The Voice - Battle Rounds #2

We saw seven battles last night, and two (sad it wasn't three though) singers saved. The battles were between Anja & Sarah, Jayde & Louise (Team Will), Dallas & Doug, Annabelle Eve & Taila Gouge (Team Joel), Josh McDonald & Scott Gelzinnis;  Brandon Duff & Gabriel/Cecilia (Team Ricky); Candice Skjonnemand & Thando Sikwila (Team Kylie).

A few of my highlights from last night.  I loved Doug took Dallas under his wing, and would love to hear them sing together again. Gabriel and Cecilia are the first duo to go through (after being saved by Will I Am). They have a really great connection, and I'm going to be intrigued what songs Will I Am gives them.

But the two best battles of the night were Annabelle Eve & Taila Gouge & Candice Skjonnemand & Thando Sikwila. During both of these performances I got chills.  Candice & Thando's performance was probably the best from the three seasons (to date), I got chills & tears - and no surprise that Thando was saved by Ricky (who has now used both saves).

The battle between Jayde & Lousie was over-hyped during the show. I was also surprised that Louise was the winner of the battle. Louise has a powerful voice, and will be interested in seeing how she goes, but I felt Jayde was more even. Impressed with the grace she showed on the stage as the decision was made. I am looking forward to hearing more from Jayde.

The Voice: Battle Rounds #1

The Battle Rounds are now my favourite part of The Voice - two (sometimes very different) singers going head to head singing the same song. Universal will make money selling the combined performance tracks. Especially seeing as a lot of them sound like duets. It is sad that Universal are only selling the performances from the Live Rounds on.

Last night set the bar pretty high for the rest of the week.  We saw six performances from Fely & Mia; Elly & Jess (Team Ricky);  Johnny & Maybelle; Jackson & Robbie (Team Kylie); Courtney & Holly (Team Joel) and Krishool & Julian (Team Will).

Not surprised by any of the coaches decisions - the winners were Fely, Elly, (Jess was saved Joel), Johnny, Robbie (Jackson was saved by Ricky) Holly and Julian. Was glad to see Joel take Holly through, impressed with her performance holding her own ground against Courtney.

 I liked Mia's performance last night more than her blind audition. Elly & Jess kind of met my expectations - great performance too.

The highlights for me from the night were Fely & Mia singing Young & Beautiful; Robbie & Jackson singing Strong. I'm looking forward to Elly and Jess singing songs a little more out of their comfort zone.

Weekend sport...

The Matilda's

• The Australian's Women Football team played Japan in the Asian Cup Final, and lost 0-1. Great effort from the team through the tournament. Really excited for the World Cup next year.  Surprised this isn't the leading sports story today.

NRL

• This quote from the Guardian sums it up: 'And ... five games in a player-depleted and split National Rugby League Round 11, and one thinks, yet again, surely there is another way. ' I like the idea of suspending the comp for the origin series, playing over three weekends (or two Wednesday's & a Sunday afternoon).  But I don't think TV will like that idea much. 
• So the Warriors beat the Titans on the Gold Coast (though it sounded like they were playing in Auckland). Hoping that during the rep season the Warriors can build some momentum.
• On the State of Origin - Queensland have to be the favourites.  But you never know, don't forget the Queensland team of 1995, who won the series 3-0 after being completely written off.

AFL

• Not a fan of the split round here either. The Swan's had a bye this week. Which I guess is good. They have another big test Thursday night hosting Geelong and the SCG.
• After wins over Fremantle, Geelong and now Hawthorn, Port Adelaide are the clear favourites for the competition now.  Impressed by the the Suns, now sitting in third place, reckon they will drop a little and remain in the eight at the end of the season. June-July will be a big test for them as they will play Sydney, Hawthorn, Geelong & Collingwood. An Ablett suspension will hurt them.
• After a pretty ordinary week, Jack Riewoldt  kicks 11.0 to 3QT to lead the Tigers to a big win over the Giants. Was expecting a Richmond win, but thought the Giants would give a better account of themselves.

Super Rugby

• Don't look now, but the Waratahs are on the top of Australian Conference. Great performance by the Hurricanes to beat the defending Champions (The Chiefs) 45-8. Seems Barrett must be favourite to be the starting no 10. for the All Blacks if Carter is unfit.

French Open

• French Open started overnight.  Hoping to see Tomic & Hewitt play each other..  At the moment, at least in the Men's Tournament I'd be surprised if Nadal or Djokovic wasn't the Champion.  I'm most intrigued about how Wawrinka backs up after winning the Australian Open.  The Women's side is a little more interesting as it is hard to pick a winner. I'm always interested in how the Bryan brothers go in the Men's Doubles

World Cup 

• The Socceroos play Sth Africa tonight as their farewell match before heading to Brazil.  Given that it sounds like they're playing an essential 'B' team, you wonder what the value is. 

The Voice - Wk 3

The Blind Auditions have now finished. Tuesday night's show was a reminder that the contestants are not simply judged on their own voice, but the other voices within each team and the coaches strategy. I felt sorry for those who auditioned in the last shows, but kudos to Will I Am & Ricky Martin for offering to work with Sarsha Simone.

My favourites are:

Team Will:  Emily Rex; ZK, and Jayde Grey.
Team Kylie: Rosie Henshaw, Brittanie Shipway, Megan Longhurst
Team Joel: Harry Healy, Doug Williams, (can't decided between Annabelle Lee & Elise Baker)
Team Ricky: Matthew Garland, Carly Yelayotis, Josh McDonald

For the Battle rounds I'm thinking that Jess Berney and Elly Oh would be a good pairing. Josh McDonald & Brandon Duff; Candice & Brittanie are great pairings too. There will be some epic battles, and some great singers will be eliminated early this season. The coaches will have tough decisions on who to save - this season each coach has two saves to use.

Weekend footy

AFL

• Great to see the Demons win. Paul Roos is doing a great job with the team, and would be great to see them competing for the finals in the near future. They put a lot of pressure on the Tigers with the tackling, and are looking better defensively. The Dees now have three wins for the season.
• Lowlight of the weekend, was hearing some of the crowd boo the umpire as he was taken from the field injured, during the Bombers-Swans game. Inexcusable.
• Swans were impressive. I'm hoping the bye doesn't stifle their momentum. They are currently on a five game winning streak.
• Fremantle were pretty impressive against Geelong.
• Sunday was a test for the Gold Coast to show they are actually genuine finals contenders, and with Ablett in the touch he is in, they passed it with flying colours. I think that is their fourth win in a row.
• Am looking forward for the next full round...  

NRL

• Great performances by Melbourne on Friday, closer to what we have been used to..
• St George may need more than Marshall to change their fortunes.
• Not surprised that the Roosters lost to Cowboys, but am surprised by the margin.
• Yes, they didn't win, but there was a lot to like about the Warriors effort against the Bulldogs. Can someone tell me why the Bulldogs are playing a home game in Hamilton NZ.

FA Cup

• Was delighted to see Arsenal win the FA Cup. I turned on the tv after eight minutes, and saw Gibbs clear a header off the line and the Gunners behind 0-2. Just on 100 minutes later Ramsay scored the winner. Suspect Wenger will stay, but also would like to see a few signings in the off season, and a little more consistency in their performances next year.

Super XV

• Hurricanes continue their win-loss sequence with a loss against the Highlanders. Outside the top 6 now. The NZ Conference is the most evenly poised, with every team still a chance to make the finals.

Football

• The Matilda's have played 3 games in their Asian Cup defense with a 2-2 draw against Japan; a 3-1 win against Jordan and a 2-0 win against Vietnam. Which means they qualify for the World Cup next year.
• The West Sydney Wanderers bounced back from losing the Grand Final, and reached the Quarter-final stage of the Asian Champions League. The next tie will be played in August.

The Voice ... wk 2

Week two now gone..  Will I Am now has 12 on his team, Ricky and Kylie 11 each, and Joel trailing behind with 10.

Monday night's show was the best of the season so far - with half a dozen performances which really connected with me - Sabrina's 'Power of Love' Doug's 'Love the one you're with', Rosie's 'Sing it Back', Jayde Grey's 'Free-falling', ZK 'As Long as You Love Me'.

I was also impressed with Beth Anderson's performance of "Times Like These". None of the chairs turned but her performance powerfully communicated her story. It was interesting to read her take on her experience here.

At this stage, unlike last season I don't feel there is a clear front-runner.  About this time last year - you kind of knew that Celia Pavey & Harrison Craig would be there at the end, even Season One - Karise Eden was a touch above the rest.

Tuesday night's episode was quite disappointing. I wasn't really taken by any of the contestants who got through. I did like the Blind-Blind thing. It gave a taste of the coaches experience. Hoping for more tomorrow night.

I'm pretty intrigued to see the Battle-Round pairings - and given the talent seems more even this year, we may see some surprise eliminations.

Weekend football ....

Super XV

• The Hurricanes restart their loss-win sequence, with an impressive win over the Melbourne Rebels in Melbourne. 

AFL

• Not really a fan of the split rounds in the AFL season..  especially when it feels the season has no momentum already.
• Great win by the Swans. To be honest, even with the Hawks having a few players out, I didn't think they'd win, and perhaps the result could have been a lot more comfortable than it was. Yes Franklin was inaccurate (he kicked 2.7), but probably his best performance for Sydney so far. Tippett, Jetta, Hannebery and Kennedy were also standouts.  
• A first for the AFL - the Goal Umpires at both ends of the Demons v Bulldogs game are women.  Worth reading this piece by one of the umpires, Chelsea Roffey.
• Impressive wins by Port Adelaide and West Coast. 
• There's a game tomorrow night too - St Kilda play Carlton, should be a fun game :)

NRL

• After last weekends' break, the NRL is back this weekend.  The Roosters look like they are back now with an impressive win against the Tigers (who were travelling alright). 
• Great to see Benji Marshall back, and hope he produces the football he is capable of at the Dragons, and judging from the Dragon's performance today, they need him.
• For a neutral, the Manly - Melbourne game from Saturday night was the match of the round.
• Really tight competition this year, with the 12th placed Dragon's 2 points behind the fourth place Roosters. Though, the top eight is starting to look a little bit more like how it will finish at the end of the year. Will be interesting to see the havoc the State of Origin will cause.

Football:

• Final round of matches held tonight ... Manchester City are almost certain to win the title unless they lose to West Ham & Liverpool beat Newcastle.  The FA Cup will be played next weekend, and the UEFA Champions League (Real Madrid v Atlético de Madrid) and Europa League (Seville v Benfica) finals follow before next month's World Cup. 

The Voice - week one

The third season of The Voice began on Channel Nine this week.  The best part of the show for me is the first two rounds. The blind auditions are great as the contestants are judged on their voice (though it's also about how they fit into the the coaches team...); then the battle-rounds have two artists sing the same song - the best of these sound like duets - (listen to Celia Pavey & Anna Weatherup; Mitchell Anderson & Steve Clisby (from season 2) and Kelsie Rimmer & Brittany Cairns (season 1))

Joel Madden is now the only coach remaining from the original season. He's joined by Ricky Martin (who was on last year); Kylie Minogue and Will I Am (both first-timers).  Some minor tweaks from last year, each coach can now save the losing singer from two battle-rounds.

The first week now gone, I think more jumped at out me last year.  But the ones which really stood out to me were, Harry Healy (Romeo & Juliet, beautifully sung & played), Brittanie Shipway (On My Own, easily one of the best versions of the song, I've heard); and Emily Rex (Pure Imagination, like Will I Am, one of my fav. songs).

Couple of other observations the dynamic between the coaches this year is so fun (and playful). I don't know a whole lot about Will I Am, but he's been a great addition. Loved watching him during Emily's performance, he looked like a kid in a candy store (after all, she was singing his favourite song).

Looking forward to seeing what this weeks blind auditions will bring.

From the weekend's sport.

General

• Rohan Connolly makes an interesting comment on changing the points awarded in AFL matches.  I reckon it is an interesting idea.  As I wrote earlier in the year, would be good to see the NRL change their points system too. My three changes would be to: 
• award teams who lose in Golden Point extra time 1 point, 
• award teams who lose by less than 6 - 1 point, and
• award teams who score 4 or more tries 1 point

Cricket:

• Great news about the establishment of a Women's T20 tournament. The 2015-2016 Season will also see the launch of the Women's Big Bash League in Australia.

Netball

• Liz Ellis article in Thursday's paper about adding a 2pt range to Netball. Will be interesting to see if there's any more takers. 

NRL

• I guess on one level the Kiwi's 18-30 loss, was closer than I expected the final score to be, but its clear there is a gap between the two teams. 
• Rather than the City v Country clash, I'd like to see the NRL take a round of matches NRL Premiership matches to the country. 

SuperXV

• Went and saw the Hurricanes on Saturday night. Enjoyed the style of rugby played by both the Waratahs and Hurricanes. The Waratahs were a touch more desperate than the Hurricanes in the end.  It may be harsh but can't see either of them winning the competition. Was a touch disappointed in the atmosphere, sure 17,000 people were there, but it didn't sound like that. Always find it funny when the announcer needs to lead a chant for the home team.
• The plans for expansions are interesting. I'd love to see the 18th team based in the South Pacific; maybe they can work this into the next TV deal. The team could play out of Auckland. Though the most likely location for the team is probably Japan. Read SMH's rugby correspondent Georgina Robinson's thoughts here).

AFL

• Collingwood were awesome for three quarters (they lost the final by 22pts - 51-29). 
• Couple of "upsets" this weekend - Gold Coast beat North Melbourne; and the Melbourne Demons beat the Crows (in Adelaide). Though something tells me Gold Coast's win was not really an upset. Gold Coast are now 5-2, and have a great platform to building their season on. 
• Really happy for Melbourne. Hoping Paul Roos can work more of his magic at the club.
• Next week Sydney plays Hawthorn, and it will be a good test for the Swans. The Swan's will possible have both Tippett and Frankiln available, so will be interesting to see how their game plan will evolve. 

A-League

• Feel for the Wanderers - losing the Grand Final (their second straight) to the Brisbane Roar 1-2.