Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Not happy with the pairing for American Idol’s Season 10 finale?

Not excited about the prospect of watching a teen vs. teen, twang vs. twang showdown?

Here’s a suggestion:  Boycott Idol Tuesday night.  Check out The Voice on NBC  (10 p.m. Tuesday)  instead.

You’ll have to overlook a large dose of hokey, like battle rounds performed in a boxing ring.

But if you do, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Folks, this show  does many things better than American Idol.

For instance …

* No mystery contestants: Before the public voting begins, we’re going to get to meet all of the contestants. The Voice advanced 32 singers/duets from the blind audition rounds. They’re now engaged in sing-offs, where judges are whittling the field to 16.  We’re going to get to watch everyone of those sing-offs.  So, unlike Idol, when the voting begins, you’ll have met all the contestants and will have heard all of them sing at least once. Novel notion, huh?

* The music: For the most part, it’s more current than American Idol.  No entire episodes featuring music from before the contestants were born.  Battle round songs have included Ne-Yo’s “Closer,” Beyonce’s “Put a Ring on It” and, believe it or not, Pink’s “Perfect,” minus the obscenity.

* The music that came before: Idol pretends to have discovered all of its singers. If they had a musical career before Idol, you aren’t likely to hear about it.  The Voice embraces the music that these artists released before the show.  They’re allowed to keep their MySpace pages. You can find their music all over iTunes.  Some of it is even offered in conjunction with the tracks from the show.

* A greater age range: Tired of Idol’s youth movement? The Voice has the cure.  Contestants who advanced last week included 32-year-old father of six Jared Blake, a 36-year-old blues artist known as Nakia, and Beverly McClellan, who’s been performing music for 20 years.  Beverly, a spirited rocker, looks like a possible front-runner.

* The judging: This might come as a shock to American Idol fans, but the judges on The Voice actually judge, even deciding which members of their own team get sent home.  Christina Aguilera looks every bit as gorgeous as Jennifer Lopez, and doesn’t call every contestant “baby.”  Blake Shelton is a hoot, and a heck of a lot more astute than Steven Tyler.

* The voices: You’re going to hear some voices worth listening to. In addition to Beverly McClellan, standouts so far include Javier Colon and Vicci Martinez.  Any of the three match up well with the best American Idol had to offer in Season 10.

Need to catch up one what’s happened so far?

Go here. You’ll find recaps of each episode as well as profiles of all 32 semifinals, plus videos featuring, in most cases, pre-Voice music.