Platinum Hit – Episode 5

Katie July 3, 2011 0 Comments

This week there were 8 contestants left and the hook that the contestants had to write was for a love song.  Jewel also announced that the winner of this hook challenge would have a HUGE advantage in the group round.  Of course, Jes’ song was about Johnny and that was announced to everyone. Which led Nick to be his superficial jerky self and say that Johnny went for the girl who was the least cute in all of the competition.  Hey Nick, did you ever think that maybe Johnny likes Jes for MORE than just how she looks?  Maybe that is why your past relationships didn’t work out for you!

The guest judge for the week was Ryan Tedder of One Republic.

Sonyae won the hook challenge with Nick coming in second and Jes’ ode to Johnny coming in 3rd.  The advantage that Sonyae got was that not only did she get to choose her entire team, she got to choose the other team as well! This would pretty much guarantee that she would win the best song this week.

Sonyae chose Scotty and Brian for herself because she thinks they are awesome, but also because they were Nick’s dream team.  For Nick, she chose Johnny and Jackie because she wanted to split up Jes / Johnny and because they don’t like Nick.  (But really I am not sure anyone does like Nick, he is talented but so difficult to work with and SUCH a jerk!) And Jes got stuck with Melissa.

During the writing round, Jewel came by to announce that one of the members of the winning team would be singled out to win immunity for the following week.

Jes ended up getting sick during the writing session and as usual, Melissa didn’t do much to help out the team.  It was obvious that they’d be coming in last.  Sonyae’s song won and Sonyae was singled out as the member of the team to get immunity for next week.  Nick’s song came in second but they did not like aspects of it because it was not realistic.  The song included 3 people – Nick, his ex, and his current girlfriend.  The current girlfriend and ex have a converation in the song which is what they felt would NEVER happen.  The idea was kind of cool, but it was poorly executed.  I also felt like the judges had more criticism for the song than anything else, but I guess Jes’ song was just THAT bad!

Melissa ended up going home – finally!  She didn’t think she deserved to – but I beg to differ.  It seemed like she was being carried along by her team week by week and it was only a matter of time before she got exposed.  Melissa said in her exit interview that she did not have the things and people around her that inspire her – but I feel like as a good song writer you should be able to find inspiration in anything, anywhere.  The other contestants didn’t seem to have problems finding inspiration from the location they were in!  I am sure that she will do ok for herself and continue her career in music, but the competition was just not for her.

Platinum Hit airs Mondays at 10pm EST on BRAVO.

Karaoke Battle USA

Katie June 29, 2011 0 Comments

On Camera Audiences and I have been in contact and it seems the possible discrimination issue has been resolved and we are all set for ADA compliant seating on Sunday. (WHY they chose to word the important announcement on the tickets as they did, I don’t know) Now the only thing to do is to make sure that we arrive early enough to be let in before it reaches capacity – I guess since the stage has yet to be completed they don’t know how much room it is going to take up and therefore don’t know for sure how many people will be let inside for the episode tapings!

I will be sure to report back with full details after Sunday 🙂

Karaoke Battle USA

Katie June 28, 2011 0 Comments

As you may know, I love NSYNC and my favorite member of NSYNC is Joey Fatone.  I like to support Joey in his various ventures and his most recent is hosting the show “Karaoke Battle USA”.  Recently, my friends and I found out that they would be filming several episodes of the show in New York City and we researched how to get tickets.

Tickets were made available yesterday from ‘On Camera Audiences’ and I booked for Saturday and a friend booked for Sunday.  However, after the tickets were reserved, the email confirmation we got had the following written on it:

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL POTENTIAL AUDIENCE MEMBERS

This is a casted event and due to the nature of the set, anyone participating must possess the physical ability to stand for extended periods, walk up and down stairs as needed, follow verbal and visual instructions without assistance, and be in general good health without any conditions that would restrict or limit any of the above activities. By presenting yourselves for check-in you and your guests certify that you meet these requirements.

MINIMUM AGE: 18

Now, I understand there being a minimum age – but what is with the discrimination against those with physical disabilities (like myself!) and hearing and seeing impairments?  What are we going to be expected to do as an audience beside sit (or stand) there and watch the filming? Would they turn me away if I showed up in a wheelchair?

Even when I went to see Joey host “Let’s Make a Deal”, there were no provisions about not going or not signing up to be a contestant if you could not get down/up the stairs to be on stage for the show.  I have also been an audience member at various other TV shows and you have always just gone to your seat and that was that.

It is taking place at the Gramercy Theater – I have been there before (Sunday, most recently!) and I don’t quite understand why there is an issue.  I know that even if we are told we can’t sit in the seats, there are bars I can stand near and be ok.  In the event that it takes place in the downstairs lounge, there are walls I can stand near (provided they are not blocked off by equipment).  Not to mention – I will have my friends there to help me out – but apparently needing assistance with this is frowned upon.

I really hope I get a response to my email and/or facebook comment soon because I definitely don’t want to go somewhere where I feel like I am not wanted (which is the vibe I am getting right now!) But I also don’t want to miss out on getting a chance to see Joey as well as getting to attend another TV show taping.

Platinum Hit – Episode 4

Katie June 26, 2011 0 Comments

On Monday night’s episode the top 9 had to write a hook for a rap song. The guest judge was Rodney Jerkins who has worked with a bunch of great artists – including Michael Jackson. (This of course got Nick’s ears to perk up as he loooves MJ)

The theme for their rap had to be super powers. I thought some hooks were much better than others and once again I didn’t exactly agree with the top 3 that the judges picked! Coming in 3rd place was Jackie – her rap was about wanting the super power to have the ability to rap. It was a very silly hook and definitely not one that I would have chosen to be in the top. 2nd place was Sonyae whose super power was the power to control herself and not let her emotions get the best of her – to have a heart of steel. And winning was my fellow software engineer Johnny, who wrote about having the ability to walk through walls.

Teams were picked – Johnny, Scotty & Jes; Sonyae, Nick & Melissa; Jackie, Brian & Amber. They had the remainder of the day to create their songs. They also had to incorporate another genre into their raps to make things a bit more challenging.

Scotty came up with the idea to infuse some opera in to Johnny’s song, Sonyae and Nick worked on a rock aspect with their rap and Jackie’s group did some doo-wop. Ultimately, the 3 songs came in the same order as their hooks and someone from Jackie’s team would be going home. The judges felt that Amber did not contribute enough to the song and she has left us. (Much to the upset of Nick – who thinks she is good looking and that Jackie should have gone home based on looks alone. He’s such a sweetie, isn’t he?)

There was also a lot of drama – Scotty felt a bit like a third wheel when Johnny and Jes being all lovey-dovey. Everyone still hates Nick. And Scotty told Jackie how everyone felt about her which led to a HUGE blow up amongst the contestants. But without all this drama the show would not be half as entertaining as it is.

It is interesting to me that week after week it seems to be the contestants I know nothing (or very little) about that are going home. Is the editing featuring other contestants more? Or are these mediocre contestants just laying low and trying to ride coattails? I’m not sure.

The Voice – Semi Finals

Katie June 22, 2011 0 Comments

Last night we found out who from Adam and Cee Lo’s team would be advancing.  It was kind of strange because all of them had to prepare a song for this week, but 4 of them ended up going home and didn’t get to perform it.  This is probably why there will be a results show on tomorrow and a finale results show next week.

From Team Cee Lo, America saved Vicci.  Cee Lo saved Nakia.  My picks are 6 for 6.  From Team Adam, America saved Javier and Adam shocked me by saving Casey.  What?!  Although 7 for 8 with my picks ain’t bad 😉

Up first  from Team Christina was Frenchie who sang Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” I thought she did really well with it.

Nakia did Adam Lambert’s “Whatya Want From Me” and slowed it down a bit.  Adam (Levine) said he had never heard the song before.  Apparently Adam doesn’t listen to the radio… ever.

Dia sang REM’s “Losing My Religion” and was great.

Casey butchered I Will Always Love You.  Really not sure why she is in the competition but at least it is less competition for Javier!

Beverly sang The Thrill Is Gone and did really well with it, but I still think I prefer Frenchie over Beverly.

Javier did an amazing rendition of Coldplay’s Fix You and he took off his hat! *gasp*!

Xenia did The Script’s The Man Who Can’t Be Moved and once again Adam didn’t know the song.

Vicci closed out the show with a very high energy performance of Florence and the Machine’s Dog Days Are Over.

Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera debuted their new song “Moves like Jagger” and Blake Shelton performed his latest single, “Honey Bee” and was joined by Dia and Xenia.

Voting closed at 10am this morning… I got in 10 votes for Frenchie, Vicci, Javier and Xenia via NBC.com, 10 call in votes for Javier and an iTunes vote for Javier and Vicci. One from each team will move on during tonight’s live show.  The coaches got 100 points to split between their team and America’s votes will be weighed the same as the coaches.

It will be interesting to see if America chooses the same 4 to advance as they did in the earlier rounds.  I am thinking that they will, but I’m not sure if they will tell us who specifically America picked or if we’ll just know the grand total with the coaches votes as well.  My picks are Vicci from Team Cee Lo, Javier from Team Adam, Frenchie from Team Christina and Xenia from Team Blake (although Team Blake was the hardest for me to choose, so I wouldn’t mind if Dia made it through instead)

Next week is the finale of the show!  I’m sad that it kind of went so quickly once we got in to the live performance rounds!

Platinum Hit – Episode 3

Katie June 16, 2011 0 Comments

In the 3rd episode of Platinum Hit, the contestants had to write a hook for a song that was road trip related.  They also all chose postcards which had a word on the back.  They would need to use this word in their hook, which made things a bit more difficult!

The winning hooks belonged to Johnny, Jes and Jackie.  Since Johnny came in first, he got to choose his entire team at once, while the other 2 picked alternating once Johnny was done.  Nick was last and Jes was asked if she preferred her team as it was or if she’d like to add Nick and she passed on him.  I was hoping that this would make Nick realize that his attitude SUCKS…. but nope!  He bragged about his track record and about how every team he has been on has had the winning song!

The 3 teams went on a little road trip to a motel and worked on their songs.  Nick thought that Johnny’s song sucked, but Johnny came in first and his team was safe.  Jes’ team was also safe.  Jackie’s team – including Nick – were in danger of losing someone because their song lost.

Nick and Sonyae were saved – because of one of Nick’s riffs and a line that Sonyae contributed.  Jackie and Karen were in danger of going home, with Karen ultimately leaving us.

A showmance began brewing between Jes and Johnny.  There was an argument over whether melody or lyrics are more important in songs.  Nick was still a jerk.  And next week they will be RAPPING!

Platinum Hit airs Monday nights on BRAVO.

The Voice – Live Rounds (2)

Katie June 15, 2011 0 Comments

This post may contain spoilers if you have not yet watched last night’s episode of NBC’s The Voice… Please proceed with caution 🙂

Last night on The Voice – 2 from Team Christina and 2 from Team Blake advanced.  I was 2 for 2 with Team Christina, with my picks Beverly and Frenchie advancing.  Team Blake was announced later in the show.

First up were the Thompson Girls. I am not really a fan of theirs and didn’t really dig their performance of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.

Casey’s performance of Horse and a Cherry Tree was alright…

Vicci’s performance (Jolene)  completely rocked. I really like her.  But how tall is she?  I didn’t think Carson was all that tall and he made her look so tiny! lol

Devon did a great One Republic song Stop and Stare. I really like his voice!

Nakia did Sex On Fire.  I thought he did well with it, although for some reason I don’t really like him. But I will be pretty shocked if he does not advance next week.

Jeff Jenkins went for Carrie Underwood’s Jesus Take The Wheel.  I think his nerves and/or emotions got the best of him and it was not as good as I would have expected from him. (He is a favorite in the house)

Curtis did Addicted To Love – a country version of it.  I liked that he took the initiative and switched the song up and made it his own… but I still just can’t get into country!

Javier did AMAZING on Angel… but DUH I knew that since I saw him perform it LIVE last month 🙂

And once again we had some very entertaining performances from the coaches with their teams!

Advancing for Team Blake is Dia and Xenia.  4 for 4!

My Predictions of who will be advancing this week  are Team Adam: Devon & Javier.  Team Cee Lo: Vicci & Nakia.

Next week we go in to the semi final rounds.  Carson said that 8 will perform, so I guess 4 will prepare a song and then not end up performing it?  That should be interesting and add an extra emotional element!

Platinum Hit – Episode 2

Katie June 12, 2011 0 Comments

In the second episode of Platinum Hit, the 11 remaining contestants had to write a hook for a DANCE song.  The guest judge for this task was, appropriately enough, Donna Summer.  The contestants were all supplied the same beat and had 30 minutes to write their hook.  The top 3 hooks would be the captains for the team round.

Once again, I was a little surprised with the choices – but the Top 3 were Scotty, Karen and Brian.  Donna Summer told Karen that she liked that her song was an anthem and that if she tapped in to woman empowerment, she could have a hit.  Donna also liked that Brian’s hook was unique.  Since Brian won – he was able to use the original beat while the other 2 teams would have to adapt their hooks/songs to something new.

Meanwhile, in the team rounds… Nick sulked because he did not win.  Scotty chose him because he knows he is a great writer and then there was some drama over Nick not liking people and not wanting to make friends because he wants to win.  Nick’s cockiness is really getting old – though he is talented.   But crying because you didn’t win a challenge? Come on! Jackie and Jes convinced Brian to let Jes sing on their song… and Karen’s song seemed to fall flat from the anthem that it seemed she had going during the hook round.

After playing the songs for a club – Scotty’s song won and Karen and Brian’s song were the bottom. Although the judges did not like that Brian was not singing on the song, the team was safe for the week.  Karen’s team would be losing a member and unfortunately it was the Connecticut contestant, Blessing.

Platinum Hit airs Monday nights on Bravo at 10pm EST.

The Voice – Live Rounds (1)

Katie June 8, 2011 0 Comments

Last night was Round 1 of the Live Rounds for The Voice.  8 contestants performed, Team Christina and Team Blake.  I am still not entirely sure how all the voting works – but it seems like 2 will be advancing to the next round from each team – one that the viewers save and one that the coaches save?  Either I don’t listen when Carson talks or he just didn’t explain it 😉

Raquel Castro was up first and I really was not too into her performance of “Blow”. She seemed a bit too screechy for me.

Jared Blake did “Use Somebody” which I have heard done so, so, so many times… so I didn’t really enjoy it.

Beverly McClellan did “I’m The Only One” and I thought her performance was decent, though she is not my fave from team Christina.

Dia Frampton did “Heartless” and while nothing will ever be better than Kris Allen’s rendition of this, I thought she was the best of the night up to that point.

Xenia’s performance of “Price Tag” was a bit awkward, but I think she is my favorite from Team Blake.  I’d like to see her grow in this competition.

I really did not enjoy Lily Elise’s version of “Big Girls Don’t Cry” some of the “notes” she was hitting sounded really odd and squeaky.

Patrick Thomas did “I Hope You Dance” and I found his performance to be pretty boring – and another overdone song.

The night ended with Frenchie Davis doing “When Love Takes Over” a song I am not familiar with – but I think she did well with it.  It was not perfect by any stretch but she was by far the most entertaining (in my opinion) of the night.

My picks moving on would be Frenchie and Bev from Team Christina and Dia and Xenia from Team Blake.

(Although to be honest – the best performances of the night were the ones the teams did with their coaches!)

There are 3 ways to vote and each can be done 10 times per account.  1) Call the numbers. You have until Monday morning to get your 10 votes in.  2) Vote online. You can vote 10 times per artist per email/registration you have on NBC.com  3) Buy the $1.29 single on iTunes.

I wish the singles were $0.99, I think that might incline more people to purchase… but since iTunes takes such a HUGE cut and I am sure The Voice is out to make some money, $1.29 is more in their best interest.  I am not sure there is anyone from last night whose single I would purchase – but I am prepared to buy all of Javier’s songs 🙂