'The Voice' review: Shakira charms,Usher rocks a healthy ego
Reviews are in so far
Entertainment Weekly
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In hopes to gin up excitement for new coaches Usher and Shakira, NBC screened the first two hours of The Voice today for journalists before the fourth season premieres on March 25. As expected, the show was quick to trumpet the talents of his newest additions– they’re multiple Grammy winners and international icons, y’all! – but the real test came when they had to sit down next to veteran show stealers Blake Shelton (who’s as charismatic as ever) and Adam Levine (who’s as picky as ever).
Favorable editing aside, the newbies have (so far) lived up to the build-up. Usher displayed the right amount of confidence (“This is the show I wanted to be associated with because it has credibility,” he said, in a not-so subtle slight to American Idol) but also showed an amusing amount of humility — especially when he’s called out for referring to Nashville as a “state.” (D’oh!) Shakira, meanwhile, is less like a diva and more of a delight — her precious accent making her all the more winsome, especially when she starts to talk trash by calling Levine’s season one win “beginner’s luck.” It can’t be easy to dodge playful barbs from Shelton and Levine — comic moments come easy for those two now — but in all, Usher and Shakira appear to have settled in quite nicely and are pretty slick at selling themselves as coaches. (Kudos to Usher for playing the Justin Bieber card when trying to lure a teen to his team). The new players make good band mates, too: The premiere’s opening musical segment features Levine on drums, Shelton and Usher on guitars and Shakira on harmonica. Sounds odd, I know, but the combination rocked.
Naturally, every new contestant comes with a back story, like a redemption-seeking alcoholic, a gifted Chinese teen who was adopted by U.S. parents, and a soulful man who lost his twins at birth. If only Executive Producer Mark Burnett would rely those sad tales sparingly; the girl who was bullied for having crooked teeth in grade school seemed painfully out-of-place next to a dude whose dying mother may not live to see the finale in May.
But dang, could those two sing!
NEWYORK POST
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When “The Voice” returns Monday with two new “voices” — Shakira and Usher — the best surprise won’t be in front of those spinning barber chairs, but will be sitting in them.
Judging from a sneak-peek at the first episode, the new judges not only fit right in with “Voice” vets Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, but are so entertaining I didn’t want the show to end.
And it was two hours long — or maybe it was only two minutes. Who knew that Shakira was laugh-out-loud clever, or that the coolest man on the planet, Usher, could lose his cool so completely? Yes, he does. In the heat of the moment, Usher, who is trying to win over a country music contestant says, “Nashville is just a state (!), but I’ll give you the world!” Shelton is quick to point out that A.) Nashville is a city, and B.) Usher is from Tennessee. Hilarious. Hey, these things happen.
Anyway, the show opens with all four judges playing a pickup version of The Beatles “Come Together.” They play as though they’d been together for years — and they judge together with the same ease.
Unlike “American Idol” — which is getting so long-in-the- tooth they may need to call in an orthodontist, or “America’s Got Talent,” where the judge in-fighting gag is more used up than the Kardashian sisters — and especially the forgettable format of “The X Factor” — “The Voice” judges aren’t there to focus on themselves. Well, maybe they are, but they aren’t so blatant about it.
You always got the idea with judges Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera (both on leave to tour) that all four judges really liked one another and were there to develop talent rather than to get their flagging careers some needed exposure.
Ditto for Shakira and Usher. You will see on Monday’s premiere that they’re having the time of their lives, laughing, easily joking and giving well-thought-out critiques.
Shakira has a razor-sharp wit that matches and bests the boys. When trying to convince one contestant to pick her, she apes the mens’s body language, and warns the singer to not pay attention to the boys’ tricks. “[Levine] will show off his tattoos and Usher will even put his other leg up [on the chair],” she jokes.
Although we’re not supposed to talk about which judges picked which talent, I can only say these are the best voices with the best deliveries I’ve seen since Season One of “Idol.”
Even the ones who don’t get even one spinning chair to spin their way are exceptionally good. There’s not a weak voice in the pack — and I don’t just mean the contestants.
LA Times
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“The Voice” makes its return next week — surely pleasing non-“American Idol” viewers, or those who really feel like they’re slacking by only watching one singing competition series per week — and we’re here to prep you!
After a change to the format last season, the upcoming fourth cycle brings with it another modification: two new judges. R&B singer Usher and Latin superstar Shakira assume the roles of Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera, who are sitting out this season to focus on other projects. It’s a switcheroo that Paul Telegdy, NBC’s president of alternative and late-night programming, insists was necessary for a twice-a-year show with active talent, pointing to the media attention that tends to swirl over the comings-and-goings of judges on “other” shows.
TV mogul Mark Burnett, the show’s creator, told reporters after a screening of the premiere Monday at the NBCUniversal lot that the plan is to mix and match the six judges in future seasons as schedules dictate. His dream: to get all six together for a performance on the show.
NBC, for one, couldn’t push the “I WANT YOU (BACK)” button fast enough on the series. The network has weathered a heft of ratings woes in recent months, with the absence of “The Voice” as a springboard hard to ignore. Now it seems the network is loading up on as much of the show as it can.
It recently announced it will air encore episodes Sundays, leading into to its prime-time programming. And it just revealed plans to double to two hours on April 30 and May 7 to showcase key rounds in its format. It will also air a Wednesday episode, in which the top 12 contestants are named — and meaning it will once again face off with a Fox singing competition foe, this time “American Idol.” (You’ll remember the ire that came when an episode of “The Voice” aired opposite the season premiere of “The X Factor” last fall.)
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves — baby steps. Here’s a primer on what to expect from the March 25 premiere:
— The two-hour extravaganza kicks off with an opening performance from the judges — with a song we can only hope young viewers are familiar with, for the sake of all that is holy in music. The ditty features Levine on the drums, Shelton and Usher on guitars, and Shakira on harmonica. Process that.
— Usher will make your inner-grandma scream, “Take your leg off the chair!” The 34-year-old R&B crooner is known to be a savant on the dance floor, and it seems he likes to keep his hustling limbs close to his heart. You see, the singer’s swagger extends to his seating style, which consists of one leg on the floor, and the other hiked up on the chair. “We thought about giving him a talk about the leg,” Carson Daly, the show’s host and an executive producer, told reporters after the screening. “But for continuity we were like, you know, let him do whatever he wants to do.”
— For viewers who have come to look forward to the banter and chemistry of the show’s original judges, the newbies are holding their own. Daly admits “it took a minute” for everyone to settle into a groove, but the initiation seems to have been a smooth one. Shakira might be more tame and have less bite than Aguilera, but rest assured that the Latin superstar will call the guys out on their schtick.
— Sob stories are a staple of music competition shows. And the fourth season of “The Voice” doesn’t skimp on them one bit. There are alcoholic parents, tales of homelessness ... a teen's battle with crooked teeth? Hey, who are we to judge?
— There is one contestant who will manage to make LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” sound pleasant, down to the “wiggle, wiggle, wiggle” bit. No, really, that wasn’t sarcasm.
— Forget Pepsi and Coke, that’s sooooo Fox. Everyone knows Starbucks is the true beverage of musicians! No? Well, whatever, it’s the official drink provider of “The Voice” and its little green straws are EVERYWHERE. Let’s hope those baristas spell everyone’s names right on those cups!
— And yes, Christina Milian is still around.
EXAMINER
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Season 4 of NBC’s “The Voice” just may be the most popular one with viewers so far because the rapport between the show’s coaches is better than ever. On March 18, 2013, NBC invited a select number of journalists (including me) in New York City to watch a sneak preview of the first episode of “The Voice’s” fourth season. Although we had to sign confidentially agreements to not report anything about the contestants in the episode before the episode airs on March 25, 2013, we were told we could report and review how the coaches were in the episode.
As fans of “The Voice” already know, coaches Adam Levine and Black Shelton (who have been with the show since its 2011 debut) have returned, but there are two new coaches for Season 4: Shakira and Usher, who have temporarily replaced, respectively, Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green. Aguilera and Green are on a leave of absence from “The Voice” to focus on touring.
The episode began with a stellar performance of "The Voice" Season 4 coaches doing the Beatles’ “Come Together” with Levine on drums, Shelton on guitar, Usher on bass and Shakira on harmonica. The rest of the episode showed auditions. (“The Voice” is open to solo singers and duos. The grand prize is a record deal with Universal Music.) The friendly bickering between Levine and Shelton is still there, but now Usher has given Levine some serious competition in the “charming heartthrob” role that Levine has monopolized for the past three seasons. And Usher is just as flirtatious as Green, but his demeanor is more like a mischievous boy, rather than a borderline creep. At one point, Usher made a kiss pucker with his face when trying to convince a female duo to choose him as a mentor.
In the first episode, Shakira comes across more likable than Aguilera. Whereas Aguilera often has a diva demeanor of “I’m the biggest star on the panel,” Shakira is more humble and less self-assured. At times, she relied too much on looking at the other coaches’ reactions during an audition to decide whether or not she wanted to choose a contestant to mentor. Shakira also seems to have more of a sense of humor about herself than Aguilera does. That doesn’t diminish Shakira’s competitive spirit though, and she might end up exceeding some people’s expectations. And speaking of having a self-deprecating sense of humor, Usher mistakenly called Nashville a state instead of a city, and he was able to laugh at himself about it amid plenty of teasing from Shelton and Levine.
On March 18, 2013, NBC released a sneak-preview clip online of one of the contestant’s auditions shown in this episode. Judith Hill sang a unique version of Aguilera’s “What a Girl Wants.” Hill has an interesting back story: She was chosen to be a backup singer on Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” tour but never got a chance to tour with him due to his untimely passing in 2009. Hill is also prominently featured in a documentary film about backup singers called “Twenty Feet From Stardom,” which will be released in June 2013. It’s easy to see that she has the makings of being one of the most memorable contestants on “The Voice” in Season 4. We’ll have to see if she will end up being a star.
Season 5 should have the six Judges: Adam, Shak, X, Usher, Blake, and Cee Lo. and no just a performance.
I'm actually going to check out this season just for Shakira tbh.
X and Shak in one place would be pure diva heaven! :P
TV mogul Mark Burnett, the show’s creator, told reporters after a screening of the premiere Monday at the NBCUniversal lot that the plan is to mix and match the six judges in future seasons as schedules dictate.
So we could see Shakira and Christina together on one panel.
can't wait to finally watch The Voice.
