This is the first elimination night. This is what makes this show a “TV” show. Suspense, and people you really like, go home!  They compete in a boxing ring… really great idea.

The first team was  Christina’s, she chose Frenchie, and Taralyn, who knocked me out with her audition on “Breathe” on the first show.. This was a GREAT performance, Taralyn tore it up. Frenchie has a nice tone, is strong, but Taralyn tore my heart out.

I was so sad that Frenchie won this one , Taralyn should have gotten it.

Blake was next, and chose, Tyler and Patrick.. Patrick killed in the auditions, with “Live like you were Dyin” But, Tyler killed it with “Hey Soul Sister” But, it went to Patrick. I hated to see Tyler go. The problem here is, they are all good!

Adam was next with help from Adam Blackstone who is Maroon Five’s Musical Director. Adam chose 16 year old Casey, and Tim. Two different styles. Neither one of them impressed me much. Tim is a solid pro. He will always work. Singing   “Leather and Lace” a good one for Casey, she has nasality. Tim was OK, but this wasn’t a good song for him.  But these two, are not winning the season, so I’m not committed to them. Adam chose Casey. I don’t get it.

Cee lo said something interesting. He said, Casey sounded like Stevie Nicks. She was all excited, “Oh, thank you.” Then he said, “That”s not a good thing. You want to sound like you!” And yet, she won over the more experienced Tim.

Cee Lo had the next pairing, Vickie Martinez and Nicki Dawson with Pink’s “Perfect”. This is a great song, I love Pink.  Cee lo was a good coach. Of all the singers, he is the least singer of them and he was the best as far as advice. I like Cee Lo I want to work with him!   I am a Nicki fan myself. No contest. I am watching live, so let’s see what happens.  The prize of staying goes to………VICKI I have lost my touch ya’ll.

That is tonight’s show, a lot of really good people went home. But , like Idol,, we will hear from these people again. I have no doubt. Thanks for reading my blogs, thank you so much for your comments, goodnight, and sleep tight.

Jessica Marciel
Las Vegas Vocal Training

I can’t wait for tonight’s episode, where I hear that is got heated when the first elimination took place. I’ll be blogging it.

Ok, now I know. It isn’t in my mind, I am not going crazy. Michelle McNulty is the casting director for “The Voice”. She has said, they were looking for real artists. She went everywhere, clubs, YouTube, rehearsal studios and personal contacts.  They were promising the judges that they would not be listening to people that were so bad they would have to be mean, or cruel to them.

It is an open secret that casting agents have people who recruit performers for these shows.  McNulty admits there are so many great singers out there that have not been tapped, and she wants to find them. The team pursued former American Idol singer Frenchie, who because of nude photo’s had been eliminated.

Another one they pursued was Javier Colon, who was dropped by Capitol, after two albums. {I know how that feels}   The casting agent promised everyone would be good, very good, or great.  This is why I love this show. I love that it is not a three-ring circus.

Jessica Marciel
Las Vegas Vocal Training

Lou White

A year ago, I started working with a Parisian singer who moved to Las Vegas. Her manager and producer were still in Paris, but while in Vegas she planned to work on her voice to re-do her album she had recorded in France the year before. When I started listening to the lyrics, I had no idea how a young woman could feel these dark emotions. Where did it come from? She was so creative, a lot of people will relate to these songs.

Her name at the time was Marine Thuet, but they decided that Lou White would be her new stage name. Marine is young, 23, 22 when she came to me. She had a soulful wonderful voice. the only thing we really worked hard on was her strength, emotion, breathe, and power. When she returned to Paris to record, her manager was thrilled with her voice.

She wrote all her songs, and they were given a funkier, soulful new edge. I loved the new version of these songs I had loved in the original form. She is still going back in May to put some finishing touches on the CD so I can’t let you hear it yet.

We are still working on the songs now, but I can let you peek at her beauty, and tell you that when she comes back with the finished product, we are going to have a new queen of soul in America. So, I will be proud to have been a part of her growth, and proud to present to you, Lou White, “The Rebirth Of Soul”.

Jessica Marciel
Las Vegas Vocal Training

Another one I watch, once-in-a-blue-moon, is The Kardashians; only because it amazes me that it is still on. Every situation is so contrived and the girls, except for mom Kris, sound like they inhaled helium before every show. Speaking as a singer and voice coach, I cannot for the life of me figure out why no one has suggested elocution lessons?
Except for those, a few competition shows, So you think you can Dance, Sing off, and Yes, Idol, that is it for my reality viewing.

When Oprah announced her own network, OWN, I must say I was curious. Then her magazine came out previewing the new shows, more than half are reality shows with people like (cough), excuse me, Ryan O’Neal reconciling with daughter, Tatum!
Oprah also gave BFF, Gayle King ,her own show! OK, cable news has a lot of hours to fill up, but come on! Dr. Oz is terrific. And Nate Berkus, give us more of that and I will watch. give someone a musical variety show, something that has been missing a long time. Oprah, I thought I knew you. we will see what else her dream team can come up with.

I am old enough to remember watching The Ed Sullivan Show. As a dreamy eyed kid, I watched Sullivan when people like Bobby Darin, The Beatles and great singers would entertain the family every Sunday night. The Carol Burnett Show was amazing, even the Mandrel sisters show was great. Sonny and Cher, Judy Garland had a show, Sinatra, times were magical. then the Beverly Hillbillies took over and it was all down hill after that.

Will we ever return to good TV programming? We had The Wire, The Shield, a lot of terrific shows, Sopranos and more, but the musical has become amateur hour, and we are forced to watch regular people competing for a prize and voting from our cell phones and laptops.

I suppose you can’t go back. Everything I miss is old fashioned, out of date, never to return except in Guthy Renker DVD commercials of old Dean Martin shows!

Ed, Judy, Sonny, Cher, Barbra Mandrel, Dean, Mel Torme, Frank, Carol… You all rocked my world growing up, and I wish my students could be exposed to the brilliant TV programing of my day.

In closing, if you do see an infomercial for any of these shows, check them out, you can learn a lot from these pros. Even the Johnny Carson show will expose you to greatness.

Good night and good luck.

Jessica Marciel
Las Vegas Vocal Training

The American public has been a big disappointment to me lately.  I now wonder if the intelligent people in this country are so busy watching the reality shows on TV that are ignoring extreme problems in our country.

I suppose as long as we can tune in and watch Bristol Palin on “Dancing with the Stars” everyone is oblivious as to why this young lady is on this show and why we know her name. I was under the impression to be considered a “Star” you had to accomplish something other than be a VP candidate’s pregnant teenage daughter.

When I watch “Glee” it makes me feel better, when I go out to hear a great band, it makes me feel better. Music is a healing tool, but I fear that this cultural war going on, caused mostly by your upbringing and religion,is going to overtake us.

I am urging anyone that reads my blogs, to be informed about the real world, not to listen to soundbites, carefully edited for bias, and become a citizen of our universe, and give a damn.  Just Google for the news and hear the entire phrase, not the ripped version of their truth.

Now, good news, As I watch the first episode of Glee , I am impressed by the new talent they hired. A diverse group, a rapper, a long haired blonde pretty boy, and a little Filipino cutie , good singer. I”m wondering if  any of them were chosen by that internet audition bit they pulled over the summer.  The show loses my interest when they aren’t singing and dancing, but it does deal with real issues and I enjoy the show.

I have many new students, now, and a lot of them are really good. I am going to have a great 2011, I wish you do too, and keep reading my  blog posts.

American Idol has gone to the internet for auditions, you can go to the official site and upload your video.  Gee, wonder where they got that idea?

X Factor… bring it on!!!

Jessica Marciel
Las Vegas Vocal Training

Fifth Avenue member, Jerry Jones, is a friend, and I went to support him, support live music, and simply enjoy the show.. The band was great, Bill Fayne, on keys and Musical Director,  John Wedemeyer on guitar, Mike Meecham, on drums, Jamie Hosmer on second string keys, and last but not least the infamous Lenny Lopez on vocals and percussion.

The audience was filled with celebrities and retired gray-haired seniors who live nearby, play the slots and see whatever show is there. The people next to us had no idea who they were seeing. The showroom was filled to capacity.

The show opened with big screen comedic bit on cavemen about how harmony started, featuring Sid Caesar. The cavemen dropped heavy boulders on the feet of people and their screams became a vocal choir. Very funny concept.

Fifth Avenue then sang us through vocalese history and did bits of songs from different decades, another clip from the Music Man with Robert Preston setting up the barbershop music segment.

A significant chunk of the show took me down memory lane. My dad was the drummer for the Hi-Lo’s (which is mis-spelled on Fifth Avenues website). I grew up on the music of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, when Annie Ross left, it became  Lambert, Hendricks, and Bavan. I was singing “Twisted” and “Cloudburst” as a child. So, it was great to hear this music again. Are they as clean and precise as the Hi-Lo’s? No, not all the time, but the performances were superb.

The arranger Rob Hyatt is extremely talented as a vocal arranger, I just felt that some arrangements were unnecessarily complex. At times, less can be more.

I was in a vocal group, Commonwealth, and I know the hours and hours of rehearsal it takes to pull this off. We used to sing the horn parts and use fewer musicians, and had to be perfect every show. It is very demanding and I hope the audience realized just how hard these guys worked to make it happen.

The singers, Jerry Jones, Bryce Robinson, Jeff Celentano and Rob Hyatt, all have great stage presence and are funny, too.  Rob has an amazing range, went from top to bass, and Jeff has a great lead singer voice. Bryce has a great voice for theater and recording. Jerry has the mid-range, root note range with warmth in it.

Together, they do have what it takes to be a great group. Guest and new singer for the band, Tyriq Johnson joined them for Maroon Five’s “Sunday Morning”, the song they did for the TV show “The Sing Off”, they are waiting to see if they come back to do the show this coming season.

They opened with “Come Rain Or Come Shine” one of my favorite songs, and when they got to the 70′s era, Jamie and Lenny sang The Beatles’ “Come Together”.

One of the high points of the nights for me was the Fifth Dimension’s “Up, Up and Away”. Beautiful job on a splendid arrangement.

They spoofed The Jordanaires singing with no lead singer, and brought someone up from the audience to play Elvis, He didn’t know the song and it was pretty  funny when “Teddy Bear” was just back up. They killed it when they did the Four Seasons because Rob had that high Frankie Valli range.

If you get the chance to see Fifth Avenue, You will have a good time.  If you are a music lover, you will love every genre they cover, and that is many.

It all ended on a positive note for me, go on guys, Sing Sing Sing.

Jessica Marciel
Las Vegas Vocal Training

Every cast member has their own unique talent and niche. They have infused some dancers to really make it a production everytime they do a number. Kristen Chenowith, and Neil Patrick Harris have added a lot. The coach character, antagonist, Jane Lynch can get on my nerves and sometimes I wish she would take a week off. Mercedes, the black singer is amazing, and is consistent. When they took the coach and let her run with Madonna’s Vogue, I was shocked. Even she could sing!

I think all my students should watch this show as homework, this is a study of people who know their craft. triple threats, sing, dance, act. The subject matter may be a little mature for the little ones, but if you are over 11, this show is for you. The producer, Ryan Murphy, has struck a chord with the country. He knew exactly what would work, who would would work, and gave us this magical gift, Glee.

Glee is this generation’s Fame; and they knew the formula. I’m hooked, I am even looking forward to the Thursday night re-runs starting soon. Any show that can do Lady Gaga’s Poker Face as a ballad with Idina and Lea kicking butt, is worth gold.

Watching Glee, in its entirety, or just for the music performances, is worthwhile for every singer. Both Seasons 1 & 2 are out on DVD. It’s worth the investment.

Jessica Marciel

Las Vegas Vocal Training

Why? Because the winner is under contract and has to record what they tell them, and won’t make a dime until the CD is released, and touring. OK, they probably give an advance for living expenses. The big number they can make for the CD,, drum roll,,,,,,, 100,000$ That is it.  That is not a lot of money. Not for being an American Idol!

The final 12 will make some money on the Ford commercials, and the short summer tour. Then they are on their own. The lucky ones, probably, Mike Lynch, and perhaps Casey, will be recording. No One will be as big as Adam Lambert.  So, Casey went home tonight, and that is right. He didn’t deserve to be in the finals. But I’m not buying those CD’s. I am buying the good stuff. There are enough little girls who will buy Casey‘s CD’s. That is our freedom as a nation, someone for everyone.

I am hoping that next season is more exciting, more surprising, and that whoever replaces Simon will be someone who helps and advices. I wish the Producers would change and let the voice coach’s actually HELP the contestants and not tie their hands.

I am guessing this will be a very close race next week. Lee has closed in on Crystal big time, and I am not sure she could emotionally handle winning. My guess is she is missing her child very much. She seems fragile to me. She reminds me of Janis Joplin, a small, talented, shy little girl, to whom fame came on blasting and blaring. I met Janis backstage at HAIR, when I was just 18.  She was a regular girl. Small and sweet, and much prettier than her pictures.  Whoever it will be next week, I will be very very busy getting people ready for the auditions coming soon to a town kind of near you. It is a busy crazy time for me, and I will start my vitamins tomorrow!

Jessica Marciel
Las Vegas Vocal Training