Saturday, November 11, 2017

The Voice Season Thirteen Knockout Round Power Ranking



Usually coming out of the Knockouts, I rave about how Blake’s post-Blind team is average at best, but since he made the most strategic pairings and wisest winners, he goes into the Live Shows with the strongest teams. Except this season he is just abysmal. Sure the person he Stole is high on my list but his other four are in the bottom half of my list including the bottom two. Making things worse, two of his castoffs, Adam and Noah, have much brighter futures.

Speaking of questionable decisions, Miley, who has hosted my favorite team up to this point, does not seem to know how to play the game. A quick spoiler for the iTunes chart below, the top two people on the list were on her team at the start of the season, but now or on Adam and Blake’s team, two guys who have been here since the beginning. And that does not even include Karli Webster who did not have a chance to chart this round despite doing well on the charts the previous two rounds because Miley sent her home and she was inexplicably not stolen even though the other three Miley Knockout winners ranged from meh to just bad. Added to that she had the worst Steal of the round.

Imagine Miley could be going into Live Shows with Addison, Karli, Chloe, then take your pick between Brooke or Ashland, and then maybe Stolen Lucas or even gotten Hannah instead of Jennifer, that would have been one of the strongest Live Show teams even, instead, her team is just… meh. Oh well, it may be time for me to check out. Unless the comeback artists are Karli, Lucas, and, um… oh goodness, Blake and Adam really do not have much to bring back. I wonder if they could bring back Ignatious and Shilo, two people Jennifer and Miley should not have dumped in the Battles.

1. Addison Agen (Team Miley Adam): With Karli out, Addison is my token girl whom I am going to be irate when she is eliminate in favor of a bunch of boring white dudes this season. Well either that or Adam will force to sing Shania Twain.

2. Hannah Mrozak (Team Adam Jennifer): The most head scratching decision of the season. Sadly not even the top five worst Adam decisions of all time.

3. Adam Cunningham (Team Blake Adam): Blake is usually the most obvious coach, but I would have to put this second most shocking Blake decision after Nic Hawk over Holly Henry. But now on Adam's team, I have to onder what is worse, Blake's boring country songs, or Adam's bizarre song selections?

4. Chloe Kohanski (Team Miley Blake): Twice she has picked her songs and twice she has gone with Fleetwood Mac, usually not a good sign. Granted The Chain is a rock song and Landslide a ballad. Although if given the chose, Karli would be the better Steal in the long time. Which again shows the flaw in the Knockouts (and Blinds) in that when Steals are gone, they are gone leaving more deserving singers going home. This should be an easy fix.

5. Chris Weaver (Team Jennifer): A Knockout between songs that should be retired. But why is Zombie the only Cranberries song that is ever sung on this show. In fact, Linger, Ode to My Family, and When You’re Gone are better songs too.

6. Janice Freeman (Team Miley): I love my divas on this show, but c’mon, Karli has a much better chance going further. Karli was the iTunes leader while Janice barely sold any at this point and will likely go nowhere during the Playoffs. Seriously, Karli’s Battle performance was not the far two weeks later than Janice’s Knockout this round. If they were doing the stupid Coach’s Comeback again, Karli should be the obvious choice. But then again I remember people thinking that stupid twist was created during the Andi and Alex season, other big iTunes selling, and yet Adam brought back some nobody instead.

7. Davon Fleming (Team Jennifer): That was another fine performance but you really cannot help but roll your eyes at the song choice an think, could you pick something less cheesy next time?

8. Noah Mac (Team Blake Jennifer): Nothing says, this is just a prop more than walking away from the piano during a performance and no one notices the music change.

9. Brooke Simpson (Team Miley): Fine, I guess, but I really do not need to hear another person sing this song, especially a teenager.

10. Shi’Ann Jones (Team Jennifer): Wait, Lucas lost to like a high school freshman? What?

11. Esera Tuaolo (Team Blake): Like I said before, Blake is the most obvious to the point I did not even think I needed to see this Knockout. Adam is a finalist contender (at least on Team Blake, Adam’s track record with country artists is not good), Esera seems like Playoff fodder unless Blake saves him.

12. Jon Mero (Team Adam): From what they shows, it looked kind to montage Jon because what they did show was mostly embarrassing. Make me wonder if the other guy just happen to be worse or they montaged it to keep Adam from looking bad for picking him.

13. Keisha Renee (Team Blake): Yeah diversity I guess, but that was boring.

14. Emily Luther (Team Adam): Is she a late addition to the show because I do not remember her from the first two rounds. Maybe I nodded off like I fell asleep while watching this performance.

15. Adam Pearce (Team AdamMiley): Deep Purple on The Voice? Surprising, what’s not surprising: how much money… a coach on the show wasting a Steal. And that was twice Miley ruined Herstory with an underserving male.

16. Moriah Formica (Team Miley): I really liked Moriah’s first two performances, but that was just bad. Clearly a sign of Miley knowing who was going to win before anyone sang a note. Maybe Miley should have pitted her with Karli with the latter advancing, that would have made a much stronger team.

17. Ashland Craft (Team Miley) – Well that was kind of boring and bland.

18. Anthony Alexander (Team Adam): Seriously, what was Adam thinking? The coach’s banter has become unwatchable so I just watch the YouTube clips, but I may have to go back and watch that segment just so I can hear Adam’s absurd explanation.

19. Red Marlow (Team Blake): Oh, Blake, you are killing me this season with your most bland brand of country singers in the history of the show.

20. Mitchell Lee (Team Blake): Fork this guy. I actually saw Hootie and the Blowfish and Edwin McCain back in ’95 and this boring soft rocker to ruin both of them. Seriously, fork this guy.


oh wow, the top four are all Steals. Some bad decisions all around. But I mentioned how Blake and Adam know how to play the game since they have been here since the beginning, but apparently her years on The Voice UK gave Jennifer some need experience. Sure her team is a bit homogeneous with Chris and Davon being interchangeable. But to me she has the strongest team followed by Adam, with Miley dropping to third after a bunch of bad decisions and Blake following up the rear with his most boring team ever. Which probably means he will win. But let us look at the iTunes results:


1. Chloe Kohanski (11)
2. Addison Agen (34)
3. Noah Mac (40)
4. Red Marlow (96)
5. Emily Luther (99)
6. Davon Fleming (118)
7. Esera Tuaolo (130)
8. Adam Cunningham (141)
9. Janice Freeman (154)
10. Keisha Renee (159)
11. Mitchell Lee (163)
12. Chris Weaver (169)
13. Ashland Craft (189)
14. Addison Agen and Karli Webster (198)
15. Brooke Simpson (261)
16. Moriah Formica (263)
17. Hannah Mrozak (421)
18. Chloe Kohanski – The Chain (450)
19. Shi’Ann Jones (510)
20. Ashland Craft – You Are My Sunshine (589)
21. Noah Mac - Way Down We Go (704)
22. Adam Pearce (760)
23. Addison Agen – Jolene (744)
24. Anthony Alexander (828)
25. Jon Mero (837)
26. Keisha Renee and Noah Mac (924)
27. Ashland Craft and Megan Rose (1132)

So Addison, Ashland, and Noah are the only three that charted all three songs this round (Chloe being the only one to chart two of them).  Are these your front runners?  Here is how they would rank if you average their three peaks:

1. Addison Agen (91)
2. Ashland Craft (167)
3. Noah Mac (169.3)
4. Brooke Simpson (199)
5. Davon Flemming (299.3)
6. Adam Cunningham (310.6)
7. Mitchell Lee (337.6)
8. Moriah Formica (339.6)
9. Chris Weaver (346.6)
10. Jon Mero (396)
11. Keisha Renee (402.3)
12. Emily Luther (447.6)
13. Anthony Alexander (477.3)
14. Hannah Mrozak (517.3)
15. Red Marlow (670)
16. Esera Tuaolo (673)

There were four who either did not chart their Blind Audition or Battle, but if you average the two that did chart, it would go Janice Freeman (190), Chloe Kohanski (288), Shi’Ann Jones (392.5), and Adam Pierce (520). If you put the top twenty in a formula to see who has the best team, here is how they rank:

Adam – 63
Jennifer – 55
Miley – 54
Blake – 38

As usual, Adam is the iTunes king, except he kind of lucked into this round with his top two charters are both Steals while his original singers are middling from 10-14. Blake is surprisingly bad. His best is at seven, behind two of his cast offs. Of course these are based on averages, just looking at the most recent round, he has two of the top four. And country voters usually do not start buying in force until the semi-finals, so I would not count out Mitchell or Keisha. Alright, prediction time:

Team Adam
America Saves: Addison, Adam
Adam Saves: Jon

Team Blake
America Saves: Mitchell, Red
Blake Saves: Keisha

Team Jennifer
America Saves: Noah, Davon
Jennifer Saves: Shi’Ann

Team Miley
America Saves: Ashland, Brooke
Miley Saves: Janice

Elimination Order: Shi’Ann, Janice, Brooke
Eliminated During Bloodbath: Jon , Addison, Red, Davon, Noah
Finalists: Keisha, Ashland, Mitchell
Winner: Adam (and it will be even more unwatchable next season hearing how Adam beat Blake with his own singer)


Friday, November 10, 2017

Around the Tubes: 11/10/2017



I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Shut Eye, POV, Superstition, The Detour, The Mindy Project, The Alienist, Shameless. Foo Fighters, Chuck Berry, N.E.R.D., Billy Idol, Diana Ross, Aly and AJ, Nickelback.

- Check out the official trailer for the second season of the Hulu original drama series Shut Eye. All 10 episodes of Season 2 premiere Wednesday, Dec. 6 only on Hulu.


- Iraq veterans Tom Voss and Anthony Anderson, haunted by combat experiences, decided to distance themselves from their demons by taking a 2,700 mile walk from Milwaukee to Santa Barbara, seeking redemption, acceptance and a way to close the deep moral chasm opened by war. That trek is the centerpiece of Almost Sunrise, a new film by director Michael Collins and Producer Marty Syjuco, whose Emmy-nominated "Give Up Tomorrow" aired on PBS in 2012. Almost Sunrise debuts on POV and all streaming devices Monday, November 13, 2017 at 10 p.m. (check local listings).

- Superstition centers around the Hastings family, owners of the only funeral home in the mysterious town of La Rochelle, Georgia. The family also acts as the keepers of the town’s dark secrets and history. Known for its haunted houses, elevated graveyards, odd townsfolk, and rich history of unusual phenomena, the town is also a “landing patch” for the world’s darkest manifestations of fear, guided into the world by an ancient, mysterious malefactor. XLrator Media’s Barry Gordon and MVPTV’s Mario Van Peebles (“Roots,” “Bloodline,” “Hand of God,” “Empire,” “Lost”) will produce, and Van Peebles will also write, direct and star in some of the episodes. Joel Anderson Thompson (“Battlestar Galactica,” “Boomtown,” “House M.D.”) has been tapped as showrunner and Laurence Andries (“Alias,” “Six Feet Under,” “Supernatural,” “The Pacific”) will executive produce. Episode 104 - "Through the Looking Glass" - Airs Friday, November 10 at 10:00 on SYFY.

- Created, written and executive-produced by Jason Jones and Samantha Bee, The Detour is an all-too-honest look at the family dynamic. Jones stars in the acclaimed comedy with Natalie Zea, Ashley Gerasimovich, Liam Carroll, Daniella Pineda and Laura Benanti. Season 3 finds the Parkers on the lam in Alaska. After months of running, the family finally finds a community of misfits and decides to settle down and start rebuilding their lives. But they’re not out of the woods, as the law isn’t far behind. While Nate and Robin learn to take on new roles in the family, Delilah starts to become a young woman. And Jareb...well he’s still Jareb. Well intentioned, bad parenting at its best in the Land of the Midnight Sun.


- In the series finale of The Mindy Project, Streaming 11/14, Mindy’s fertility practice is in danger and Annette’s (Rhea Perlman) upcoming surgery looms large. While Mindy and Danny (Chris Messina) wait for word on the surgery, Mindy attends Morgan (Ike Barinholtz) and Tamra’s (Xosha Roquemore) dream wedding, where she and the rest of the Shulman gang try to find their own happy endings.

- Twenty-three years after its original release, Random House is republishing the Anthony Award-winning international bestseller, The Alienist, by Caleb Carr, available in bookstores nationwide on Tuesday, Nov. 21. The novel sold millions of copies after spending six months on the New York Times bestseller list. Turner's TNT will tap into the critically-acclaimed novel with the eagerly anticipated premiere of its original series, The Alienist, which is slated to premiere on Monday, Jan. 22 at 9:00 across TNT platforms.

- On the heels of Sunday’s eighth season premiere, which delivered 50 percent year-over-year growth, Showtime has given a ninth season order to Shameless. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc.

- Multi-Grammy-winning rock band Foo Fighters delivers an electrifying, historic performance at the famed Odeon of Herodes Atticus from the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, in the latest installment of Landmarks Live in Concert for THIRTEEN’s Foo Fighters – LANDMARKS Live in Concert: A Great Performances Special. Captured this past July, Foo Fighters – LANDMARKS Live in Concert: A Great Performances Special premieres nationwide Friday, November 10 at 10:00 on PBS (check local listings) and will be available to stream the following day via pbs.org/gperf and PBS OTT apps.

- Geffen/UMe will pay tribute to the immortal spirit of Chuck Berry, who would have turned 91 last month, with the ultimate vinyl version of his landmark greatest hits compilation, The Great Twenty-Eight, as it celebrates its 35th anniversary, with The Great Twenty-Eight: Super Deluxe Edition. On December 15, the album will be released as a limited edition five-disc box set on ‘Chess Blue’ vinyl, limited to only 500 copies worldwide and available exclusively via UDiscoverMusic.com. A wide release standard black vinyl edition will be available next year on January 26, 2018.

- The beats of “Lemon,” the surprising new single from Pharrell Williams’ N.E.R.D. band, are now freely available for all music-makers to play and adapt in ROLI’s NOISE app. Breaking the mold of the traditional soundpack, “Lemon by N.E.R.D” is a “Studiopack” that deconstructs the song into easy-to-use sonic elements that anyone can build back up and take in their own creative direction. Simply touching the screen of a smartphone or tablet brings the song’s sounds to life. Explore the pack today in NOISE, the free music creation app from ROLI.

- There are many who would agree that classic jazz from the 1950s and '60s sounds best when played on the medium it was originally intended for - namely, the vinyl LP. With that in mind, UMe is proud to present three vinyl box sets via Verve Records focusing on key albums from three of jazz's biggest and most influential stars from its golden era: singers Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington, together with tenor saxophone sensation, Stan Getz. Available December 8, each box set contains five of the artists' most popular and enduring albums mastered on 180-gram vinyl, and presented in authentic period sleeves that reproduce the original artwork. For those who prefer CD, the collections will be available on December 15.

- UMe and punk rock icon Billy Idol celebrate several of his best-loved works with newly remastered vinyl reissues of Idol’s first two solo LPs, Billy Idol and Rebel Yell, plus the expansive double-LP greatest-hits collection Idolize Yourself: The Very Best of Billy Idol. Each release is available beginning November 3rd on high-quality vinyl with faithfully reproduced iconic original album art.

- Diana Ross’ NEW album release, Diamond Diana: The Legacy Collection, is a memorable music journey that celebrates her iconic legacy. The 15-song collection contains some of her biggest hit recordings of her career and will be released digitally on November 17 through Motown/UMe. Diamond Diana: The Legacy Collection also includes as a special gift to her fans an exciting new dance club remix of her #1 hit “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

- Today, the duo arrive with Aly and AJ's staggering next installment, I Know, a glittering ode to friendship. From the opening moments, we're greeted with effortless vocals layered over saccharine synths that build to a climactic finish, complete with booming 80's-inspired 808 drums. "I Know" is the second song from their forthcoming EP, "Ten Years," due for release November 17, 2017, their first musical release in a decade. Their new direction is startlingly honest and a bold statement sonically. With their signature sound at the core of each track, the duo have experimented with wistful synths and breathy vocals that are teaming with a restless energy that is impossible to ignore.

- After a nearly seven-year absence from Las Vegas, multi-platinum, chart-topping rock band, Nickelback, is returning to Sin City for an impressive five-night run at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Monster Truck will open all five shows. The limited run is made even more special with the announcement that these shows will be the only North American dates scheduled in 2018. Nickelback released their highly anticipated ninth studio album Feed The Machine, which debuted in the Top 5 on the Billboard charts and recently completed a packed 45-city tour this past summer. Following their Vegas run, Nickelback will embark on the International leg of the Feed The Machine Tour throughout the remainder of 2018 (dates to be announced soon). The Las Vegas shows are scheduled for February 23, 24, 27 and March 2 and 3, 2018. Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, November 10 at 10 a.m. PT.

Sunday, November 05, 2017

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 11/5/2017




Ray Donovan: One day before I watched the finale, Showtime issued a press release saying Ray would be moving to New York next season to reconnect with his daughter. Um, spoiler alert. They could not wait until after the episode to let us know the show was being renewed? This was the network that did not tell up Penny Dreadful was canceled until it placed a title card at the end of the final episode saying “The End”. So I spent the whole time knowing that once Ray set foot in NYC, he would be staying there. Although the bigger disappointment was the season just ended with so many loose ends. So Bridget and Terry are already there. Is that the whole cast for next year? Lena could move because without Ray, she has no job. It sounds like Bunchy is staying in LA since he now owns the bar. Daryll got a producers job though but Micky’s movie could be made in New York. Speaking of Micky, they seem to have him dead to rights with multiple sworn statements, but he is fighting it. It would be hard to think that father/son storyline ends without one killing the other.

The Walking Dead: After shows are inherently silly and a waste of time, but I do leave Talking Dead on while I let my dog do her doggie business one more time out the back door, then turn the television off before hearing to bed. Like I said, Talking Dead is worthless, but it is a good thing I left it on this week because I had absolutely no clue the guy Rick ran into during the final scene was a guy Rick knew. And just as the guest said the scene sent everyone to the Google machine to remember who he was, I was doing just that. So that dude was from the original camp way back in season? Were we really supposed to remember him seven seasons later?
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

White Famous: I spent most of the dinner party wondering if the sex doll was modeled after an actual actress who will show up later as the late wife. Kind of looked like Paula Marshall to me.

Good Behavior: Why exactly did the FBI chick bring the parole officer to the fake cabin? Just to mess with him? He was no help in catching Javier, even inadvertently, and had he called earlier, could have saved Javier. But I am guess that Javier’s childhood friend will keep Javier and Letty from getting to jail. Though I am surprised Letty did not go to jail sooner because her little get money to pay for the spa did not go entirely to plan. And how does the kid not ID her because that wig was not that much different than her regular hair.
You can download Good Behavior on iTunes.

Supergirl: Um, what was that last scene? Where was that pod? What is going on?
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Gifted: You know what, if you know that there was a protest going on that had the potential of being so bad that your boss wants you to come in on your off day, maybe not take your kid to the park right next to where the protest is happening. People that stupid probably should not be having kids. But still, that was cruel to make him forget his child was dead.
You can download The Gifted on iTunes.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: Oh wow, they almost killed Jordan. But I wonder what would have happened had he not been able to compete since the final challenge has stages you have to compete in pairs. Would they have to bring back Tony to compete? Would they just make all the challenges dne by themselves?
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: What a horrible episode, my favorite got voted out and my least favorite found yet another Idol. But as stupid as it was for Turtleneck not float voting out Roark to Ali last week, it was the right decision to get rid of her now because she cannot tell all the other Hustlers he is a weasel next week and may even be able to get around with telling people they went to rocks. But this should make for an interesting merge. Only one Healer gone, two Heroes, half the orginal Hustlers. But three Hustlers cozied up with a Hero during the swap so seems obvious the Heroes will team up with the Hustlers to take out the Healers. Except the Healers have two Idols so it may be a case of can the Healers guess which one of them are they targeting.
You can download Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers on iTunes.

The Blacklist: When they said the case of the week involved a travel agency that just happened to stop assassinating people right around the time communism ended I was really hoping we were getting a The Americans crossover.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Mr. Robot: So we know Angela knows the difference between Elliot and Mr. Robot, but does Darlene? Does she know she was tailing Mr. Robot or think she was following Elliot
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

Gotham: Ah, man, why kill Headhunter already? He was the best think since they aged up Poison Ivy (who they are inexplicably recasting).
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Blindspot: So we learned of one of the big secrets from the premiere, apparently Jame’s big stash of cash was from rescuing kidnapped people… kind of boring.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

Marvel’s Inhumans: Someone was telling me they gave up on the show because it was obvious it was going. I actually counteracted that by saying they just killed off the black guy. In the back of my head I thought, of course they will probably find a way to bring him back And they did just that. Thankfully there is just one episode left
Marvel's Inhumans on iTunes.