You would think that because season two of The Voice is over, that there isn’t anything left to talk about. You would also be wrong. Welcome to Big Red Chairs, the blog for all your Voice needs. This week: should there be new coaches? Do we all understand what’s happening in Maroon 5’s video for “Payphone”? And how cool is it that Pip has a new video out?
It’s been a very odd week, this week. First, we all went through Voice withdrawal…and then we learned that the show would be coming back in the fall. It’s been fast and furious since then: the show ended on May 8, and on May 14 the coaches were spotted at NBC’s upfront presentation in New York City. 1iota, which handles studio audience seating for the voice, posted that season three blind auditions would begin taping June 19. Talk about no rest for the weary!
Should There (or Will There) Be New Coaches?
Ever since the announcement of the two-seasons-a-year model, the interwebs have been buzzing with the rumor that we might see new coaches in the big red chairs. Will there be new coaches? I wouldn’t be surprised. It would seem very difficult for Adam, Blake, Cee Lo and Christina to have the time to coach and continue their own music careers.
For example, Maroon 5’s fourth album Overexposed drops the Tuesday after Season 3 blind auditions are filmed. Will the season 3 schedule impact Adam’s ability to tour with Maroon 5 in support of the album? It’s too early to tell, but go to the band’s website and you’ll see he’s supposed to be playing gigs across South America through parts of July and August, and no US tour has even been announced yet. I don’t think I’m alone when I say that as much as I love The Voice, I see the coaches as musicians first and coaches second.
So should there be new coaches for the future fall seasons? I’m torn. On one hand, I want the current foursome to have time to make new music, tour in support of it, and you know…sleep and spend time with their loved ones and see daylight. If they need to take a break from the show to do that, then they should have it without question.
On the other hand, I’m a fan of the show in part because of this specific group of coaches. What drew me into The Voice at its beginning was the presence of Adam Levine. The show wouldn’t be the same without him, Blake, Cee Lo, Christina and even Purrfect the Cat. Its continued longevity would obviously depend on who the second set of coaches was (thought: if Blake needs time off, could he get wife Miranda Lambert to take his seat?), but I’m very wary of who could fill those chairs.
What do you think, fans? Do you want new coaches for the fall cycles ahead of us? If so, who would you recommend and why?
Analyzing Maroon 5’s “Payphone” video
Speaking of Overexposed, Adam and Maroon 5 came out with possibly the most entertaining music video ever made when they debuted the one for their new hit single “Payphone,” featuring Wiz Khalifa. With a bank robbery, a car chase, and plenty of fire, this is a video that I can only define as “badass.” I personally can’t stop watching it.
However, it also has provoked a lot of discussion by Maroon 5 and Voice fans alike, who have more than a few questions about what happened to Adam in the vid and other things that make us scratch our heads.
The basic plot of the video isn’t too difficult to understand: mild-mannered Adam is working in a bank when it gets robbed (by the rest of the members of his band, of course!). In an unexpected act of heroism, he shoots one of the robbers and he and the obligatory beautiful woman escape the bank – only to be confused for perpetrators by the clueless cops, who open fire.
Adam then leaves the girl behind, steals Wiz Khalifa’s car, and leads the cops on a car chase that ends with lots of destruction before calling from a payphone (because his cell phone stopped working; you can see him throw it at the beginning of the video) to make sure his love interest is all right. Aw, how considerate of him!
But there are a few things that bug me about this vid:
As cool as it is, what does escaping a bank robbery have to do with song lyrics about being dumped by your girlfriend?
Just before Adam steals Wiz’s car, you can see an obvious bloodstain on the left arm of his shirt. Are we supposed to imply that he was wounded by the cops? If so, he’s looking pretty pain-free for a guy with a bullet in his arm – an injury that seems to be gone when we see him using the payphone.
How rare is it that he found a working payphone? And why is the payphone located under a bridge in the middle of nowhere?
Of course, all of these questions are just curiosities; it’s a music video, not something I need to have perfectly explained. The guys of Maroon 5 do seem to have a knack for creating unique videos that don’t necessarily have an obvious link to the songs they’re for (I still want to know why “Makes Me Wonder” takes place partly in an airport), but they’re always really entertaining videos, and that’s the most important part.
Check out the “Payphone” video for yourself below (warning: explicit language) and let me know what you think.
Pip has a new video!
Team Adam’s incredibly awesome (and may I add, adorable) fan favorite Pip uploaded his first original songvid to YouTube this week, and this being Pip, it sounds great. For someone who’s not even old enough to drink yet, he always performs with the maturity of someone much older than that. Give a look and a listen to “Just Today,” my fellow Pipsters…
He’s not the only one who’s got a video out. His teammate Karla Davis has also just sent something our way: an acoustic version of the song “Mississippi Thing” which appears on her new album 360. If you use this link this week, you can pre-order the album and get an autographed copy! And just to tie this all together, did you know Karla did a cover of “Payphone” too?
For more “where are they now” info, you can check out the Q&A’s I’ve done this week with season 1 champ Javier Colon, season 2 Team Cee Lo artist Tony Vincent, and season 2 Team Adam finalist Tony Lucca. If there’s another artist that you’re dying to hear from, let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to include an update in a future blog!
Tour info
Some great tour information for you this week: it’s Season 1 Team Blake reunited as Xenia will be joining Dia Frampton for her June 22 performance at House of Blues San Diego with Scars on 45. You can buy tickets here.
Maroon 5 is also welcoming some Team Adam guests this month: Javier Colon plays with them tonight in Connecticut and tomorrow in Atlantic City, while Season 2’s Brian Fuente joins them this weekend (May 20) at the Gulfport Music Festival in Mississippi. If you happen to be in that area, tickets are still available for the Gulfport show here, but Javier’s dates are unfortunately already sold out.
That’s all I’ve got for this week, but for more on The Voice, you can follow my Voice-exclusive Twitter at @bigredchairs.
Image courtesy of Maroon 5/E! Online
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