The rapport between the coaches or judges is a key factor on all of these talent competitions. I’ve never watched American Idol but even from afar I could tell that the Simon Cowell/Paula Abdul dynamic made for much better television than a poor fit like Ellen DeGeneres.
Through luck or good casting, The Voice wound up with a set of coaches with strong chemistry, both as a group and in individual pairings. It was fun to see them sharing glances, wondering who would press the button first during the blind auditions. Blake suggested than one contestant choose him over Cee-Lo because “he’ll dress you up like Batman.”
Today’s featured performance made me smile not so much because of the singers onstage but because of Adam Levine’s reaction in the audience. Team Blake chose to perform ‘This Love,’ one of Maroon 5’s biggest hits, and (though I assume they run through the whole thing in rehearsals) Adam’s surprised response to hearing his own song blast from the speakers seems genuine.
In fact, Adam seems to enjoy this performance more than anybody else onstage or off. And when he sets up Blake, ever the scamp, for a “that’s what she said” joke, that’s just icing on the cake.
The fire burning in her eyes
The chaos that controlled my mind
Whispered goodbye and she got on a plane
Never to return again
But always in my heart
This love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won’t say goodbye anymore
I tried my best to feed her appetite
Keep her coming every night
So hard to keep her satisfied
Kept playing love like it was just a game
Pretending to feel the same
Then turn around and leave again
This love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won’t say goodbye anymore
I’ll fix these broken things
Repair your broken wings
And make sure everything’s alright
My pressure on your hips
Sinking my fingertips
Into every inch of you
Cause I know that’s what you want me to do
This love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won’t say goodbye anymore
This love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And my heart is breaking in front of me
She said Goodbye too many times before
This love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won’t say goodbye anymore…
Meet Me In Montauk 
Well, as you know from my comment last week, this performance, and Adam’s response to it, was one of the highlights of the season for me. While I think it’s obvious that Adam knew the performance was coming when he coyly gives the cameras the “thumbs up,” his reaction builds as he watches the performers, especially Blake, perform it in front of this live audience and for the audience at home.
If a show such as this one can’t help audience members stretch outside their normal musical boundaries to appreciate other forms of music and other musicians, I can’t imagine what else could. If I were a Blake/country music fan coming in, I’d want to go buy a Maroon 5 album based on Blake’s rendition of today’s SOTD (and Adam’s charming reaction)… If I were a Maroon 5 fan, I’d be on my way out to buy one of Blake’s albums (or at least download a song or two from iTunes!)
LOVE IT!
Well, I’m not sure I would go so far as to buy a Blake Shelton album:) But I agree that part of the fun of this show is watching the coaches and contestants perform the songs of the other coaches and to stretch outside their comfort zones into different styles of music.