Our second Voice coach, Cee-Lo Green, has had a hell of a year.
Previously best known for his stint with Gnarls Barkley (specifically the smash hit ‘Crazy’), Cee-Lo lit up the airwaves again in late 2010 with the infectious ‘Fuck You‘ (released as ‘Forget You’ on radio).
Ever the showman, he teamed up with Gwyneth Paltrow for a performance of the song on the Grammys that saw him dressed in a yellow turkey suit alongside a chorus of muppets.
On The Voice, Cee-Lo lived up to his bigger-than-life stage persona, smiling ear to ear, walking around in red shorts, shirt and slippers, telling every contestant (especially the girls) how much he loved them. But he also had a strong competitive streak, evidenced in his desire to advance the fire-breathing Vicki, who won him over with her “war dance.”
Here’s a track from Cee-Lo’s album The Ladykiller, a good soul record that was overshadowed by the success of its profane first single. Today’s song nicks the bass line of ‘Billie Jean’ and blends it into a brassy ode to excess.
But no not anymore
Cuz here comes that familiar feelin’
That Friday’s famous for
Yeah I’m lookin’ for some action
And it’s out there somewhere
You can feel the electricity
All in the evening air
And it may just be more of the same
But sometimes you wanna go where everyone knows your name
So I guess I’ll have to wait and see
But I’m just gonna let something brand new happen to me
And it’s alright
It’s alright x5
Bright lights and the big city
It belongs to us tonight
Now Friday’s cool
But there’s somethin’ about Saturday night
You can’t say what you won’t do
Cuz you know that you just might
I’m alive this evening
It was love at first sight
This Saturday
And every Saturday for the rest of my life
And everyone’s standin’ in line
Yeah lookin’ good and lookin’ for a real good time
So I’ll never have to wonder if
I’ll have someone to share all of it with
And it’s alright
It’s alright x5
Bright lights and the big city
It belongs to us tonight
Yes I need it
Everybody does
Cocktails and conversation
Music and making love
And it’s alright
It’s alright x5
Bright lights and the big city
It belongs to us tonight
Bright lights, bright lights, bright lights
And the big city
It belongs to us tonight
Meet Me In Montauk 
As I’m listening to this, Daniel just reminded me that it appears in the film Monte Carlo. It worked quite well in that film if I recall. I love how smooth his voice sounds in this song.
As much as I loved “Crazy,” I don’t think I ever had an image of the Gnarls Barkley behind that song. When I first heard “Forget You” on Glee, I still had no idea who Cee-Lo was. It was only when you first featured “F&#* You” on your blog, and then I later saw his performance with Gwynneth on the Grammys that I finally had a face/image to put with the sound.
Now, of course, he’s my pal 😉 Ah, the power of television. I’ve read and heard for years about the TV Q and how we viewers have to want to “invite” certain personalities into our living room for a show to be successful. This Voice experiment, though, is perhaps the quickest I ever experienced the effect. Because they were “playing” themselves – and not a character – I do feel as though I “know” Adam, Cee-Lo, Blake, and, to a lesser extent, Christina (who still seemed as though she were playing a role), the way I “know” Jon Stewart, another good buddy. And I was eager to invite them all into my living room each week. I think that was the same thing that happened with Usher in that episode of American Idol. It’s very cool to go from not having a sense of a person at all to feeling as though you know and like that same person.
Meanwhile, I think I need to buy this album. Good stuff.
I can really hear the “Billie Jean” background; makes me want to watch Michael Jackson do his famous number 😉
I’m not as drawn to this song as I was to “Crazy” or “F You,” Still, I too have a soft spot for Cee-Lo that has only strengthened after watching The Voice.