However, I loved the attack and the energy from each couple in the team Tango, where the music allowed the professionals' creative choreography to shine. The team scored 27 and Kama duly sailed through to next week.
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Team Kama's classic rumba sees them through
Week 7 on Dancing With The Stars was Classical week, which, if you'd had a waltz or a paso was probably great. But a rumba? It was very strange. Watch it without sound and you'll see a beautifully interpreted rumba but I found the music very distracting. Kudos to Kama for delivering scores of 9 across the board, which put them joint second on the leader board.
However, I loved the attack and the energy from each couple in the team Tango, where the music allowed the professionals' creative choreography to shine. The team scored 27 and Kama duly sailed through to next week.
However, I loved the attack and the energy from each couple in the team Tango, where the music allowed the professionals' creative choreography to shine. The team scored 27 and Kama duly sailed through to next week.
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Snippets: Strictly Come Dancing; The Voice; Streetdance
What did I say before - and 30 people complained about The Voice's 'live' recorded results show. 30! And it's headlines all over the press. Pathetic, isn't it. 30, out of 10.3 million. I'm leaving it there ...
The final eight in The Voice will be touring in September, going it alone (with each other) but without their coaches. Check out the tour dates here.
The BBC have launched a FREE on line game, Strictly Keep Dancing, where you can learn to dance, check it out here. I may even have a little tickle at that myself! Pasha or Mark Ballas, that's the dilemma...
Tess Daly is in Hollywood, according to The Sun, hoping to turn her debut novel, The Camera Never Lies, into a film.
And, Alesha Dixon In Shock Return To BBC Because Obviously, Presenters and Actors Can't Do Different Programmes On Different Channels At The Same Time Because That Would Be Weird, Like Freelance Writers Writing For Different Publications Or Something. Oh.
The final eight in The Voice will be touring in September, going it alone (with each other) but without their coaches. Check out the tour dates here.
The BBC have launched a FREE on line game, Strictly Keep Dancing, where you can learn to dance, check it out here. I may even have a little tickle at that myself! Pasha or Mark Ballas, that's the dilemma...
Tess Daly is in Hollywood, according to The Sun, hoping to turn her debut novel, The Camera Never Lies, into a film.
And, Alesha Dixon In Shock Return To BBC Because Obviously, Presenters and Actors Can't Do Different Programmes On Different Channels At The Same Time Because That Would Be Weird, Like Freelance Writers Writing For Different Publications Or Something. Oh.
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
The Voice: Ruth Brown brings the house down!
I'm not even going to start on the god-awful dress they put Ruth in, or that Holly asked the same banal question of the judges three times each. Because I simply don't care - what I care about is that Ruth Brown gave the most raw, powerful, emotive and beautiful performance I've seen on my TV screen in a long long time. She has the vulnerability of Randy Crawford and the power of Aretha Franklin - for those that are banging on about her just being 'loud', listen again, because this performance sang it loud and sang it with fragility too - she can sing it anyway she likes. Even more respect to Tom for allowing her to do it her own way - that vocal was not taught or coached, it was given the freedom to just be. You only have to watch Will's reaction; blown away doesn't cover it. It was like the world faded away and there was just Ruth.
Through all the usual talent shows I've lived in hope that I'd hear a voice to rival a huge soul star - and been eternally disappointed as promising auditionees were ruined by the judges (I'll give you Will Young and Alexandra Burke as exceptions, although I wouldn't say they both blew me out of the water). Firstly, out stepped Joelle, with a hugely difficult song - quite possibly the reason she ended up in the bottom two, that and soppy Will letting slip that she 'complained', sorry, 'was concerned' about going first. Vocally it was right up there with Mary J, Chaka and all other female soul stars. Stunning performance, animated and passionate, pitch perfect.
And then Jaz turned up big time, giving me that male vocal I've previously listened in vain for. Shades of Stevie and Luther but ultimately all Jaz. Subtle, sincere, soulful, classy. Wonderful stuff.
But that's not to say the others weren't good, far from it, all of them turned in strong vocal performances - it came down to personal musical taste. Those I hadn't initially been keen on - Tyler and Frances, both impressed. They came across well, likeable - especially when Frances, bigging up coach Will said "he can even sing". Loved that!
Sam, while having the voice for his own version of A Little Respect, didn't do it for me and seemed pretty high maintenance emotionally; Sophie, giving Titanium a good go, lacked the sparkle that saw her through the week before. I wasn't surprised to see them both in the bottom two and their coaches letting them go. They shouldn't take it personally - different songs could have easily brought about an alternative result.
Adam was a tad too rockified for me, but would certainly have satisfied the masses into that particular genre; Leanne so strong and making Pink's Who Knew her own. Matt and Sueleen seem to be the ones people are either loving or hating - I happen to enjoy them. Again, it's not what I'd normally listen too but I can appreciate the harmonies and Matt can rock it out well.
In the team Danny/Jessie group number, Aleks needs dance lessons, seriously, he was so uncomfortable, whereas David, Max and Hannah were all going for it. Bo tended to get a little swallowed up too. Jessie's team were much more even - no-one commanded my attention, in a good or bad way.
Tom and Will can relax for a week now, the pressure's all on Danny and Jessie and whether their teams can match what we've already heard. To keep you going till Saturday, you can see clips of all Team Tom and Will's performances here.
Saturday, 28 April 2012
Snippets: The Voice; Britain' Got Talent
The live shows begin tonight and the songs being sung by Will and Tom's team have been revealed. An initial read through shows a huge variety - and none of the 'usual' tracks you get over and over again in certain other shows!
Will's Team:
Joelle Moses - I'm Going Down (Mary J Blige)
Sophie Griffin - Titanium (David Guetta feat. Sia)
Jaz Ellington - At Last (Etta James)
Frances Wood - Ain't Nobody (Rufus & Chaka Khan)
Tyler James - Higher Love (James Vincent McMorrow)
Tom's Team:
Sam Buttery - A Little Respect (Erasure)
Matt & Sueleen - Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac)
Leanne Mitchell - Who Knew (Pink)
Asam Isaac - All My Life (Foo Fighters)
Ruth Brown - Get Here (Oleta Adams)
The coaches will perform U2's Beautiful Day.
Here for you, a nice interview with Delectable Danny.
Over on the other side last week, I caught the audition of Loveable Rogues. I enjoyed the cheekiness of it, see what you think:
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Strictly Come Dancing With The Stars: Viva La Divas!
It's been confirmed following months of agonising, stress and manic discussions (not here, obviously) that the new Strictly Come Dancing judge will be former star Royal Ballet principal ballerina, Darcey Bussell.
Photo:BBCPurists will be pleased to have an experienced dancer on the panel; I remain to be convinced, as I found Darcey a little too nice and proper then - I'm hoping to see a more feisty side to her! I may be the only one, but I'm going to miss the Bruno/Alesha double act. And I can see them having to put Bruno in a straight jacket, because it just wouldn't seem right to let him manhandle Darcey the way he did Alesha! Maybe they'll put her the other side of Len; I think they may have done before.
Across the pond, Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas are still hanging around at the top of the Dancing With the Stars leader board, having performed a truly fantastic funky samba: Kath's timing is awesome and she really let herself go. I loved it, the most enjoyable celebrity samba I've seen in a while. And Motown night on DWTS means the big Motown stars actually performing live for the dancers - how cool is that? Team Kama, accompanied by the Temptations, scored 29 out of 30 points.
There was also a Motown marathon with all the couples on the floor at the same time; this added a further 10 points to Kama's score, as they saw off the rest of the competition. With the viewer votes added, they made it safely through to next week.
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
The Voice: Battles Weekend
The Battles delivered on every level promised, with towering performances and the odd shock or two.
The coaches pulled in help from industry people whose judgements they trust and who they felt could help bring the best out of each contestant: Danny called on Paloma Faith, Tom brought in Cerys Matthews, Jessie worked with Ana Matronic of the Scissor Sisters and Will called upon his own mentor, Dante Santiago.
Eight out of my ten moved into the live shows, with my one huge disappoint coming courtesy of Jessie, when she ditched David Faulkner in favour of Cassius Henry. David, he of the Stevie Wonder audition, I'd have happily swapped for pretty much everyone else with the exception maybe of Jaz. David was my shoe in and Cassius will have to totally blow me away to justify the decision. I'm still yet to be convinced he can last the distance, he appears to work so hard for every note, whereas David was effortless. Beat It the song, see their battle here.
Eslewhere in Jessie's team, Vince Kidd went through against Jessica Hammond. I preferred Vince in the mellower part of We've Found Love but Jessica when it rocked. Overall though, Vince got my vote and, more importantly, Jessie's. Kirsten and Toni went head to head on Aretha Franklin's Think and again, I'm disappointed with Jessie's choice. Toni has a great voice but can be a tad scary with the facial expressions and eyes; I found Kirsten much more engaging and fun. It's got nothing to do with the fact that she's the sister of a friend of my son's ...
Ben versus Ruth-Ann I wasn't too fussed with but thought Ben nicked it from a personality stance, I Wanna Dance With Somebody a real challenge and not the only one this weekend. However, Jessie once again went against (seemingly) general consensus and took Ruth Ann through. As for Indie&Pixie versus Becky, I really had no interest in either. Becky's voice just doesn't go anywhere, while the smacked arse look of the blonde one in rehearsal put me right off. I can't even remember what they sang, let me find the clip: there you go. You see, initially, it's all about The Voice. But likeability and personality also come into it when everyone in the competition can sing; the only one left in Jessie's team that I've taken to is Vince. Maybe the others will grow on me.
Team Jessie: Becky; Vince; Toni; Ruth-Ann; Cassius.
Will's pairings were tough: Joelle versus Jenny in a Power-Off to Chaka Khan's I'm Every Woman took Joelle through, although Jenny was also fantastic; J Marie versus Sophie was equally powerful with their version of Firework, with Sophie totally holding her own after it appeared she might be overawed - both should have gone through but it was Sophie that got Will's vote, room to grow whereas J Marie is already there. Jay versus Jaz and it was a no-brainer as far as I was concerned. And concerned I was when Will compared Jay to Justin Timberlake. But Heard It Through The Grapevine was enough to see Jaz through. I think I may have actually given up watching had I lost both Jaz and David! Frances and Kate sang Ironic and Frances impressed me more there than in the audition, but overall I preferred Kate; Will preferred Frances. Another pairing I didn't care much for was Tyler versus Heshima and it was Tyler Will chose.
Team Will: Frances; Sophie; Tyler; Joelle; Jaz
Tom had, I think, probably the toughest job - all of his singers were power singers, with perhaps the exception of Adam and Matt & Sueleen, who are so mellow in comparison. Sam versus Aundrea put a grin on everyone's face, attacking the ultimate Vegas Elvis track, A Little Less Conversation with gusto. They could've done with some more bling though, to really ramp up the camp! I didn't mind who went through and it was Sam who got the nod. Deniece versus Ruth singing No-one was a clash of soul styles - the slickness of Deniece, too slick, and the rawness of Ruth, sometimes a little too raw. But like Tom, it's Ruth I want to hear more of, to see what he can teach her. Barbara versus Leanne with Edge of Glory and Barbara for me became too karaoke as she piled on the power, whereas Leanne was much more controlled and retained her lovely tone. Tom duly took her through. Matt & Sueleen were against Lindsey, two of my ten. Singing Born To Run, it's Matt & Sueleen who have the edge, I just feel the need to hear more from them and Tom agrees. Adam versus Denise with Use Somebody in one of the quieter performances of the evening, but with Leanne and Ruth already booked for the live shows, Tom needed Adam for some balance and so Denise loses out. I hope Adam gets over his shyness though, because I wasn't as impressed as during his blind audition.
Team Tom: Matt & Sueleen; Adam; Sam; Leanne; Ruth
Danny seems to be on my wavelength - four of his choices I agreed with, and the other originally in my top 10 anyway. Max versus Bill with Beggin gets a little manic, with Max showing a much more attacking side to his nature, I loved the rawness of it and glad he made it through. I preferred the stage presence and vocal of Vince to Bo in their battle of With or Without You, however, my flimsy is Danny's vulnerable quality and Bo goes through. I still like her but if I hear the same vocal week in week out I'm not sure how long that will last. Broken Strings was the song for Aleks versus Emmy J and I'm pretty ambivalent on this one - Aleks starts flat again but does pick up and his vulnerability appeals as opposed to Emmy J's confidence-bordering-arrogance. I'm looking forward to see if Danny can deliver and help Aleks realise his potential. Murray versus Hannah was another close call with Kids; I was rooting for Hannah and think Danny needed a strong female voice but Murray was great in that. Hannah it is though,a complete contrast to Bo. The final place was between David and John James, the closest in styles, personalities, stage presence and vocal ability and my favourite battle overall, with both delivering on every level. Dakota the song, those sweet notes of David's just nicking it for both me and Danny.
Team Danny: Aleks; Max; Hannah; Bo; David
Of Team Scatty there remains: Vince; Joelle; Jaz; Matt& Sueleen; Adam; Max; Hannah; Bo. But honourable mentions for David, Leanne and Sophie, who all made a big impression.
The live shows kick off next week at 7pm on Saturday, with a group performance from the coaches before Will and Tom's artists sing for us. The results show is at 7.25pm on Sunday and one artist from each of Will and Tom's teams will bid farewell. Teams Danny and Jessie will both give group performances and Lana Del Rey performs her new single.
Note: The results show is recorded on the Saturday night. So when they say 'live results show' they mean a recording of the results as they happen live, not that it's actually live on the telly now. There's always a lot of confusion on the Strictly message boards over this so I thought I'd mention it. Not that you lot need to know: you're obviously intelligent or you wouldn't be here ;)
Anyway, no spoilers will appear here because a) I like to see it unfold naturally and yell at the telly in shock or joy, as and when required and b) I'll be grumpy all day Sunday if my favourite goes out.
Until then, fair folk :)
The coaches pulled in help from industry people whose judgements they trust and who they felt could help bring the best out of each contestant: Danny called on Paloma Faith, Tom brought in Cerys Matthews, Jessie worked with Ana Matronic of the Scissor Sisters and Will called upon his own mentor, Dante Santiago.
Eight out of my ten moved into the live shows, with my one huge disappoint coming courtesy of Jessie, when she ditched David Faulkner in favour of Cassius Henry. David, he of the Stevie Wonder audition, I'd have happily swapped for pretty much everyone else with the exception maybe of Jaz. David was my shoe in and Cassius will have to totally blow me away to justify the decision. I'm still yet to be convinced he can last the distance, he appears to work so hard for every note, whereas David was effortless. Beat It the song, see their battle here.
Eslewhere in Jessie's team, Vince Kidd went through against Jessica Hammond. I preferred Vince in the mellower part of We've Found Love but Jessica when it rocked. Overall though, Vince got my vote and, more importantly, Jessie's. Kirsten and Toni went head to head on Aretha Franklin's Think and again, I'm disappointed with Jessie's choice. Toni has a great voice but can be a tad scary with the facial expressions and eyes; I found Kirsten much more engaging and fun. It's got nothing to do with the fact that she's the sister of a friend of my son's ...
Ben versus Ruth-Ann I wasn't too fussed with but thought Ben nicked it from a personality stance, I Wanna Dance With Somebody a real challenge and not the only one this weekend. However, Jessie once again went against (seemingly) general consensus and took Ruth Ann through. As for Indie&Pixie versus Becky, I really had no interest in either. Becky's voice just doesn't go anywhere, while the smacked arse look of the blonde one in rehearsal put me right off. I can't even remember what they sang, let me find the clip: there you go. You see, initially, it's all about The Voice. But likeability and personality also come into it when everyone in the competition can sing; the only one left in Jessie's team that I've taken to is Vince. Maybe the others will grow on me.
Team Jessie: Becky; Vince; Toni; Ruth-Ann; Cassius.
Will's pairings were tough: Joelle versus Jenny in a Power-Off to Chaka Khan's I'm Every Woman took Joelle through, although Jenny was also fantastic; J Marie versus Sophie was equally powerful with their version of Firework, with Sophie totally holding her own after it appeared she might be overawed - both should have gone through but it was Sophie that got Will's vote, room to grow whereas J Marie is already there. Jay versus Jaz and it was a no-brainer as far as I was concerned. And concerned I was when Will compared Jay to Justin Timberlake. But Heard It Through The Grapevine was enough to see Jaz through. I think I may have actually given up watching had I lost both Jaz and David! Frances and Kate sang Ironic and Frances impressed me more there than in the audition, but overall I preferred Kate; Will preferred Frances. Another pairing I didn't care much for was Tyler versus Heshima and it was Tyler Will chose.
Team Will: Frances; Sophie; Tyler; Joelle; Jaz
Tom had, I think, probably the toughest job - all of his singers were power singers, with perhaps the exception of Adam and Matt & Sueleen, who are so mellow in comparison. Sam versus Aundrea put a grin on everyone's face, attacking the ultimate Vegas Elvis track, A Little Less Conversation with gusto. They could've done with some more bling though, to really ramp up the camp! I didn't mind who went through and it was Sam who got the nod. Deniece versus Ruth singing No-one was a clash of soul styles - the slickness of Deniece, too slick, and the rawness of Ruth, sometimes a little too raw. But like Tom, it's Ruth I want to hear more of, to see what he can teach her. Barbara versus Leanne with Edge of Glory and Barbara for me became too karaoke as she piled on the power, whereas Leanne was much more controlled and retained her lovely tone. Tom duly took her through. Matt & Sueleen were against Lindsey, two of my ten. Singing Born To Run, it's Matt & Sueleen who have the edge, I just feel the need to hear more from them and Tom agrees. Adam versus Denise with Use Somebody in one of the quieter performances of the evening, but with Leanne and Ruth already booked for the live shows, Tom needed Adam for some balance and so Denise loses out. I hope Adam gets over his shyness though, because I wasn't as impressed as during his blind audition.
Team Tom: Matt & Sueleen; Adam; Sam; Leanne; Ruth
Danny seems to be on my wavelength - four of his choices I agreed with, and the other originally in my top 10 anyway. Max versus Bill with Beggin gets a little manic, with Max showing a much more attacking side to his nature, I loved the rawness of it and glad he made it through. I preferred the stage presence and vocal of Vince to Bo in their battle of With or Without You, however, my flimsy is Danny's vulnerable quality and Bo goes through. I still like her but if I hear the same vocal week in week out I'm not sure how long that will last. Broken Strings was the song for Aleks versus Emmy J and I'm pretty ambivalent on this one - Aleks starts flat again but does pick up and his vulnerability appeals as opposed to Emmy J's confidence-bordering-arrogance. I'm looking forward to see if Danny can deliver and help Aleks realise his potential. Murray versus Hannah was another close call with Kids; I was rooting for Hannah and think Danny needed a strong female voice but Murray was great in that. Hannah it is though,a complete contrast to Bo. The final place was between David and John James, the closest in styles, personalities, stage presence and vocal ability and my favourite battle overall, with both delivering on every level. Dakota the song, those sweet notes of David's just nicking it for both me and Danny.
Team Danny: Aleks; Max; Hannah; Bo; David
Of Team Scatty there remains: Vince; Joelle; Jaz; Matt& Sueleen; Adam; Max; Hannah; Bo. But honourable mentions for David, Leanne and Sophie, who all made a big impression.
The live shows kick off next week at 7pm on Saturday, with a group performance from the coaches before Will and Tom's artists sing for us. The results show is at 7.25pm on Sunday and one artist from each of Will and Tom's teams will bid farewell. Teams Danny and Jessie will both give group performances and Lana Del Rey performs her new single.
Note: The results show is recorded on the Saturday night. So when they say 'live results show' they mean a recording of the results as they happen live, not that it's actually live on the telly now. There's always a lot of confusion on the Strictly message boards over this so I thought I'd mention it. Not that you lot need to know: you're obviously intelligent or you wouldn't be here ;)
Anyway, no spoilers will appear here because a) I like to see it unfold naturally and yell at the telly in shock or joy, as and when required and b) I'll be grumpy all day Sunday if my favourite goes out.
Until then, fair folk :)
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Back to the top of the leader board for Katherine in Dancing with the Stars
An excellent Argentine Tango saw Katherine Jenkins and dancer partner Mark Ballas head back to the top of the Dancing With The Stars leader board in Week 5.
Although it threw me initially, with them being in light rose coloured costumes, the choreography was exquisite and every one of Katherine's extensions were perfect. Full of intent and purpose and a well deserved score of 29 (Len being the meanie!) saw them tie at the top and progress safely through to next week.
Although it threw me initially, with them being in light rose coloured costumes, the choreography was exquisite and every one of Katherine's extensions were perfect. Full of intent and purpose and a well deserved score of 29 (Len being the meanie!) saw them tie at the top and progress safely through to next week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)