My overall opinion on the show is divided. I had hoped that there would be less of the 'sob story' element to the contestants in comparison to similar shows. While I can relate to the singers' desperation to succeed I find it frustrating to watch endless cliches linked with clumsy dumbed-down narrative intended to heighten the drama. Unexpectedly, the most heart warming contestant for me was Samuel Buttery, singing 'Set Fire To The Rain'. He had such a positive attitude and a warmth which radiated through his own rendition of Adele's hit. I can sympathise with his motivation behind entering The Voice, wanting to be judged fairly on his talent without being seen. But at the same time he wasn't apologising for being a big guy, the confidence exuded from him. Despite such big personalities on the panel of judges I thought they struck a good balance between promoting themselves as mentors whilst being entertaining, but not making the show all about them (as often occurs on other such talent shows). The comments were relevant and backed up by informed technical knowledge, unlike the offensive and snide remarks often made on some shows.
Everyone has the right to shine, so I am not against talent shows - they have formed the basis of television entertainment for the past 50 years, with shows such as Opportunity Knocks and New Faces discovering the likes of Les Dawson, Lenny Henry, Jim Davidson and Victoria Wood. It's the relentless exposure to mediocrity, manipulated to seem something more and the flippancy with which the term 'star' is bandied about, losing any real sense of what it does take to be a star performer.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's star searches have more integrity, cutting down on the footage of early auditions to leave the people worthy of air time for general public viewing. Having watched all four of the previous programmes I think it has been a great platform for some wonderful performers who wouldn't necessarily have had the opportunity to share their talent in front of such influential people. Also, the BBC star search has helped elevate the profile of musical theatre, making it more accessible to a whole new television audience at a time when public spending cuts could have impacted upon theatre and ticket sales. However, there is now an increased expectation to see 'the star' of a show and greater disappointment often felt when that star is replaced by an understudy (which is quite common practice, particularly if the performer has not had the extensive training or experience of enduring eight shows a week). Though usually the understudy is just as good, maybe even better because they have more to prove! It is also this culture of having a celebrity name in a show which contributes to the high price of theatre tickets; a celebrity name expects to be paid a celebrity wage! We are a society driven by celebrity culture and I do speak from experience when I say that standards are often lower if you have a name which can guarantee to bring in the crowds.
I am eagerly anticipating the forthcoming ITV search for Jesus Christ Superstar. It was one of my favourite musicals growing up and I feel certain that, based on his track record, Andrew Lloyd Webber will direct the auditions with candor, hopefully introducing us to some exciting rock tenors.
Watching The Voice did, for a split second, make me consider applying for the show next time. But unfortunately, I still believe that fundamentally the producers are making a TV show in which the majority of contestants are mere pawns. To be a great singer you have to be prepared to bare your soul through your music - this should be enough without having to share the intimacies of your life with millions of strangers for the sake of entertainment. What I think would be really refreshing is if we could bring back a show like Sunday Night at The London Palladium. A show where we just get to see the performance without all the back story, featuring artists who are already masters of their craft delivering top quality performances and re-defining what it is to have star quality!
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