Show Spy is a TVSA column that takes a look at the latest new shows on the international TV circuit. The column keeps you scooped on the hottest, newest international trends in TV (without any spoilers!) and gives our take on whether or not we think one of our South African channels should buy it for us.
It seems impossible for yet another singing reality format to arrive on the scene and be a must-see. But it's happened.
The new reality search The Voice premiered in the US last week, I've been watching clips of it and it's the bomb. The reason: it's different, deep, fresh and quick.
The judging panel's fab too: Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, country singer Blake Shelton and Maroon 5's Adam Levine.
The freshest thing about it is that it doesn't focus on bad singers at all. The endless hours of torturous voices are gone - the terrible "singers" are eliminated before the show even starts.
The focus is
genuinely on people's voices. The judges don't see the auditionees until they've decided on whether or not they like their voice.
The singers audition behind the judges.
The formatThe setup is that each of the four judges are in competition to find the show's winning Voice.
At the first auditions the judges have to fight for who they want to mentor in the competition and once they have them in their group, they have to develop them to win the show.
At the auditions, the four judges sit with their backs to the auditionees, listen to them perform and then, if they like them, they buzz their buzzers and turn around, indicating that they want them on their group.
If two or more judges want the singer, they have to compete to land them. They need to convince the auditionee to choose them as their mentor, so the power shifts from the judges to the auditionees.
The judges have to create a group of eight contestants, which they do in two episodes. Things happen chop-chop.
They work with them and watch them all perform again. Each judge then has to eliminate four people from their group, leaving each judge with four contenders.
The 16 finalists perform at live shows for the audience vote.
The series is produced by Survivor's Mark Burnett, so it has his signature emotive feel to it. It also has a strong sense of sincerity, with a
Shark Tank-like business angle to it.
You get the feeling that judges
really want to discover the next big recording voice because they'll benefit from it too, as a business move. But without the focus on a quick fix marketed musician.
It's not about who has the right image that can be auto'tuned into sounding okay but rather, who has a true Voice.
This difference is obviously why Cee Lo turned down The X Factor for it. Simon Cowell wanted him as a judge for the upcoming US X Factor and he chose The Voice instead.
That's all the cool news.
The iffy news is that none of our channels have scooped it yet. I've been snooping around to find out who has it and no-one does.
Who will grab it first? Will anyone scoop it now or will we only see it a year from now when it's dated? Bah!