie doesn't think her performance was as good as everyone is saying it was; Ricky is offended at the insinuation he's lying) Gail decides to join Team Ricky. Wouldn't we all, Gail. Wouldn't we all.

 

BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME, KID

Annaleese Fuda, 18 :: This gal has legs for days, but unfortch, that doesn't mean much in a blind audition. Annaleese performs Clarity by Zedd, getting a great reaction from the audience, but unfortunately no chairs turn. The coaches tell her she's not ready yet, she takes it on the chin like a champ and promises to return next year. Ricky also offers her an opportunity to come and check out his tour and meet his team, and you've gotta be happy with that!

Tanya George, 21 :: Jessie J mega-fan Tanya performs a pitchy rendition of the White Stripes' Seven Nation Army. She pulls out an ear-piercer of a high note at the end, but alas, it's not enough. BUT! She at least scores a hug from her idol...oh, and some concert tickets, after she has to admit to being too poor to afford them.

And we're done for Ep.1! I have to say, I think this is my favourite configuration of coaches so far. Ricky is the charmer, Delta is the sweetheart, the Maddens are the jokesters and Jessie is the hardarse. Seriously, she's tough. I'm impressed. Bring on Season Four!

Final words from Miss J.

The Voice Australia airs Sunday to Tuesday nights from 7:30pm on the Nine Network

The Voice Australia :: The Drinking Game

Season Four of The Voice has recently kicked off over here in Australia, with returning coaches Ricky Martin, Delta Goodrem and Joel Madden now being joined by Benji (the silent) Madden and Jessie J.

 

As you may know, we enjoy a good drinking game 'round here, so grab a glass and join in!

PLEASE NOTE: mamamedia does actually encourage responsible drinking, so if you're on the verge of being sick or, y'know, dying, please stop. Also, if you're under legal drinking age, play along with juice or something.

DRINK ONCE IF...

...Someone cries (hello, I'm drunk already)

...A contestant reveals a personal tragedy

...A coach sings

...Someone makes the 'V' sign

...Delta interrupts someone
 

DRINK TWICE IF...

...A coach hits the button with their foot

...The Mad Bros bicker

...Jessie & Delta bicker

...Ricky gyrates

...Jessie doesn't think a performance is as good as everyone else does

...the Maddens talk about "soul"

DRINK EVERYTHING IN YOUR HOUSE IF...

...Joel finally goads Benji one too many times and he snaps and beats him to death with a microphone

Happy hunting!

The Voice Australia airs Sunday to Tuesday nights at 7:30pm on the Nine Network