Let your 'Voice' be heard

Get out there and vote if you haven't already! Ladies, we haven't even had the right to vote for a full 100 years yet – and we shouldn't take that right for granted. I'm not even sure that all of the candidates were clear on whether women were permitted to vote -- that is the only logical explanation I could come up with for some of the things that were said during the campaign season. Needless to say, I will be voting today.

Enough about the election -- other (significantly less important) votes were being cast last night and I can't wait to see what the results are on Wednesday. Yes, I'm talking about “The Voice.” The first live show was on Monday night, with some spectacular performances, several that were all right, and others were the vocal equivalent of a dial tone. There are some competitors that I might just categorize as human dial tones. I'll forget them as soon as they're gone. In fact, I've already forgotten them and had to do a Google search to confirm their existence.

One thing is evident after last night: Amanda Brown is the one to beat. I've never heard anyone, aside from Steven Tyler himself, sing “Dream On” like that. She looks like a star, her voice is incredible, she already seems like she belongs on a stage. She was a back-up singer for Adele! Let's just give her the title now. Congratulations, coach Adam Levine.

Another force to be reckoned with is Terry McDermott. Some may argue that “Don't Stop Believin” was a safe choice for him, but it's not an easy song to sing well, and the guy's voice is outstanding. I remember his audition from the first episode of “The Voice” this season – he was born to sing. He's the best one on Blake's team; I think he's got a slot in the final four.

Michaela Paige, another member of Team Blake, also gave an excellent performance – I can't believe she's only 16. I'll give kudos to Liz Davis (Team Blake) as well; she's an excellent singer, I just don't care much for country. Points to her as well for picking a song that, if you didn't actually listen to all of the words, sounds like it's patriotic – perfect for the night before Election Day – even though it's actually about abuse. Ah, well.

There were problems with all of the other performances, with nerves getting the better of a lot of the contestants, but there was one key issue that everyone had: SONG CHOICE. Why?! It boggles the mind.

As much as I like Melanie Martinez, I don't know if she'll be sticking around for another week. I enjoyed her spin on Ray Charles' “Hit the Road Jack” but at this stage in the game, it might be too subtle. The song didn't do enough to showcase her abilities, and compared to Amanda, well – it's clear who will be representing Team Adam in the finals. But perhaps Melanie will benefit from the rest of her team being underwhelming. There were a lot of standing ovations being given last night and they left me wondering if there was something wrong with my hearing.

I'll sum up the rest of the performances briefly:

Cassadee Pope (Team Blake) -- Dial tone. Poor song choice.

Loren Allred (Team Adam)– Nice voice, but a dial tone (her song: sleep-inducing), and Nicole Nelson should be there in her place.

Julio Cesar Castillo (Team Blake) – I just don't want to hear mariachi music and I don't think I'm alone in this. He does well but I'm not psyched about him.

Joselyn Rivera (Team Adam) – I just wanted it to end as soon as it began.

Bryan Keith – I like his voice, but he picked a song with verses he couldn't sing; don't pick a song if you can only sing the chorus.

What did you think about the first live show?