Postmortem: Season 4 Live Playoffs, May 13-14

Coverage for May 13 and 14:

Recap

Interviews

News

How You Can Win A Trip To Meet Adam Levine At ‘The Voice’

AdamLevine_ExperienceWhat fan of The Voice wouldn’t want to meet Adam Levine backstage before the show? Now you can enter to win a chance to do just that – simply by contributing to a good cause.

Adam has partnered with Omaze to create a dream experience for any member of Team Adam: to be flown to Los Angeles, where you and a friend will meet him backstage before a taping of The Voice during next month’s Season 4 live shows. It’s a great gesture to support one of Maroon 5′s charities of choice, Aid Still Required.

How do you get to be that lucky fan? Anyone 18 and over is eligible to win, simply by going to the entry page on Omaze.com and contributing a minimum of $10 to Aid Still Required’s efforts to provide trauma relief to victims of rape and those suffering  from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Haiti. Every entry translates to approximately 10 hours of trauma relief for someone in need.

You have until April 30 to enter to win this fantastic experience; click here to get started. For more information on Aid Still Required and their efforts in Haiti, you can also visit the charity’s official website.

The Voice continues tonight at 8 PM ET/PT on NBC.

(c)2013 Brittany Frederick/Big Red Chairs. Excerpts appear at Starpulse and Examiner with permission. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted. Visit my official website and follow me on Twitter at @bigredchairs.

All Four Mentors Revealed for Season 4 of ‘The Voice’

The Voice - Season 4

Fans of NBC’s The Voice now know everyone who will be helping the superstar coaches when the show returns for its fourth season in March.

It was announced today through Access Hollywood that Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott will be the mentor for Team Adam. She and Adam Levine previously collaborated on the song “Out of Goodbyes,” which appeared on Maroon 5′s third studio album, Hands All Over.

Access Hollywood is a production of NBC’s parent company, NBCUniversal.

This follows the previous reveals of the other three mentors. Team Blake has enlisted the services of Sheryl Crow, while Team Usher will have Pharrell Williams, and Team Shakira is joined by Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden – who is himself a coach on the Australian version of The Voice.

The Voice returns on March 25.

For more from Brittany Frederick on The Voice, visit Big Red Chairs and follow me on Twitter (@bigredchairs).

(c)2013 Brittany Frederick/Big Red Chairs. Appears at Starpulse and Examiner with permission. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted.

January News Roundup

Howdy, The Voice fans! You might have noticed things got a little quiet around here in January, and for that I apologize. As some of you know, I work as a full-time TV reporter, which means I had to go off and cover all the new shows coming out this month. On top of that, I got sick. So, I’ve condensed all the news from January into this one handy post.

Here’s some of the important stuff that happened this month:

  • We learned who some of the mentors are for Season 4 of The Voice. Team Blake has Sheryl Crow (good choice, but will she be as funny as Michael Buble?!). Team Shakira has Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden (who is also a coach on The Voice Australia). Team Usher has Pharrell Williams. Team Adam, we’re looking in your direction…
  • Season 3 winner Cassadee Pope officially signed her record deal with Universal, and gave us a video update on what she’s been doing – find that here.
  • Blake Shelton put out a new single, “Sure Be Cool If You Did,” and announced spring tour dates. Go here for all your Blake info.
  • Pip‘s EP No Formalities is now available on iTunes, and Tje Austin has released his new album, Dreamin’ Big. Still to come is Tim Mahoney‘s new album, Shine Through. Stay tuned for reviews of all three coming this weekend!
  • Mathai is working on her new EP, tentatively set to release in February. Stay tuned…
  • Terry McDermott posted a cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine” and some of his original music on SoundCloud.
  • Adam Levine hosted Saturday Night Live. You can find links to almost all the sketches Adam was in, over here.
  • Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera took home some People’s Choice Awards.
  • Katrina Parker launched a Kickstarter effort to fund her next release – go here for that.
  • Kim Yarbrough is busy acting: she’s got a guest spot on the upcoming season of TNT’s Southland and her Nickelodeon pilot was just picked up to series! Congrats, Kim!
  • Lots and lots of tour dates. Be sure to check out the tour calendar to see if your favorite artist is back on the road in January or February.
  • And congratulations to new coach Shakira on the birth of her son Milan!

Is there anything that I missed over the last month? Shoot me a comment and I’ll get it added to the site!

Adam Levine Hosts ‘Saturday Night Live’

Adam Levine hosted Saturday Night Live last night. While it wasn’t a great episode – despite Adam’s best efforts – if you missed any of it, here are the links to most of the sketches in which Adam appeared. Make sure you check out the new Digital Short.

(Missing is the Maroon 5/Train/Jason Mraz/John Mayer bar feud skit.)

Did you watch SNL on Saturday? What did you think of Adam’s hosting debut? Weigh in by leaving a comment.

Episode Postmortem: Season 3 Finale

The Voice - Season 3NBC has crowned its third ‘The Voice’ in just over a year – and on Tuesday evening, the winner, the runners-up and the coaches joined Big Red Chairs on the red carpet to give their final thoughts about the junior season of the hit series.

Team Blake’s pop-rocker Cassadee Pope was named the winner of the competition at the end of Tuesday night’s season finale, joining previous winners Javier Colon from Team Adam in Season 1 and Jermaine Paul from Team Blake in Season 2.

Her win was expected by most of America – and also by her fellow finalists, teammate Terry McDermott and Team Cee Lo’s Nicholas David. “Absolutely,” said Terry when asked if he had thought Cassadee would take home the title. “I think the biggest reason we had that feeling was because her songs had been reaching such a large cross-section of the public. Her continually crushing iTunes speaks volumes for itself.”

“She deserves it,” he continued. “The right person’s won.”

Added Nicholas, “I had a feeling i was going to go a long time ago – but I never looked at it like a competition. I’ve always just been blessed to be here.”

Even Cassadee, who previously stated that she tried not to be affected by the buzz, said she felt confident in her chances. “At one point I felt like ‘Okay, this could become a reality,’” she said. “I actually felt that back when ‘Over You; got to number one. I was like, ‘If this keeps happening I might have a shot.’”

It proved to be just one of her many charting iTunes hits that helped deliver her the title – as those iTunes downloads which were in the Top 10 singles chart at the close of each round of voting had their total number of downloads (which then translated directly into votes) multiplied by ten.

Her coach, Blake Shelton, had plenty to say about Cassadee’s victory and how he would continue to support her after the show, as he has done with many of his artists throughout the history of The Voice. “She knows that this doesn’t end with the finale of The Voice, [our] relationship,” he told reporters. “I don’t want to make one dime off of her in my life, but i do want to see her go on to be a superstar and end up in relationships in this business that are the best for her.

“If I’ve got to get in the way of something that she doesn’t like or she doesn’t agree with, then I will because I’m her friend,” he continued. “I’m her friend, I’m Terry’s friend, and I will be until the day I die. I just want to see them do whatever it is they dream of doing because they’re good people and they deserve it.”

His fellow coaches Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera – who celebrated her birthday on Tuesday – also weighed in on Team Blake taking the title for the second straight season. “It’s not about did the right person win,” said Christina. “I just think that she kept improving week by week and I think we all recognized that.”

Agreed Adam, “It was her moment. Cassadee excelled at the best times. We’re really happy, even though it’s not our team, we’re happy for Cassadee.

“We chose Cassadee, too, she just didn’t choose us,” he quipped. “We all chose the winner, damn it.”

The coaches closed the season with one final performance reflecting on their three seasons together. As previously revealed in September, Christina and Cee Lo will not be part of The Voice Season 4. They will be replaced by Shakira and Usher respectively.

However, both Christina and Cee Lo are on record as saying they want to return for Season 5, as the series has been renewed through that fifth cycle, which is expected air in the fall of 2013.

What’s next for each of the three finalists? “I’m going to release something quick,” said Cassadee, who asked her fans to support the new music she’ll put out.. “I have to, and it’s going to be great.” You can keep up with her on Twitter at @CassadeePope.

“I’m going home,” said Minnesota native Nicholas, who has family time and Christmas shopping on his to-do list, as “I haven’t really had time to do anything except the show.” He can be found on Twitter at @thefeelin.

“I’ve always been motivated by new music and being part of it and creating it,” said Terry, who added that he has “an idea and direction” for what he wants to do next. His Twitter handle is @TerryMacMusic.

All three artists reflected on the many accomplishments they’d achieved through being part of The Voice‘s third season. “There’s so many, from the chair turning to meeting all the people,” said Nicholas. “Meeting Cee Lo, to sing with Cee Lo, meeting Bill Withers, to sing with Smokey Robinson. it’s a freaking adventure of a lifetime and that’s the truth.”

“I’ve been lucky enough to meet some wonderful people along this ride and really form relationships with some great people,” concurred Terry. “It’s made it such a pleasurable journey. there’s been nothing negative about this experience.”

Cassadee was able to perform with her musical idol, Avril Lavigne, and remarked that “I met her and she just blew my mind with how nice she was and how thankful she was to have me there.”

Still, she added, she’s ready to see what the music world has in store for her next. “I’m absolutely happy to move onto the next chapter,” she added.

The Voice returns in just over three months – Season 4 premieres on March 25, 2013.

For more from Brittany Frederick on The Voice, visit Big Red Chairs and follow me on Twitter (@bigredchairs).

(c)2012 Brittany Frederick/Big Red Chairs. Appears at Starpulse and Examiner with permission. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted.

Maroon 5, Blake Shelton Earn Grammy Nominations

Adam Levine might be out of the running on The Voice, but on Wednesday night he received a great consolation prize: two Grammy nominations.

Levine and his band Maroon 5 earned recognition in the ‘Best Pop Duo/Group Performance’ category for their hit single “Payphone,” and their most recent album Overexposed was also on the short list for the ‘Best Pop Vocal Album’ trophy.

Maroon 5 has won three Grammy Awards and been nominated for six others. The band also performed at Wednesday’s nominations concert, televised by CBS.

The Voice coach Blake Shelton is also a nominee in the ‘Best Country Solo Performance’ category for the song “Over” from his album Red River Blue.

His wife – and Team Blake’s advisor in Season 2 – Miranda Lambert was nominated in the ‘Best Country Album’ category for her release Four the Record.

Another Voice advisor, Kelly Clarkson, is up for four prizes. Her album Stronger is a nominee for ‘Record of the Year’ as well as ‘Best Pop Vocal Album.’ The title track is also a contender for ‘Song of the Year’ and ‘Best Pop Solo Performance.’ Clarkson also worked with Team Blake in the second season.

The Grammys will be awarded on February 10 at 8 PM ET/PT on CBS.

The Voice continues next Monday at 8 PM ET/PT on NBC.

For more from Brittany Frederick on The Voice, visit Big Red Chairs and follow me on Twitter (@bigredchairs).

(c)2012 Brittany Frederick/Big Red Chairs. Appears at Examiner with permission. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted.

Episode Postmortem: Season 3 Live Shows, Night 11

The Voice - Season 3

The Voice may have only one coach standing by the time the show reaches its December 17-18 finale.

Tuesday night, Big Red Chairs talked with the two artists who were eliminated from the NBC singing competition, and with their dismissal another coach was also knocked out of contention. Adam Levine saw both his remaining artists – Melanie Martinez and Amanda Brown – sent home after the results of America’s vote were revealed.

Coaches Blake Shelton and Cee Lo Green each have two artists still up for The Voice grand prize, but with two more singers being eliminated next week, it’s possible that either of them could also be left without anyone in the race.

For his part, although he has half the competing field on his team, Shelton isn’t taking it easy. “Even though two coaches are eliminated, I’m not changing anything,” he said Tuesday night. “It’s listening that got Team Blake here and that’s what’s going to keep us here hopefully, is communicating with each other and being sure that when we do pick a song, it’s for a really good reason. It needs to be something that they’re passionate about every time they go on that stage.”

Melanie Martinez said afterward that she wasn’t surprised by her elimination. “Me and Amanda are really close, so we kind of felt it today. We felt that we were both leaving, and we felt really bad because we’re like ‘we’re both on Team Adam and he’s got nobody left,’” she said with a laugh, but added, “I think it’s not really about that. I think it’s just genuinely about being yourself and just showing who you are as an artist on the show.”

She added that she benefited from having The Voice come along at such an early point in her career. “I think that this is an amazing opportunity and I’ve grown as an artist because of the people like Amanda who’ve been through so much,” she said. “They’ve definitely taught me a lot.”

You can continue to keep up with Melanie via Twitter (@MelanieLBBH).

“I don’t feel any kind of negativity in regards to this entire experience,” reflected Amanda Brown. “I made it to the Top 6 and I feel like it was just a tremendous accomplishment for me. There’s nothing but love and positivity and hope for the future.”

“I feel really proud of those performances and really proud of the decisions that I made. I really left my all on the stage last night and so I don’t think I would have changed anything,” she continued. “I’ve definitely learned a lot about myself along this entire journey and I feel like the lessons that I’ve learned I most definitely will take with me.”

What will she take away personally from The Voice? “Definitely being able to work with Cee Lo and Adam was an amazing opportunity,” she said, “and just to be in the company of such talented young artists. I feel both honored and excited for their journey and excited for mine.”

You can continue to keep up with Amanda via Twitter (@Amanda__Brown).

Their coach was philosophical about Tuesday’s results. “You know, you win things and you lose things. If you win everything all the time, then you wouldn’t be human. It’s kind of how you respond to the losing and tweak things and change things and come back that much stronger for understanding the dynamics of whatever failures you make,” Levine said.

“No one failed. That’s what’s really crazy,” he continued. “So they didn’t get the $53,000 after taxes and the really crazy weird record deal that they are already going to get anyway. Those six people are winners and every single one of them should be proud for however much further they make it in the competition.

“I think actually, there are so many amazing allegiances that have been formed on the show that are so great that, that is the saddest thing to see end – the camaraderie amongst artists.

“It’s on to a new chapter for these guys,” he added. “Listen, the winner has to go home too. People don’t realize that. The winner probably experiences the biggest culture shock when they say to themselves, ‘Now what?’ The winner still has to go home. Don’t forget that.”

Cassadee Pope, Terry McDermott, Nicholas David and Trevin Hunte remain.

The Voice continues next Monday at 8 PM ET/PT on NBC.

For more from Brittany Frederick on The Voice, visit Big Red Chairs and follow me on Twitter (@bigredchairs).

(c)2012 Brittany Frederick/Big Red Chairs. Appears at Starpulse and Examiner with permission. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted.

Video: Maroon 5 on ‘Saturday Night Live’

This week, Maroon 5 were the musical guest on Saturday Night Live alongside actor Jeremy Renner. Here are links to both their musical performances and the sketch in which Adam Levine appears.

Maroon 5 performs ‘One More Night’
Maroon 5 performs ‘Daylight’
Adam Levine appears as himself in ‘The Stand Off’ sketch

Photos From ‘The Voice’ House of Blues Concert

If you weren’t able to catch last night’s The Voice coaches/Top 12 performance at House of Blues Sunset Strip, no worries – I have you covered. Here are photos of each of the Top 12 from House of Blues via the Big Red Chairs Facebook page. You can also see NBC’s photos of the coaches in my Examiner news blast. I have some photos of the coaches that I shot which I’ll be posting over the weekend. Enjoy!