 The Voice UK semi-final aired May 26, 2012, a little before Eurovision 2012. Whilst the BBC in the UK was concentrating on a musical evening ITV had live International football. Norway v England was to be the first outing for new England Manager Roy Hodgson. It may have been billed as a friendly but a win, and a sound win at that, is important. As the football kicked off, literally, The Voice UK semi-final was drawing to a close. The voting lines opened and the results show is on air Sunday May 27, 2012. There were some powerful, strange and bland performances on the show. Just who will go through to next week's final? It is a hard one to call as what the voting public may like could differ from who the professionals would like to go through.Bo as usual gave a special performance but is she perhaps becoming a little boring? Ruth sang her heart out but perhaps a little too much? Tyler's peculiar performance of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody was downright strange. It was simultaneously good and bad, if that is possible. What will the voting public think? The post show predictions are that Bo and Jaz should be safe, but who can really tell?The show ended with a performance by former Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole. That girl can sure move. She was understandably out of puff by the end of the performance. Much had been made before of the show that she would be performing live. Well that proved to be untrue. She may have recorded a special version for The Voice UK but she was obviously miming.The results show tomorrow will include a performance by pop princess Kylie Minogue. Perhaps she will actually sing.Check back for a review and the results tomorrow.
 Vince Kidd May 5, 2012
Toni Warne kicked off tonight's edition of The Voice UK. It was somehow a rather insane performance but maybe that is what the song is all about. Proud Mary is often sung in Karaoke but Karaoke Toni ain't.The audience and judges seemed to approve and they were all on their feet.
This week it is the turn of Jessie J and Danny O'Donoghue to showcase their acts. So next up was one of Danny's acts. At times tonight the judges argued in a way similar to the X Factor ones. Jessie Js own act Hanna took plenty of stick mainly from her own mentor. This caused words between the judges which takes the attention away from the acts. After all surely the show is all about The Voice UK? Is it hell.
Vince Kidd performed an Elvis standard which dates back to years before he was born. It was a powerful, passionate and slightly quirky performance. Not sure if the falsetto parts really worked but overall it was a great performance. Vince had produced his own version of the song so Kudos to him.
Last of the night was Bo Bruce who has a distinctive voice. The latest news is that she may have to quit the show as her Mum is seriously ill. She gave a performance filled with emotion which touched the judges hearts. As the show closed voting lines opened. They are only open till 9pm tonight. Going home? Could be Ruth Ann who was off key and Hanna who was OTT.
The results show will be aired on BBC 1 tomorrow at 7.15pm.
Two acts will be going home.
Tags: The Voice UK, Tom Jones, Vince Kidd, Toni Warne, Jessie J
 The Voice UK is at the elimination stages prior to the Live Shows. After the blind auditions the acts have to go head to had this weekend in a singing battle, literally.
Two acts performed against each other in a makeshift fighting ring. First up were two female acts that were part of will.i.am's team. Jenny Jones v Joelle Moses – “I’m Every Woman”, originally by Chaka Khan. The act that went through was Joelle Moses which was no surprise.
Next up though was not so easy. Two male acts belonging to Danny's team fought to the singing death. Max Milner v Bill Downs – “Beggin’”, originally by Madcon. Both performed to the extreme leaving a hard decision for their mentor. In the end Danny opted to take through Max.
Two from Tom Jones' acts were next. Sam Butterly v Aundrea Nyle sang “A Little Less Conversation”, an Elvis Presley standard. Sam was selected to go to the next stage. Jessie J chose to put Kirsten Joy v Toni Warne performing “Think”, by James Brown. For this blogger Toni came out the strongest. By the end of the performance though it was a tie. Jessie J looked more than once as if she would would wet her pants in excitement..The girls got a standing audition from the audience. Jessie opted for Toni.
So back to Danny and Vince Freeman v Bo Bruce performing “With or Without You”, by U2. Vince had to try and tone his powerful rocking style down whist Bo needed to do the reverse. Predictably Bo went through. Back to will.i.am and Tyler James v Heshima Thompson performing “Yeah 3x”, by Chris Brown. Both performers were not happy with the chosen track. It was a case of suck it and see. Tyler won through.
The next two acts were from the Jessie J camp and both said they loved each other. It is a competition though and only one of them would survive. Jessica Hammond v Vince Kidd performed “We Found Love”,by Rihanna and as they say they smashed it. Vince won through.
Will.i.am's Jaz Ellington v Jay Norton singing “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”, Marvin Gaye were the penultimate acts.Jaz triumphed, unsurprisingly. Ruth Brown v Deneice Pearson singing “No One”, Alicia Keys, were last but certainly not least. Tom Jones had a difficult choice. Ruth was emotional even in rehearsals. The song meant much to her after the loss of her father. So who would be the last act through from tonight's show? Both were good but Ruth has such a powerful natural voice for a girl so young. Like a young Aretha. Once again she brought tears to Tom Jones eyes. Who did he pick? Why Ruth of course.
Battles was aired on the BBC 7pm to 8.30pm Saturday April 21, 2012, Britain's Got Talent on ITV having lost the ratings war has surrendered and moved its timing slightly.
The second Battles show will be on the same channel Sunday April 22 at 7.30pm.
Tags: The Voice UK, Battles weekend, will.i.am, Jessi J, Tom Jones, Danny O'Donoghue, singing contest, BGT, BBC
 The last of the blind auditions of The Voice UK aired April 14, 2012, at 7pm on BBC. Judges Jessie J, Tom Jones and Danny O'Donoghue were still looking to fill the last two spots, while will.i.am was still looking for three team members.
The first singer had a quirky voice which had much appeal but was in some ways weak. After toying with her for most of the song eventually all the judges except for Jessie J hit the I Want You button. Who would Emily settle for? After dragging the decision out she went for Danny. The judges this week a;l have limited places left and so choosing wisely will be vital unless they want to lose the competition.
It seemed to be ladies night and the next two acts went to will.i.am. Then a booming Tenor came to the stage and performed I Who Have Nothing, a Tom Jones standard. It was obvious his talent would not appeal to any judge other than Tom. However Tom seemed reluctant to take the chance. Ben finished his performance with no takers.
Indie and Pixie a girl duo were up next and Jessie J was quick to press that button. The other three judges soon followed suit. Th duo had some bum notes in their performance but obviously potential was seen. Lindsay Butler performed I Don't Wat To Talk About It. A more mature lady finally she wowed Tom Jones. The other judges may not have appreciated Lindsay but the studio audience certainly did.
Another female next up singing What's Going On? In spite of her best efforts she failed to impress. Guys being in short supply surely the next act, John James Newman would fare better? Not really. Almost reluctantly Danny went for him at the last minute and Tom followed suit. He went for Danny filling his final place.
With only a few acts left to perform it was going to be a struggle to fill the teams. Ruth a young woman with a huge Voice completed Tom's team. The last 30 minutes of the show were more of the same. The Voice UK had however saved its stand out performance for last. Jaz Ellington brought the judges to tears. Hew as however allowed to sing a second song which in some ways made it all look very staged.
Either way next week the competition proper begins. Check back then.
Tags: The Voice UK, Jaz Ellington, Jessie J, Tom Jones, will.i.am, Danny, singing contest
 The Voice UK continued at 19.00 on BBC1 in the UK, March 31, 2012. This week's episode was more of the same as the blind auditions continued. This week though TVUK had to fight harder to dominate the viewing figures. Last Week Britain's Got Talent kicked off on ITV. Last week both of these "talent" shows were aired at different times. As TVUK ended flip the remote and BGT was just starting on ITV. This week the two programs overlapped by 20 minutes. Fair enough with channels such as ITV plus one you could watch BGT later but this overlap was bound to affect viewing numbers. Just prior to the show the mailonline reported that "Five of the 11 contestants in tonight’s episode have already had their shot at stardom – including a Brit award winner." It seems that this talent show is not averse to including slightly familiar faces. First up went to will.i.am's team although Heshima Thompson had the pick of the four. As a previous backing singer to Amy Winehouse he has the experience as well as the voice. A perfect team member for will.i.am though Second up Barbara Bryceland performed Wild Horses. The four judges had obviously decided i was a slightly older lady perfect for Tom Jones team. Thankfully for her he "turned around" and off Barbara went to Tom Jones team. A younger contestant next with David Julien. Current from the first note. Quick as a flash will.i.am and Danny turned around. He opted for Danny. A belting female singer next in Kerry Ellis. Sadly she finished with no takers. Having starred in various musicals this woman was no amateur. She did however come across as a bit of a karaoke come pub singer. Each judge can only select a total of ten singers so it is already getting harder for some to get selected. So on it went. Tonight's show included a duo and of course stand out performers as well as oddities. For some being judged simply on their voice is not enough. It is the whole package that is a winner. Judges eeked out decisions for a little drama and tempted each other to turn around. Sometimes that had to be a cn to suck them in. Shansel Huseyin was a first. An opera singer performing Nessum Dorma. Unfortunately for Shansel there were no takers. The judges went on to praise her but it was not her night. With the live shows starting next week tonight's included clips of auditions not aired in full. Perhaps tonight's show was a little less entertaining than the first one lats week. Still onwards and upwards to the live shows and hopefully an entertaining competition.Personal performance of the night - Vince Freeman - Sex is on Fire,
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 Saturday night TV entertainment in the UK tends to be more of the same. Tired talent shows, repeats, dire game shows and the like. Tonight, March 24, 2012, a new show kicked off at 7pm on BBC1. Yes The Voice UK is another singing competition but at least the format is new to British audiences. It has a different set of coaches and a fresh feel to those we are more used to
It may not be new to the world but The Voice is to the UK and looks set to be a winner.
The coaches certainly have a good musical pedigree. Sir Tom Jones, Jessie J, will.i.am and Danny O'Donoghue all performed together before the show proper began. A rendition of The Black Eyed Peas, tonight's gonna be a good night, and let the fun and games begin.
Tonight was the blind auditions. Each coach sat with their back to the singers as they were auditioning. One, more or all of the coaches can turn around and choose to select an act. If more than one hits the "I want you" button the act can decide who they want to work with. Each coach will end up with 10 acts and the competition will begin the search for The UK Voice.
The idea with this format is that each singer is simply judged on their voices. Whether they are not so young, chunky, look nothing like a possible singing superstar or the like is immaterial
First up was Jessica Hammond. All the coaches wanted her. She had the pick of the bunch. Will.i.am all but grovelled for her to join his team but in the end she went for Jessie J. Next was Sean Conlon. In spite of talent and a past career as a member of boyband 5 he went home empty handed.
Sam Buttery sang Set Fire to the Rain. All but Tom Jones thought it was a girl singing. Tom jumped at the chance of coaching Sam. Next up was 34-year-old Toni Warne. A battle with alopaecia since a young age had taken its toll on Toni. Then a few years ago she lost all her hair. Her audition was powerful but her story brought the first tears of the Voice UK. Toni joined Jessie J's team.
So the show progressed in this way. Entertaining in its own way. More were selected others sent home. The final act of this week came around and will.i.am still had to manage to secure an act. J Marie Cooper wowed the coaches and the studio audience. She received a standing ovation from the coaches. In the end she opted for will.i.am as he was the first coach to turn around.
The show ended with Tom having three acts, Jessie three, Danny one and will.i.am one. Next week the blind auditions continue as the coaches continue their search for The Voice UK.
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