American Idol has pretty much had an open playing field with regard to the singing competition show genre, but that's about to change with NBC's foray into the space with The Voice. Part gameshow and part Making the Band, NBC's show brings a fresh perspective on a familiar concept.
The premise of The Voice is that "real" music talent is heard, not seen. And so the judges go through a blind audition process, in which they sit in gigantic rotating chairs with their backs faced to the contestants until they hit the big red buzzer indicating they like the contestant's voice enough to turn around and bid for them to join their respective team of singers.
If it sounds a little hokey, it is, but it's also pretty fun too. In fact, the rejections on The Voice are just as eviscerating as Simon Cowell's pointed verbal daggers. The visual of all four judges turning their backs on a singing hopeful is the coldest shoulder to hit reality TV since Donald Trump's "You're fired!" The disappointment is written all over the contestant's face as he or she realizes the song is coming to an end and no one's chair has rotated an inch. Ouch.
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