Empty red chairs: ‘The Voice’ airs first remote show during pandemic

making TV history as the first major talent show to switch to an at-home production format due to the coronavirus pandemic, this Monday it was rival show The Voice’s turn to go remote, with the top 17 semifinalists performing for the public’s votes for the first time this season. Comparisons were inevitable, and in some ways The Voice didn’t measure up to the surprisingly high production standards already established by the home version of Idol. But in the end, Monday’s two-hour episode still felt like The Voice. ” data-reactid=”16″ type=”text”>Following American Idol making TV history as the first major talent show to switch to an at-home production format due to the coronavirus pandemic, this Monday it was rival show The Voice’s turn to go remote, with the top 17 semifinalists performing for the public’s votes for the first time this season. Comparisons were inevitable, and in some ways The Voice didn’t measure up to the surprisingly high production standards already established by the home version of Idol. But in the end, Monday’s two-hour episode still felt like The Voice. 

also on brand with The Voice, come to think of it — the contestants got short shrift. Although the top 17 had supposedly been shipped “state-of-the-art” video equipment to shoot their performances at their homes, their footage looked cheap and fuzzy — a cross between ‘80s-Valley-condo porn footage, green-screen Zoom background, make-your-own-music-video mall kiosk, public access cable TV, and bad Snapchat filter. Everything was so gauzy and grainy — were ring lights not included in those “state-of-the-art” video kits? — that it created a weird disconnect for me. American Idol definitely did a better job at making contestants’ performances feel intimate and direct.” data-reactid=”39″ type=”text”>Unfortunately, though, it seemed like all of the show’s production budget went towards making the coaches look good, so — also on brand with The Voice, come to think of it — the contestants got short shrift. Although the top 17 had supposedly been shipped “state-of-the-art” video equipment to shoot their performances at their homes, their footage looked cheap and fuzzy — a cross between ‘80s-Valley-condo porn footage, green-screen Zoom background, make-your-own-music-video mall kiosk, public access cable TV, and bad Snapchat filter. Everything was so gauzy and grainy — were ring lights not included in those “state-of-the-art” video kits? — that it created a weird disconnect for me. American Idol definitely did a better job at making contestants’ performances feel intimate and direct.

This was one of the more professional-looking performances of the night, and the Hawaiian troubadour sounded as good as he looked. That whistle solo even practically rivaled Axl Rose’s in “Patience” or Peter Bjorn & John’s in “Young Folks”! It was an artsy and sophisticated effort, a quiet ‘Storm, described by Nick as “joyful.” I hope this guy, who’s already been knocked around from team to team, doesn’t get lost in the shuffle because he performed first on a busy night, but I think he did enough to stand out.

Allegra’s beige Pottery Barn background didn’t provide much visual interest, but that was the only thing beige about this performance. While she could have worked the camera little more — she kept staring ceiling-ward, for some reason — her vocal was stunning. Nick called Allegra “a force in this competition,” and Blake thought she was even better at home than onstage, saying, “I feel like maybe we can never go back from here.”

Toneisha didn’t have a fancy space-set, but she didn’t need one. Her out-of-this-world vocals were more than enough. Even Kelly was floored by this cover of her own hit, exclaiming, “If you need a background singer, call me!” Said John: “It’s always a bold move to sing a Kelly Clarkson song on this show, and very few singers have the chops to pull it off in the way that you do. I’ve been telling you from the beginning that I thought we would see you in the finale, and everything about this performance confirmed what I’ve been saying.”

I appreciated the outside-the-box song choice here, but the arrangement was so Alannah Myles/”Black Velvet” that Joei probably would have sounded hipper and less dated if she’d just straight-up done the original Del Shannon arrangement from 1961. And that NAMM/Guitar Center backdrop wasn’t helping any, either. Nick called the performance “so unique, so special,” and Blake told Joei she “killed it,” but I don’t think she’s going to run away with the competition after this.

I love me some Hall & Oates, and I love me some Joanna right now. This vocal was so sexy, so soulful, so sultry, so laid-back yet with just the right amount of ‘tude. Joanna may have the most distinctive tone in the competition aside from Megan. “It’s funny. You didn’t really change up the groove of the song- it’s basically the track was similar to how Hall & Oates did it — but this a clear case of how unique you are. Your voice is so different from anybody else’s, so it literally became your song,” said Blake.

Argh. Ugh. Gag. Are you kidding me? A church performance of a Peter Cetera prom ballad? Middle America will probably love it, but this was cheesier than the entire annual dairy output of the state of Wisconsin. Also, Blake needs to stop using “literally” as an emphasis word, because contrary to what he said tonight, Todd is not “literally the Karate Kid.” This was not Ralph Macchio, people. If it had been, that would have been much cooler.” data-reactid=”96″ type=”text”>Argh. Ugh. Gag. Are you kidding me? A church performance of a Peter Cetera prom ballad? Middle America will probably love it, but this was cheesier than the entire annual dairy output of the state of Wisconsin. Also, Blake needs to stop using “literally” as an emphasis word, because contrary to what he said tonight, Todd is not “literally the Karate Kid.” This was not Ralph Macchio, people. If it had been, that would have been much cooler.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:” data-reactid=”101″ type=”text”>Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

• ‘American Idol From Home’ brings ‘a little happiness’ when we need it most

• Nick Jonas begs his ‘ex’ to come back to him on ‘The Voice’

• How ‘My Corona’ made ‘Voice’ star Chris Mann the Weird Al of the COVID-19 era

• Kelly Clarkson ‘cried so hard’ over ‘From Justin to Kelly’ movie: ‘I thought it was going to ruin my singing career’

• ‘Hottest woman alive’ stuns with final ‘Voice’ audition of the season

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