AUGUST 6 AT BEAUTY BALLROOM: KID SLYCE | TJE AUSTIN | JONATHAS | J GOODS

Jonathas, Kid Slyce, J Goods, Tje Austin

 

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GA PLUS SIGNED TJE AUSTIN “XPERIENCE” ALBUM: 15.00

The Voice: Reflecting on Eliminations And Why I May Have Not Seen All of Season 1

 

I can’t hide the fact that I am addicted to Season 2 of The Voice.  I sometimes rearrange my whole schedule (band rehearsal and the like) so I can watch 2 hours of nail biting performances, while binging on fast food, taking shots whenever Blake says “tender” and telling my friends to shut the hell up because I can’t hear who is singing.

Confession: I didn’t watch all of Season 1 of The Voice.

There we have it. I watched clips online and YouTube, but I delved  into my music and just used the momentum to book shows do as much as possible.  A lot of people had things to say about my elimination, good and bad. Even now people come up to me with opinions on how I should’ve performed or sang to beat Nakia. I even had one person insist that it was my fault I lost because I didn’t take their input.  That is the way of the world. Everyone has an opinion. Hindsight is 20/20. What I know is I had the best time being part of the show and getting to be on Cee Lo’s team.

This season is bigger and the show has more credibility.  The artists performing are incredible. And America shares its opinion all of the time online via twitter, facebook and blogs.  I love reading the blogs.  I love seeing the artists involved in the show tweet.

My thoughts so far on how things are going:

• I am going to miss Moses Stone and Sera Hill. I really root for R&B and hip hop.  Sometimes I feel like R&B singers are the black character in a horror flick.
• I think it was funny to see honest emotions on twitter about people getting eliminated and how JUSTICE IS SERVED. that is all i will say on that.  But I mean, that is real.  It may not have been nice, but I was amused.  There are so many thoughts and feelings that run through the mind of anyone that has been eliminated off the show. I gave myself 3 days to be sad about it when I was eliminated last year. Its really not the end of the world, and being on the show has helped me out a lot. I can only imagine what it can do for Season 2.
• To the coaches: Coming to the rescue of one of your artists who is being bashed is beautiful, just don’t forget to do it for all of your team members.
• Ashley De La Rosa impressed the hell out of me. She is a totally different performer from when I first saw her.  Very interested to see her progress.
• I tend to get overly emotional and start screaming at my television when the bottom 3 are announced. I almost threw something at my tv, and then realized that i wouldn’t be able to watch the episode anymore.
• Christina looked really good during eliminations. She is refusing my advances but I think we could have beautiful afro-hawaiian mixed babies together.
• I don’t know who I want to win yet. Do you? There are a lot of good artists so far.
• I have a whole list of people who I think were robbed.  But I guess that is what makes good television… i.e. The Shield Brothers, Jonathas, Lex Land, Lee Koch, Anthony Evans… I just feel they should still be in the competition. I want these guys to succeed.

As a viewer, my opinion counts, and it doesn’t.  I just want to share my thoughts having been involved in a great show.  I hope many of you who have dreams of being a singer will try out for Season 3.

Anxiously waiting for the next eliminations.

The Voice Season 2 Episode 8 – Battle Rounds

I really enjoyed this episode of The Voice tonight. There were a lot of artists that got a chance to shine that we really haven’t heard to much from. Of course I disagree with some of the decisions, but that is what makes this show so great. Again, all of the artists are awesome but let’s get into it!

Team Adam – Pip and Nathan Parrett singing Trouble

For Pip’s practice session, he asked Alanis Morissette and Adam if he should take it up a little bit and they said he should try to stay true to the song as much as possible. I feel that is pretty bad advice because everyone loves when they make the song their own. For Nathan’s they suggested he should show more confidence. During the battle, Pip seemed on point to me. His voice was perfect. Nathan was putting up a good fight and this is the first time we really get to see him shine. Pip seemed more aggressive. I wonder if Cee Lo will pick Pip.

Coaches Pick:

Blake: Pip

Xtina: Xtina didn’t really pick but they ended on a positive for Nathan

Cee Lo: Nathan

Adam has final choice. Adam picks Pip.

 

  

Team Cee Lo – Erin Martin and The Shields Brothers singing What’s Love Got To Do With It

Babyface made me laugh so much. He said the first run was challenging reminding him of Wayne’s World. Erin had a difficult time as well with Ne-Yo. He said he didn’t believe her when she sang.  They came down on her.  They wanted her to be more than just a pretty face.  Fav Quote of the night: Power is not talent. Its just LOUD.  So for the battle, Erin had some interesting notes. She looked sexy as hell. She was out there, but I think she could have a career. The Shields Brothers had some dope moments. I was impressed. I enjoyed their harmonies. Erin’s voice was really different and she had some squeals that I wasn’t too keen on.  But I wouldn’t mind hearing her hear other things.

Coaches Pick:

Adam: undecided but not in Erin’s favor

Blake: Erin

Xtina: The Shields Brothers

Cee Lo amazingly picked Erin. That totally blew me away. I really feel that The Shields Brothers really did better.

Team Xtina – Ashley vs Jonathas singing No Air

This is the first time we get to see Ashley perform. Everyone knows I am already rooting for Jonathas (since he is representing Austin, Tx as was the beautiful Lex Land) Ashley has a really beautiful voice and better voice. Xtina said because Jonathas sounds so much like Chris Brown and Usher, he needs to work on making it his own.  Lionel told him not to get out of character.  Jonathas really had a good hold on this song. Ashley sounded good, but I really felt Jonathas had this battle.

Coaches Pick:

Cee Lo: Ashley

Adam: Ashley

Blake: Ashley

The final pick goes with Xtina. In the end she went with Ashley.

 Team Blake – Jermaine Paul and AlyX singing Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car

I am rooting for Jermaine in this Battle. I think its cool that he was a background singer, but now wants to step out into the spotlight. He has a really cool voice too. He was very cocky in the first episode. Now he seems a little bit more humble.  Alyx is someone who I haven’t heard too much from.  But when she was practicing with Miranda and Blake she impressed me. Jermaine started off the song really strong. This song seemed to be in her low register and she doesn’t really have many moments to shine in this song. I feel like this song is more tailored to him. Which, since I am rooting for him now, its okay.

Coaches Pick:

Xtina: Jermaine

Cee Lo: Jermaine

Adam: Jermaine

The final pick goes to Blake and he goes with Jermaine.

 

Team Adam – Katrina Parker and Angel Taylor singing Bleeding Love

Hearing this pairing and the song I automatically think its tailored to Angel, which could work out negatively for her. I always feel when a white person does an R&B song making it their own, it can be really special. Angel has a beautiful voice but so does Katrina. I love Katrina’s voice and I am rooting for her, but I also don’t want Angel to go home. Katrina started the battle, and she immediately sounded like Adele. Angel has a really great tone and she seems very unique. Not the typical R&B chick.

Coaches Pick:

Blake: Katrina

Xtina: Katrina

Cee Lo: Katrina

The final pick goes to Adam and he seemed to look like he had difficulty making the decision. In the end he goes with Katrina.

 

 

 

Team Blake – Gwen Sebastian and Erin Willett singing We Belong

This was an incredibly emotional battle. Gwen impressed me with her Blind Audition so I know that she would be a great in this song. Erin also has an amazing voice and such a beautiful story. Her father wasn’t given very long to live: 24 hours. And when Blake said he understood what she was going through because his father passed away recently.  Gwen started off really nice, but when Erin came in her voice pulled me in. She has a really beautiful tone. I just noticed Gwen looks like Robyn, the singer.

Coaches Pick:

Xtina: Erin

Cee Lo: Gwen

Adam: Erin

 Final pick goes to Blake. He was really impressed with these girls. He said he wished it wasn’t that good. But in the end the winner of the battle was Erin.

 

Any thoughts on tonight’s episode?

And my SXSW starts | The Voice comes to Austin | Dogwood, The Hangar, ACL Live and More

SXSW (south by southwest) is an incredible festival in Austin, Tx that features Music, Film, Interactive, Education, Fashion and more. And it is SPRING BREAK craziness for adults. My interest in SX (south by) is for the music and film, but also the hundreds of parties that feature cool people from all over the world, free food and drinks. This year I look forward to the possibility of seeing officially and unofficially: Jay-Z, Mos Def, 50 cent, Allen Stone, Neon Trees, Cris Cab, Talib Kwali, Mystikal and even a couple people from The Voice (Lee Koch, Brian Fuente, Tony Lucca, Nakia, Casey Desmond, Jonathas, Lex Land, myself of course, Sonia Rao, Rebecca Loebe, Whitney Meyer and more!)

My first party I attended (on 3/07) was at The Hangar for The Bay Are Edtech. When me and my road dawg arrived, it was apparent that this was a group of teachers and such.  A lot of people were asking me what I taught, to which I replied “i don’t teach. i’m here for the open bar.” The truth will set you free. Free being the operative word. OPEN BAR is the theme of SXSW for me.

The second party was on 3/08 at Dogwood. Another dope party hosted by Bypass Lane, an app mainly for use while you are watching a sporting event in an arena. Say you are at the Frank Erwin Center, you are sitting with your friends and you wanna order drinks. Pull out your phone, log in to the app, choose your arena and order your beverages. They will send you a text and BAM! Your drinks are ready, no waiting in line, you go down and pick em up. DOPE.  So at Dogwood, they allowed us to log in to the app through our phones, and order as many FREE drinks that we wanted. And believe me, we took full advantage.

On 3/09 the band I performed at The Hyatt Regency from 5 – 7pm but then had to rush to the George Washington Carver Library to perform for the Blacks In Technology Reception, which got such an amazing response from everyone in attendance.

After the BIT Reception, we headed over to the Old School Bar to see Jonathas (@iknowJonathas) perform.

During which we almost got the car towed (luckily we got to it in time)

While we were there, AG sent me a text that Ghostland Observatory was doing a secret show at ACL LIVE and they were letting the first 1000 people in. So Tom and I rushed over and enjoyed an amazing performance!

All in all a great evening spent with friends.

The Voice Season 2 Episode 4

First off I have to say I am addicted to The Voice. Seriously.  Band rehearsal went long this evening so I rushed home and in a rush reheated dinner, changed the channel to NBC and Wheel of Fortune was finishing up. I was feeling impatient, while I waited for it to go off and had to check myself. Its only a TV show right? Wrong. Its the effing Voice. And its awesome.

The first artist up tonight is Ducky (@duckydukemusic). He is a painter and from the artwork they show he seems to be really good. How does he rate as a singer though? For his Blind Audition he sings ‘Tighten Up’. He has a nice rocker voice, and he seems like he could be an interesting addition to someone’s team. Of course Carson Daly asks ‘where is Adam in all of this?’. Unfortunately, no coach turns around. Blake says that Ducky is one of those he will look back and regret a little bit. Blake’s cool factor keeps going up. He offered Ducky a sip from his cup after Ducky said he may need a shot (he said sarsaparilla but isn’t that root beer?). Blake are you drinking on the job? BEST JOB EVER!

Next artist is Jonathas Ojeda (@iknowJonathas), from Austin, TX. ( TEXAS BABY!!) He is Brazilian and a family man. For his Blind Audition, he busts out  ’You Got It Bad’ by Usher. Adam says he sounds exactly like Usher and Blake says he’s gotta be good looking.   Cee Lo Green is the first coach to turn around, and surprisingly XTINA turns around. Cee Lo said he thought it was a prank because it sounded so much like Usher. Xtina said it was clear that the ladies loved him and were body rocking. She also knows some of the best choreographers and wants to mold him. Cee Lo asks what kind of watch he is wearing and for a moment they bond over watches.  Jonathas says he is a big fan of Cee Lo, but has always had the hots for Xtina. In the end, its Team Xtina.

Monique Benabou (@MoniqueBenabou) is the next artist and  for her Blind Audition she sings ‘Mr Know It All’ by Kelly Clarkson. She has a nice voice. Very pop-ish.  I feel like she might go to Team Blake but no one is turning around. Finally Xtina turns around.  Why: because Xtina said she was generally consistent and she delivered.  Team Xtina.

Next up is Naia Kete (@naiakete), a street performer. Carson Daly surprises her during a performance on the street. I friggin love these moments when he does this. When they show her with her family, I really get a gypsy vibe from her. They all have long locs and the girls wear long dresses. Its dope.  For her song she starts ‘The Lazy Song’ and Blake Shelton is the first coach to turn around. As soon as she hits a high part in the song, Cee Lo pushes his button. Cee Lo of course calls her an angel and then says “I PUSHED MY BUTTON FOR YOU.” And she replies, “Cee Lo you push all my buttons.”  Blake throws his arms up and says “I’m screwed” but he goes on to say that when he heard her voice, it instantly made her smile.  The coaches are laying it on thick.  Cee Lo and Blake are really fighting for her. In the end, Naia picks Team Blake!

SIDENOTE: I think a shot game could be created everytime Blake says the work UNIQUE .

The next artist is Eric Macek (@erikmacek), a CZECH dude. For his Blind Audition he sings ‘Free Falling’. He has a cool voice.  I dig the mellow vibe. That is all me. But none of the coaches turn around. Blake tells him he wouldn’t change a damn thing that he did and he almost pushed the button. But he didn’t. Blake said UNIQUE again in the after-thought interview.

The next artist is Charlotte Sometimes (@4eversometimes). Unfortunately, when she was younger she was diagnosed with a disease that disintegrates the jaw but she had surgery, had her jaw wired shut for 5 months and now she is able to pursue her dreams! For her Blind Audition she sings “Apologize” and I get a Lana Del Rey vibe from her. Adam and Blake turn around for her at the same time. Suddenly the rest of the coaches turn around. 4 JUDGES! Blake lets everyone know that he had a girl with a similar vibe (Xenia) and she now has a record deal. These coaches are fighting for this girl. Adam says he heard a cool and simple thing with her voice, and Xtina says she doesn’t think it was simple at all. But as they argue Cee Lo says that Adam and Xtina need to get a room. Ha. In the end Charlotte choose Blake. Team Blake. I like the victory pumps Blake does when he gets an artist.

The next artist up is Tony Vincent (@tvofficial), who is a Broadway star (kind of like Frenchie right?) For his Blind Audition he sings Queen “We Are The Champions”  and this dude is rocking out on stage! Cee Lo is the only coach to turn around. Cee Lo questions if the other coaches’ ears are burned up from having such a great vocal performance. Blake says that Cee Lo is an over the top artist and perfect for Tony. Team Cee Lo baby!

Anthony Evans (@anthonyevansjr) is the next artist (DALLAS TEXAS!!), son of a well-known Pastor and his dad looks like Steve Harvey.  He is trying to define himself as an artist and I bet he is trying to get away from being pegged as Gospel, or at least show how versatile he can be.  For his Blind Audition he sings ‘What’s Going On’. He definitely has a church vibe.  I like his falsetto. As soon as he does this vocal riff Xtina pushes that button. Xtina says she thinks he has a beautiful voice. She was waiting to hear something spectacular at the end and when he started hitting those runs, that was her moment. Team Xtina.

The next artist works in a sandwich shop and his name is Jamie Lono (@JamieLono). I feel slighted in the way that Carson Daly did not present him with his invitation. It looks like his supervisor did.  I guess that is a good way to let your job know that you are going to be gone for a while! If not indefinitely. But let’s not put all of our eggs in one basket. (What does that mean?) For his Blind Audition he sings ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ and Adam Levine pushes his button immediately. Cee Lo also turns around.   Adam says he is so soulful. The song choice was amazing. Different and Soulful. In the end he goes to team Cee Lo! Wow. Though Adam turned around first, he still went with Cee Lo! So far, tonight Adam still has no one! Team Cee Lo.

ANOTHER SHOT GAME: TAKING A SHOT EVERYTIME CEE LO SAYS: ENDORSE.

Next up is Dylan Chambers (@dylan_chambers) from ARLINGTON, TX (TEXAS STAND UP!). For his Blind Auditions, he sings ‘Valerie’ I am digging his vibe! I love this song and he is doing a really good job. But none of the coaches turned around.

They do a quick run through of artists that don’t make it, which is really nice of them. They didn’t have to show any of them.

The next artist is Justin Hopkins (@jhopsmusicbox), and he was actually one of Carson Daly’s guitarists in the house band. For his Blind Audition he performs ‘Babylon’. He had a resigned look on his face when it almost seems no coach is going to turn around, when suddenly Cee Lo turns around. He did say earlier he would like to be on Cee Lo’s team. You got your wish dude! TEAM CEE LO!

Up next is Nicolle Galyon (@nicatnitemusic), who wants to be the first country artist pianist. For her Blind Audition she sings ‘You Save Me’. Adam is the first to turn around. And it looks like Adam may actually score this one! Afterwards, Adam gives her a standing ovation and lets the other coaches know they are dumb.  He says he is happy because when she wasn’t nervous, she was so special. Team Adam. His first artist of the night. Good job Adam.

They quickly Ashley De La Rosa (@UKnowAshleyDLR) goes to Team Xtina, Jordan Rager [(@Jordan__Rager) <<--- that is 2 underscores] who goes to Team Blake, Karla Davis (@KarlaDavisMusic) goes to Team Adam, Alyx (@FollowAlyx) goes to Team Blake.

Eric Tipton (@RealEricTipton) is 31 years old, 6 ft and 300 lbs. SANGER, TX. (hello fellow TEXAN!) For his Blind Audition he sings “You Make My Dreams” and he has a really nice soft tone to his voice, with moments of power.  Unfortunately no coach turns around.  He did really well though.

Mathai (@mathaimusic) from Dallas, Texas (another TEXAN!) is sexy. Hands down. Her family is in the business of making doctors, but she wants to follow her dreams of being an artist. For her Blind Audition she sings ‘Rumor Has It’, which you know I already love as I love Adele. Obviously Mathai and I are meant to be together. If her parents find me acceptable.  Adam Levine is the first coach who turns around. Mathai’s mom is really giddy and I love how she starts to do a little happy dance. Soon Blake turns around. Followed by Cee Lo. The guys must’ve heard sexy cos they all turned around. Blake calls her a star. But in the end she chooses Adam!

Another great episode of The Voice! I was a little more excited about this episode more than last week. And I found my wife. And my favorites in this episode are Jonathas Ojeda (@iknowJonathas) and Mathai (@mathaimusic). Also I think everyone in America learned that Texas talent is abundant and diverse.

What did you think about tonight’s episode? Any favorites? Let me know!

Until next week.

LLAP.