The Voice of the Philippines vs The Voice UK

It has been a month since ABS-CBN started to show The Voice of the Philippines. It is “that” late for me to write about this show because I simply wanted to make sure that my observations are not only based on one episode, but they are to reflect the entire show (or season, that is). I hope that is a valid reason.

The show opened very “softly”, a description I have once read online. Well, the thing is, as of today, I could not already remember the show’s first episode. However, I remember feeling satisfied about it, considering that it was my first time to watch any The Voice show. I do not have any idea about the show. I did not know how that show even works! I purely thought that it was just another singing competition. We have that tons of those here in the Philippines, as a lot of you might know. But what actually led me to watching the show is my interest on the coaches.

I have long admired Ms. Lea Salonga. For me, she had successfully established a very good reputation, that whatever she does, it would always be appreciated and applauded. She is the type of singer that anyone can listen to for the whole day. She sings songs with the right emotions and sounds like she came from heaven. Being known internationally is not all that I admire from her, but the fact that she is proud to be a Filipino is more admirable for me. Simply put, she is Lea Salonga.

Another international artist that I probably have not expected to be a coach in the competition is Apl De Ap from the Black Eyed Peas. I am not very familiar with international stars such as him, but I am just surprised to see him on the show, as I was expecting him to be very busy with his career, of course. He is another proud-to-be Filipino, and in the same way, I know the whole Philippines is very proud of him as well.

Bamboo, on the other hand, is well known in the Philippines. For me, he is a true artist because he has a style that one can easily differentiate. I think I can just compare his artistry to Adam Levine’s. Adam simply sings songs differently, that is, even without changing the arrangement of the song. Likewise, Bamboo also has his own way of expressing the songs that he sings. There is this certain tone in his voice that I simply could not describe. If you were probably able to listen to just even one of his songs, you definitely know what I am talking about.

Sarah Geronimo is another talented singer. I believe she is known internationally as well, although not as much as Apl and Lea. She can belt out songs with high notes, and has a great control of her voice. Most aspiring singers, I believe, want to be like her. That is based on my experience in watching shows that interview aspiring singers. She has a “good girl” reputation. She is known to be kind, respectful, down to earth, conservative and professional individual. By the way, she is the only actress I know that does not do kissing scenes even when she is already 20+. I am not against that decision of hers, I just find it extraordinary.

Going back, watching The Voice of the Philippines was my first time to watch that show ever. Because of that, I started to search for The Voice of other countries. I searched The Voice US at first, but I just did not know what happened that I was led to watching The Voice UK (Season 2).

With The Voice UK, I am familiar with all of the coaches. They all have their own capabilities and strengths. The coaches are more interesting for me because I think they have equal playing field. They are all known internationally, that’s why. Each can offer different styles, and they know their craft very well.

I started watching The Voice UK “after” I have watched the first episode of the Philippines’. I enjoyed watching The Voice of the Philippines, if you are asking. I just needed to compare it with others so that I can truly say that it is better. But based on after I have watched the UK, I can say that its first episode is much more enjoyable and much tasteful. I do not know if the reason is because it was already the second season, or because The Voice of the Philippines simply fails to smash the ice.

I am trying to disregard that the UK coaches are known more around the world than the Philippines’. I respect all of them for they all have their own talents and good music careers. My point here is that there is something lacking in The Voice of the Philippines.

The introduction of the contestants is good. I even think that part is better than The Voice UK because the hosts, Toni, Alex and Robi, are able to make that portion of a show interesting. For me, the hosts are more visible. They sometimes show one of the hosts giving the invitation to the contestants themselves. I think that is very Filipino, and it is good for them to add that.

With the stage, I think there should be an improvement on that, although it is not very bad.  I remember a friend on Facebook saying that the stage looked “cheap”. The coaches’ seats turn so slowly. Those little things, of course, should match what the show is about. If The Voice of the Philippines wants its viewers to see that it is a “high quality” show or that it is not the typical singing contest, then it should pay attention to these little details. The viewers should get the feel of how great this show is. The coaches are great, sure, but overall, the stage must shine, because that is where the contestants will.

I guess most of what I am saying that is “lacking” comes from the coaches. I have already expressed my admiration to each of them. In fact, they are the reason I have come to watch the show in the first place. However, after watching The Voice UK, there is this connection that I have with UK that I did not have with the Philippines. In UK, there is a story behind the seats of the coaches. As their backs are turned, they are actually looking and communicating with each other. One may encourage the others to push their button. When one has turned, he or she may sometimes tell the others to turn too or tell them how good the contestant is. Some coaches, when turning, sets up a pose. Will and Jessie are the ones I saw doing this, actually. Jessie J particularly is very aggressive in a way that she says what she wants to say. That is absolutely not a bad thing. I see Lea Salonga to be the Jessie J version here in the Philippines, but people mistake her to be OA because her fellow coaches do not seem to react very much. What they do not know is that Lea is the only person among the coaches who is making the show lively. It should not just be her. In UK, Jessie, Danny and Will make the show really lively. They try to have a friendly competition all the time, especially when all four of them have turned. The sense of humor from all of the coaches seems to make the audience stick to the show. That is true for me, at least. I think that is what The Voice of the Philippines lack. There must be more from the coaches. Bamboo rarely talk or react, for me. He must have been the Danny of the Philippines, but he is far from that. Although I admire the fluency of Apl De Ap in speaking the Kapampangan language, he is not very talkative, if that is the right term, as Will I Am in the UK version. On the other hand, I expect Sarah, being the youngest among the coaches, to be one of those to make the show interesting, but it seems like she is holding herself back because she is getting conscious of the professional profile of her seatmates. It may be because of her respect to them that she lets them take the spotlight all the time, but I think she has to grab it sometimes. I guess the reason for the contestants choosing other coaches other than Sarah is because she simply is not showing enough.

Hope I hope that they are able to read this blog. I do not want to criticize; I just want The Voice of the Philippines to be better.

Do you have any comments too? I would also like to hear your take. Do not be afraid to drop a comment below. Thank you!