The Voice

Occasionally someone, somewhere has a brilliant idea for a talent or reality based television show and I'll be sucked in.

Not usually a watcher of commercial television, I had barely heard about The Voice, but after only two nights, it is now on my compulsory viewing list.  I love it!  The idea of the judges selecting singers to be on their team based solely on what they hear when a contestant sings is compelling.  The studio and television audience can see the contestants and we also know a bit about them, so we don't experience the singers in the same way as the judges.

I spent yesterday talking to a group of employees about communication and the fact that human beings judge another person based on looking at them within the blink of an eye.  Our hard wiring has equipped us to quickly make these judgements so that we can determine whether the person in front of us is friend or foe.  Take out the visual channel and the sound and quality of the voice comes strongly into play.

At the moment, the contestants are singing in a "blind" audition, hoping one of the judges choose them to be on their team where they will be coached by the star judge and compete on behalf of the team.  Already, it's been an emotional rollercoaster and the desire of the singers to be chosen really comes through in their performances.

The judges, Seal, Deltra Goodrem, Keith Urban and someone called Joel Madden have a great chemistry and it's a joy to watch them delight in each new singer.  (A cynic might wonder whether the judges are as in the dark as they are portrayed, but I'm not a cynic.)

It's feel good TV, it's probably making squillions of dollars, but I'd like some more please.  I just wish there weren't so many ads.  I'm not used to them at all!