MMTV: Mediocre Music TV
Edition #20: A Retrospect on The Voice (Auditions to Knockouts) + Quick AGT Review

Written by: Wences Acosta

Now please note, before I start, I have only seen up to the last knockout round as I write this, so I have yet to watch the live shows.

With that said, let me run down how the show looks like from my POV while explaining which captain I think has this season won.

The obvious change is the judging panel which switches out Christina and Cee-Lo for Shakira and Usher. I welcome this change so much based on how much fun they are bringing to the table, which is saying something considering usually (and honestly) The Voice is very bland on the judging panel. Not only have I been on the edge of my seat with what their comments will actually be, but The Battle Rounds were the nail biters because I was anticipating all the saves that were going to be used. Which brings me to my next point, the talent this year is top notch, not just for The Voice but for AGT as well, more on that in a moment. Within these last few eps, I have heard covers of songs that were so amazing that I could make a playlist of it in my MP3 player and be happy (I was introduced to amazing Carrie Underwood and Tim McGraw songs because of the KO rounds). The song choices have been top notch for the most part, and for once it could be anyone's game instead of the usual runaway that most can predict halfway though the season. Now, here's a quick breakdown on each team

Team Adam: 2 Names to look out for: Amber Carrington and Judith Hill
Caroline was ok, but while her opponent in the KO round overdid their song, she took "Little Talks" and did nothing with it at all, like a shy girl at karaoke. As for Sarah, I personally thought her opponent should have won but different strokes for different folks. Judith has a soulful and powerful voice that could take her far while Amber did a version of Avril that took my breath away. If Amber and Judith can hold on then I can see Team Adam with the title, but there are 3 other teams to look over

Team Blake: All 4 Are to Look Out for
It's kind of cheating to put all 4 on top, but if you look at the KO rounds, all of their victories were decisive. Justin did a version of a Miley song which surprised me and actually sounded better then the original, while Holly and Danielle sang beautiful versions of Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood (DeJaVu huh). The Swon Brothers have a quality to them that I haven't seen in a while and I welcome them into the competition. I see them over Team Adam.

Team Shakira: 2 Names: Kris Thomas and Sasha Allen
Let me get the negatives out of the way now: Garrett seemed awkward on the mic while Karina honest to goodness should have lost her KO Battle. With that said, Kris sang an extremely beautiful version of "What a Wonderful World" that brought me to tears in an extremely close battle while Sasha Allen went with the obvious show stopper "At Last". Shakira has a decent team but I do not see her team winning at all. Adam and Blake have the edge over this rookie judge.

Team Usher: Only 1 Name to watch out for: Michelle Chamuel
Again, negatives out of the way. Cathia is good but I think she only won because her opponent just couldn't deliver like he usually did, and the same goes for VEDO who did a decent if only that version of "Everything I Do" from Bryan Adams. Josiah is an interesting case, he had the upset of the whole KO rounds but the thing is while his opponent deserved to win so did he for having the guts to go after an Amy Winehouse song and even though I didn't like his version I have to give him credit where credit is due. As for Michelle, she is the first person I saw that actually had a personality while performing her song "Raise Your Glass". She has something special and hopefully Usher can utilize it. While his team is not as bad as Shakira, I still feel like either Adam or Blake have the edge here.

Now, with that said...AGT 2013. My god, what a way to start this season, we have singers, we have rappers, we have dancers, and yet this is a variety that I haven't seen before (hopefully that makes sense). It got to the point where The Hubby and I were both angry because they said we had to wait a week until the next episode, that's how good it was. I need to get used to Heidi, but Mel has fit in perfectly with the judges in the sense that, well to put it bluntly she's an honest bitch. If she likes something, she's going to say it and if she absolutely HATES something, then she will say something for damn sure. Where this season will go? Only time will tell.

Next Week I have a special induction: The Top 10 Musical Commandments. You ever watch a reality show like Idol and see something that others have done in the past? You know like the same song or artists that always get chosen, the same genres, etc? Well, I give my opinion on that.

Well, until next week....Remember, Music is only as good as you want it to be.

If you have any opinions or comments, please let me know at Slackercub@yahoo.com