The uneasy trio of Lacey Gaspar, Betty Puskas, and P. Alex were uncomfortable mentoring The X Factor for six seasons — most recently with the addition of Erika Herceg, former member of Russian girl group VIA Gra — and forced banter and sweat. Zigzag was undoubtedly ready to change the program ̶z̶s̶ű̶r̶i̶, it defined RTL, giving a chance to a new format, The Voice.
This is a talent show – very popular abroad and in Hungary for one season now – where the jury members select the contestants without seeing them in the first competition, only listening to them, so they can only rely on their ears and intuition. If they like the production, they press the red button and the seated people turn with their backs. One jury member role is sufficient to apply, and the singer is automatically included in the judging panel.
All good singers were picked for the first broadcast, and it wasn’t full of trolls, clowns or contestants of lower quality. In other words, they didn’t play the almost obligatory dramatic element of commercial TV talent shows, the minor card of shame, which turned out to be a feature of the show. From the amateur to the singer on a luxury yacht to the academy of music-graded violinist, talents of all kinds took to the stage, and were greeted by the jury members with alternating enthusiasm, but for the most part positively.
There is also great variance in the composition of the jury: from Kossuth Prize-winning opera singer, By Erica Miklosa We start, alongside Manuel, who’s been spotted in The X Factor, then actress Nora Trocan, and finally we get to scandal rapper Curtis’ hero, Drucker Doza (showing his sympathy with his purple and white stripe shirt). Chick, phlegmatic, soulful, laid-back brat – that’s roughly how we’d describe the characters based on the first broadcast, who are reserved and gentle with each other right now, despite the fact that taste is almost a requirement of the programme. Because if multiple judges turn at the same time, the contestant can choose which team they want to boost, so they have to do everything they can to attract the particular singer.
For now, the competition is under control, as is the show as a whole.
As a taste enhancer, a personal drama has also been revealed in the show, focusing on “one”, so for the time being, The Voice is proportionately picking from the influence hunting tools of its singing talent scouts.
Whether this is the reason for the show being lackluster or simply because we got our usual in spite of the new format remains to be seen. Whether the value of talent in the show can be combined from one year to the next requires a separate thesis. The selections will follow duel rounds and live shows, and we’ll see how well you can keep interest.
“Energies were unleashed through his world-class production,” is Curtis’ somber assessment of Jaber’s Kuwaiti-Hungarian production, and though we think we understand what the poet was thinking, there will likely be no shortage of golden spittle in the show’s extra broadcasts either.
Cover photo: Curtis, The Voice judge (Source: RTL press club)
