2. Just as I complained about the overemotion during the family visit, the final tribal council was a little too sappy for me. I longed for the brilliance of David Murphy’s question/statement. Asking to define a blindside? Hmm. With that being said, I am sure there were a lot more to the questions than we actually saw.

3. I have to say that the most shocking aspect of the final episode to me was Sabrina getting two votes. I believe that they were from Troyzan and Leif and Troyzan’s vote specifically surprised me as I thought that he would be voting for the game’s top strategist. I certainly thought that Chelsea would finish as the runner-up and it’s clear that Sabrina’s brilliant oratory skills swung some votes her way.

4. In general, although they only faced softball questions from the jury, I thought that the final three all did a really good job with their final remarks and answers. I liked Chelsea basically assuming the stance of her and Kim both betraying the others but that she didn’t invest as much into forging relationships with them to make the sting less painful. Sabrina saying that she threw the challenges was also a good move. Unfortunately, they were facing an uphill battle against Kim.

5. After meeting the cast at the finale, I can completely see how Kim was able to woo and win her fellow castaways over. She certainly has a way of being able to connect with people immediately. One specific instance of this is when she immediately walked over to the fans and knew most of them by name. Not just first name, but full name. She was also a very gracious winner. And in all honesty, that might have been the hottest live reunion outfit from a winner of all time.

6. Christina went much farther than I thought and while people can say she was dragged, you don’t get to the Final 4 without some degree of strategy. I think her game was underestimated. A controversial opinion, I know. I just believe she downplayed herself intentionally.

7. I wasn’t a big fan of Jeff’s reunion hosting. He made a plethora of mistakes. And who was that one guy he interviewed in the audience?

8. Love that Blossom is a Survivor fan.

9. I am incredibly excited for the next season. I am a big fan of Survivor, righting wrongs. We all know Boston Rob should have won All-Stars but the terrible jury didn’t give it to him so when he was finally victorious on Redemption Island, it was like everything became cyclical again. Kind of like when that kid on Touch delivers a number. One of the returning players next season is someone who should have been given the chance to play again years ago. I am just glad he will finally have the opportunity.

10. Boston Rob > Brian Heidik > Kim Spradlin

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TORONTO – While I certainly would have never predicted it, it appears that Sagkeeng’s Finest are now Canada’s finest as well.

The trio of traditional dancers from Sagkeeng’s First Nation, Manitoba were the unlikely winners of the show’s $100,000 prize, a trip to Tobago, the keys to a Nissan GTR, the opportunity to perform on Citytv’s New Year’s celebration and “the chance to perform in a Las Vegas show.”

While I didn’t get the chance to see the performance finale as it was scheduled on the same night as the Survivor One World finale in New York, the popular thinking was that dance group Freshh or rock band Angry Candy would take home the victory given their strong online supprt. I also believed that the smalltown tap dancers didn’t really stand a chance against groups with multiple members who all had large family voting support back home. In all honesty, I actually suspected Sagkeeng’s Finest to finish in last place out of the top 12 acts.

With that being said, the beauty of competitive reality television talent contests is their unpredictability and when host Dina Pugliese announced that Vincent O’Laney, Dallas Courchene and Brandon Courchene had made it into the top three acts ahead of Shale Wagman, Emilio Fina, and Julie Lafontaine, I knew that we had the makings of a major upset and that is exactly what we got.

I have been trying to rationalize, justify or even explain the methodology behind Canada rewarding the trio who only started dancing together when they heard about the competition and aside from the small-town appeal, I really can’t come up with anything. Was their act and look unique? Certainly. Completely Canadian? Undeniably. Globally appealing? Definitely not. As a result, I am sure it was their underdog je ne sais quoi that warmed the hearts of Canadians around the country as well as the judges who initially put them through.

What I found incredibly refreshing was how humble the teenagers were in their victory and how much of an impact it will have on their lives. The boys were completely overwhelmed with emotion and that is something that I haven’t seen from any of the reality show victors that I have met in years.

The one thing that the boys proved to me is that anything is possible and that however rare it has increasingly become, nice guys sometimes finish first.

I caught up with the Canada’s Got Talent winners for a post-show interview. With fair warning, the audio isn’t the best.

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2. There can be no argument against the notion that Alicia, Christina and Tarzan should have forced a tie tonight. One of the Survivor arguments that bothers the most is when people say that going to rocks to split a tie vote is a bad move because it might result in a person going home who wasn’t even in danger. This is completely idiotic. Survivor has always been a game about luck, risk and managing danger. Last season, the plan for Cochran to tie the vote was rock-solid and he just made a terrible decision to flip. Alicia and Christina should have definitely tied the vote. At the very least, they would have been unsuccessful and might have gone home because of rocks but at least been remembered as actual players. At most, they would have not only taken out Kim’s most powerful ally but might have also forced Kim to use her hidden immunity idol. If she had, this might have had even greater ramifications on the game as it would have shown the others that Kim didn’t disclose her possession of it.

3. There have been many amazing liars to play the game of Survivor. The difference with Kim is that it appears that she has almost no qualms about doing it and this is what makes her absolutely fascinating to watch. While Tarzan kept telling Alicia not to fall under the spell of her angelic blue eyes, it’s the icy cold blood that runs through her veins that makes her a fascinating case study to analyze in terms of how to play Survivor.

4. I thought that Chelsea made a bad decision to take her proposed final two to the reward challenge with her. It never ceases to amaze me how many players don’t realize the long-term consequence of momentary fun. She might as well have held a sign that said ‘these are the girls that I am taking to the F3 with me and there is nothing you can do about it.’ The only thing I didn’t account for was how easily Kim would convince Alicia and Christina that Tarzan was targeting them (even though it made no rational sense for him to do so considering Alicia is/was his closest ally in the game).

5. Did anyone else feel like Kim almost held back intentionally on both challenges this week just so that she wouldn’t be perceived as even more of a threat? I thought she could have won both.

6. Why was Tarzan wearing Kat’s panties on his head and why didn’t we see more of this footage. If this was Celebrity Apprentice and their brilliant editors, I feel like this would have almost certainly been the focus of the entire episode.

7. At this point, the only way Kim doesn’t get to the end is if Sabrina and Chelsea realize that the jury will reward her for the spectacular game that she is playing. Even if they do (unlikely), I feel like Kim’s Medusa eyes are powerful enough to even get them to tell Jeff not to even include them as part of the F3 and that they just want Kim to win. That is how much control Spradlin has.

8. It was kind of weird seeing a girl on the jury huh?

9. I thought that this week’s episode could have been quite good had we seen a tie vote. When it became obvious that we wouldn’t, the episode became boring quite quickly. The penultimate episode before the finale is supposed to be the most exciting and yet I feel this one seemed more like a throwaway second episode or something.

10. The fall of Alicia will be quite interesting to see. I can’t wait to see how she handles it.

That’s it for me. I will see you all after the finale next week.

If you are interested, I will have four former Survivor winners on The Murtz Show tonight to preview Sunday’s finale. Sandra Diaz-Twine (Pearl Islands, Heroes vs. Villains), Bob Crowley (Gabon), Todd Herzog (China) and Aras Baskauskas will be joining me at 9:30 PM PST tonight to tell me who they think will win the $1 million prize on Sunday. Plus, I will have a special surprise winner as well. Please join us at 9:30 PM PST tonight HERE tonight.
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2. The reason I left out Kim in my first point is because this episode was basically her coronation. Up until this point, I have looked at Kim as being a good player on a season where everyone else is bad. Tonight, I changed my opinion completely. Kim is playing one of the best games of all time and is making a case for the best single performance by a female on any season. I know there are many Parvati and Sandra fans out there, but the level of control that Kim has is honestly unbelievable. She didn’t pick Kat last week and still gets Kat to pick her? You do not need any further evidence of how strong Kim’s social game is. Everyone thinks she is with them. It’s Boston Rob-like and as you all know, there is no higher compliment that I can give. I especially liked her dissing Kat after Kat picked her to go on the reward challenge! She said: “I felt like that was a really selfish decision for Kat not to take Tarzan and Christina, I don’t know how angry they are going to be but I am going to have to do major damage control back at camp.” I found the quote fascinating. Did she mean she would have to make sure that people didn’t want to vote Kat out because she is aligned with her? Or did she mean that she thought that it was bad for her own game to go on the reward. It was also hilariously ironic that Kim said that Kat made a selfish decision when she didn’t take Kat last week after promising her that she would. Fascinating.

3. Continuing on Kim’s brilliance, I loved the scene where she was explaining her rationale to her sister. It was finally some raw and unfiltered insight into where Kim’s head was at. I have had a hard time figuring out who Kim’s true allies are (aside from Chelsea). Her saying that Alicia is delusional about being well-liked and Kat having her own show in a year about how the million dollars ruined her life indicates how she has her finger on the inside pulse (intentional reference) of what her best options are to win. The fact that she was even talking about dragging Alicia and Kat to the end and not Chelsea shows that her only loyalty is to herself and that’s the quality that all of the great players have had. We should just cut her the check now. The only way she loses is if the jury is too bitter but her game is so dominant that I just can’t see it. We also got to see some foreshadowing as it is clear that Kim no longer cares if she is perceived as a threat for winning every immunity challenge. She’s right. It’s not like her tribe can do anything about it because she has manipulated them all so well that they couldn’t vote her out if they wanted to. Expect her to go on a Colby-like immunity run. She has basically taken out anyone who could beat her.

4. I loved how Troyzan tried to look menacing at tribal council while wearing those ridiculous pants.

5. I will never understand why the castaways get so emotional during the family visit. I say that every season, but give me a break. It’s 40 days. Not only have I vacationed longer than that, most of my friends haven’t seen their families in months. The argument that contestants always fire back at me is that I didn’t live through it and that it is “different” when you are trying to survive. I don’t agree. 40 days is 40 days. Who’s with me? If I were playing the game and my dad showed up and I cried like that, he would tell me to stop being ridiculous and I would tell him that he’s totally right. Actually, what I would do is bring a “friend.” Somebody like Michael Phelps or Donovan Bailey (look him up Americans) just so that they could help me win the challenge. I am sure my family would like me winning the money a lot more than lame tears at a challenge.

6. Did anyone else think Tarzan was going to propose (again) when he got down on one knee to greet his wife? Also, how obvious was it that they were going to leave his visit until last.

7. Tarzan’s game is severely underrated. I loved how he referred to Kim as “boss lady.” The fact is that while everyone has talked about how bad a player Tarzan is (including me), he has slowly been pulling the wool over all of our eyes. I believe that Tarzan realized that the men were complete morons. He separated himself away from the sinking ship in a move that I liken to what Vecepia did in Marquesas when Maraamu was in the minority or what Penny tried to do when she bailed on Jake and Sook Jai to join the Chuay Gahn majority on Thailand. Tarzan knows that he isn’t a threat anymore and that his strategy of just being the swing vote in any power struggle might get him to the end. I am a big fan of his, not only from a character perspective but also from a strategic one.

8. The disintegration of Kat’s game was also a beautiful disaster to watch. Kat was in a great position. A solid sub-alliance with Alicia and a steady vote for Kim. I just don’t see where it all went wrong for her. It started with her decision at the reward challenge. To be honest, I actually thought she made the right move by taking Kim and Alicia. Kim is the unchallenged leader. The godfather. And you do not want to piss the godfather off. Alicia was Kat’s #2 ally (or so she thought). Her decisions totally made sense. There is no room for empathy in the game. I believe that her basically asking Kim to lose the immunity challenge is where things started to go downhill and her immaturity became prevalent.

9. Crazy how Christina wasn’t even an option at tribal council right?

10. This season is finally watchable again. Kat talking about how great a blindside would be and then getting blindsided herself is what reality television is all about. Nothing frustrates me more than when Jeff tries to tell us that there was a blindside when the person’s reaction tells us that they already knew. Tonight, Kat truly had no idea. That is what great television is all about.

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Adam Levine used to be my favorite coach on The Voice. I loved his duet with Javier Colon last season and his critiques are just that, critiques meant to help whoever he is talking to. He doesn’t just offer praise for the sake of giving compliments. With that being said, I was absolutely stunned by his decision to eliminate Mathai on Tuesday’s results show. I was absolutely positive that American would vote Tony Lucca into the semifinals (which they did) and that Adam would save Mathai. Instead, Adam picked Katrina and Georgia’s favorite female on the show was eliminated.

I was rooting for Mathai from the beginning of the show initially just because of her background (she is one of the few Indian singers to advance on a reality singing competition show, which only includes Sanjaya Malakar and Anoop Desai both from American Idol), but also because of her incredible talent.

When I was at the show last week, I had the chance to interview all of the artists from Team Blake and Team Christina, but I missed the chance to talk to Adam and CeeLo’s artists. Luckily, I had the opportunity to talk to Mathai at the NBC Summer Press Day last week. We joked about our traditional parents and how we both are pursuing careers that are outside of the norm. I joked with her that the easiest way to see a brown guy is to see if they carry their cellphone in a holster (then I looked at myself, and sure enough, I was wearing one). Hilarious. I didn’t interview her at the time because I was certain that she would sail into the finals, probably against Lindsey Pavao from Team Christina. Instead, Adam shocked me and the world with his decision and I wanted to catch up with Mathai to get her perspective on it.

Murtz Jaffer: Ready to rock? This is going to be the greatest interview of all-time.

Mathai: Okay good. It better be!

MJ: You know, there was only one other reality show singing elimination that affected me just as much as yours and that was when Sanjaya left American Idol. What do you think happened and were you surprised?

M: I wasn’t surprised. Well, okay. I was shocked but I wasn’t surprised.

MJ: What’s the difference?

M: Of course it took the wind out of me when he said that because you still never believe it but on the inside, I knew it was going to happen because I saw how Katrina lit up that stage. We all saw it. We all saw how she was full of light and how she grew. Her story was that she was sick and she didn’t get to sing for so long. I have talked to her and her not singing kind of took the life out of her. Finally being able to sing again, you could see it coming back into her, the joy that she has. She’s also older than me. It was more important for her to make it forward than it was for me to make it forward. As sad as that makes me, I’m going to be honest, I am sad. I miss everyone. I miss the high of being on stage on national television. There’s nothing like it. But it’s right for her to move on.

MJ: Do you think that sympathy had anything to do with the decision. You said that she couldn’t sing for a long time, did that effect Adam’s decision? If two people are really good but I have to pick one and I find out that one is sick and the other one isn’t, I am probably going to give it to the sick person. Did sympathy play a role or was it just Monday’s performances.

M: I don’t think it was sympathy at all. Maybe if it was Blake, I would think that but with Adam, he keeps it real. It doesn’t matter who he likes more. If you did better, you did better and he is going to respect that. Katrina did better.

MJ: Wow, so you really think that she did better than you?

M: I think… I think a lot of it was song choice. She had her big moment while I didn’t have my big moment on the same day. When you compare a person who had their big moment to a person who didn’t have their big moment, the person who had their big moment is obviously going to take the cake. I didn’t get to have that moment where I just sang the perfect song and everyone was like ‘okay, this is what it is for this girl.’ When Katrina sang “Jar Of Hearts,” you could visualize her as an artist and I haven’t had that moment where people understood who exactly I was as an artist. I think the thing that was closest to that was my blind audition and that’s okay because everything happens for a reason. I am only 19. Just because I am not on TV, doesn’t mean I am going to stop doing what I love.

MJ: Speaking of song choice, do you regret going with “I’m Like A Bird” and how much involvement did you have and how much involvement did Adam Levine have in picking the Nelly Furtado track?

M: The thing with that is that I had like 10 songs that I had prepared that I wanted to do but for various reasons all of them got knocked off. We couldn’t do them. We settled with the song and Adam surprised me at rehearsal by giving me “I’m Like A Bird.” At that point, I was just guessing that he knew what was best as a coach. I don’t regret it. I do believe that everything happens for a reason. I didn’t compromise anything on this show which is something that makes me really happy. It’s a good palette. This whole show is a good palette for what I want to do in the future and it will be a good stepping stone for what comes next.

MJ: I have always wondered about strategy in terms of coach selection. I remember from your blind audition, you had so many choices and you went with Adam. When I compare you to somebody like Jermaine (Paul), I didn’t really see him and Blake getting along and yet he chose Blake and I almost felt like he thought he could get farther on Blake’s team. Did that kind of strategy factor into you choosing Adam at all and do you regret picking him since he’s the one who ultimately sent you home?

M: Blind auditions, I was in this “I’m just going to have fun” kind of mode. I decided to just go with the flow and pick Adam because I felt like it. I didn’t think about it and after I thought about it after, I was like ‘yeah, that was a good choice’ because he could take me farther because I am a singer singer. I wasn’t a theatrical person. Although I did learn along the way that I was kind of theatrical and I was a performer and I didn’t know that I was to that extent before.

MJ: You went with Cowboy Casanova as your exit song, why did you choose it?

M: That is a song I don’t regret. I just thought it was high-energy and so fun, I was able to just be so fierce on it! I thought it was perfect. If I left, I am glad that I left with that song.

MJ: Now here’s the question that I have been dying to know the answer to. What is the first thing your parents said to you after you were eliminated. If it was me, I almost feel like the first thing my parents would have said ‘we told you that you shouldn’t have done that, you should have stayed in school!’

M: Your parents would have told you that?!

MJ: Haha, yeah. We talked about this at the press day! I totally curious as to how yours reacted.

M: I am really proud of my parents, they didn’t do that at all. They said that they were proud of me. My mom is not really good with consoling. She feels for me but she doesn’t know how to comfort. That whole idea of patting someone’s back or rubbing someone’s hair while they cry, that’s kind of like a foreign concept to her. It’s not her fault. She loves me and she feels for me, she just doesn’t know how to express it. My dad was all over me and he was like “I’m so sorry” and “everything will be okay.” They haven’t put any stress on me or to go back to school. They are letting me have my chill time right now. I am sure we will talk about these things soon but they’re giving me a break right now which I really do appreciate.

MJ: What’s next for you?

M: I am going to keep doing this. We are going to start putting out originals. We don’t have enough to put the CD together but for people who subscribe to my website, MathaiMusic.com and get the emails and stuff, they are going to get sneak peeks and have the exclusive rights to buying a small three song CD of originals and hopefully that will be enough for now. Then we’re just going to keep working until I can put my CD out and go about this in a typical artistry kind of way. I am going to be doing a lot of travelling between Atlanta, Dallas and LA in the next few months.

MJ: I have to tell you that as the world’s foremost reality television expert, I didn’t see it coming a mile away. I kept saying ‘what is Adam thinking? WHAT IS ADAM THINKING?!’

M: You didn’t see it coming?!

MJ: Not from a mile away. I thought it would be you and Tony for sure. So to console myself after your elimination, I have been working on my Mathai impression and it basically involves singing Adele songs with my hand on my hip in a very confident manner.

M: Hahahahahaha. I think you got it on point man. I feel like everyone keeps calling out my hand on the hip singing motion.

MJ: I wish we were doing this interview in person so I could show you because I think you’d crack up laughing!

M: (Laughs).

MJ: I am actually doing it right now as I do this interview.

M: I can’t wait to see it! Oh dear lord!

Mathai: “I’m Like a Bird”

Last Chance: Mathai’s “Cowboy Casanova”

The Voice airs Mondays at 8 p.m. and Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC and CTV.
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2. I haven’t seen Sabrina play the game much this season. Aside from giving Colton the hidden idol that she found (which, if we are being fair, any rational Survivor player would have also done), she has been basically a non-existent supporting vote in Kim’s plan to take over the (one) world. This was a standout episode for Sabrina because of the beautiful way she played Troyzan and Christina after the reward challenge. I have always wondered why more players didn’t use the strategy of teasing a flip but not actually doing it to snuff out other moles. If Cochran had done that last year, we might have been singing his praises instead of chastising him for making the worst move in Survivor history. While it makes sense for other players to listen to Troyzan, Sabrina is definitely in Kim’s endgame (although the preview made me second-guess that) and as a result, staying pat and placating Troy is the best play for her. It was, however, a bad play for her to tell Christina about how they were splitting the vote against her.

3. We must applaud the casting team this season. Tarzan, Kat, Alicia, Colton, and Troyzan are great television characters and collectively more memorable than 75% of last season’s cast. Although they picked the dumbest group of guys to play the game that I have seen (save for the dudes on Vanuatu), the characters make up for it.

4. The pig scene got old after about 10 seconds.

5. We cannot forget Kim’s athleticism. Given who is left in the game, Kim has the ability to win every remaining immunity challenge (especially now that Troyzan is gone). The only person who could beat her is Chelsea and that is her F2 partner so to say she is sitting pretty would be an understatement both literally and figuratively. It was pretty funny when Jeff said that she was “making quick work on her knees.”

6. Chelsea oiling herself up in the immunity challenge has made me dedicating the last 12 years of my life to Survivor completely worth it.

7. The editing in this episode was spectacular. Even though Troyzan should have been a lock to go after he lost the immunity challenge, the idea that his extra vote could ruin the women’s plan to split made the episode much more compelling than it actually was. Fantastic idea by the editors and producers to cut it that way.

8. I am not sure how I feel about the way the women celebrated after Troyzan lost the challenge. On the one hand, it disgusted me. On the other hand, he kind of deserved it after acting like an ass after last week’s challenge.

9. What did you think of Alicia comparing Christina to a student in her special ed class?

10. WHY ISN’T CHRISTINA FLIPPING?! She did tonight but now it is too late. She doesn’t have the votes.

Sorry I missed last week’s article. I was at Reality Rally in Temecula where I hosted a reality panel discussion that included two-time Survivor winner Sandra Diaz-Twine and the first Survivor winner Richard Hatch. Corinne Kaplan from Survivor Gabon was also there.

Also, later this evening, I will be discussing tonight’s episode of Survivor: One World with Whitney Duncan from last season on The Murtz Show at 9:30 PM Pacific time. Feel free to join us HERE to ask her your questions.

See you next week!

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The top-rated singing series has maintained its stranglehold on the reality ratings war continuing to top surging competition from The Voice and Dancing With The Stars. Despite losing almost its entire judging panel from a few seasons ago, the inclusions of Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler have actually made the show better.

The best way to describe the show is by its own admission. Namely, that it is attempting to discover the country’s best undiscovered superstar without the frills of battle rounds and blind auditions.

While I wasn’t the biggest fan of the finalists from the 10th season of the show last year, 2012 has been a renaissance for the program and any of the remaining 6 finalists could conceivably walk away with the win.

I had the opportunity to check out the show live for the first time last week, and I was excited to see what would happen especially because it was the first time the finalists would truly be singing for their lives with the judges’ save being used on the previous episode to save Jessica Sanchez.

When I arrived at CBS Television City (that is where the show is taped despite it airing on FOX), for the performance episode, I received the news that Dick Clark has passed away and given his mentoring of Ryan Seacrest, I was curious to see if the show would have time to adjust its lineup to include some sort of tribute.

As I suspected, Ryan opened the show on a somber note and said that without Dick Clark, a show like American Idol wouldn’t exist. I wholeheartedly agree with the assessment.

The host also said that the remaining contestants would sing two songs each. The first would be a recent hit (from 2000 to today) and then would return to the stage to take on a soul song from “back in the day.”

Let’s get to my live take on the performances.

HOLLIE CAVANAGH
”Rollin’ In The Deep
- Hollie had the misfortune of being the first to perform and given that I felt like she was the most at risk for elimination, I thought that her starting the show would allow for viewers to forget her after seeing everybody else
- In my opinion, Hollie is the most underrated performer left in the competition and one who really hasn’t had a bad performance thus far
- Hollie’s problem is that she just doesn’t have the universal popularity that Skylar and Phillip do
- Her Adele cover was phenomenal once again
- The silent acoustic opening was chilling and immediately commanded the entire audience’s attention
- Judge Steven Tyler said that she finally did what America was waiting for her to do
- Jennifer Lopez said that she was “so happy” with the performance
- Randy said that it was well done but “not perfect”

Commurtztial

During the commurtztial break, Colton’s sister Skylar was moved up from her seat to the mosh pit so it was clear that Ryan would be referencing her before Colton took the stage. I was right because when the show resumed, Seacrest asked her to join Colton on stage and teased her about whether she would return next season. While she said that she wasn’t sure, I don’t think there is any question that she will be a finalist on the show’s twelfth edition.

COLTON DIXON
”Bad Romance”
- When Colton revealed that he would be singing “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga, I thought that it would either be a massive hit garnering him his first standing ovation from the judges, or that it would be an epic fail subjecting him to ridicule
- I was wrong as it was basically a combination
- The performance looked cool live, but definitely didn’t highlight Colton’s potent and signature song and I would have liked to see him tackle something else
- He probably figured that he would rock a ballad with his next song so he wanted to do something memorable with his current pick
- The judges seemed like they also thought it was average, but interestingly enough, J-Lo revealed that she was excited to hear Colton’s second song which she had already sampled during rehearsal

ELISE TESTONE
”No One”
- I am not an Elise fan and thought she should have been nixed in week one
- Out of all the performances that I wanted to see live, shockingly Elise’s was the one that I wanted to see the most, primarily to see if she sounded better in-person versus how she did on TV
- My opinion didn’t change at all
- While the judges consistently compliment Elise on her “insane” runs as Randy Jackson usually describes them, I actually feel like he is the insane one if he actually thinks that they sound good
- The song was a screechy mess
- Steven told her that she “sang her little tushy off” in another eyebrow-raising comment from the Aerosmith singer
- After the song, Elise discussed her dog being sick which I thought might have been a smart play for sympathy votes
- Then again, I am a conspiracy theorist

Commurtztial

PHILLIP PHILLIPS
”You Got It Bad”
- What kind of alternate universe are we living in when Phillip Phillips sings an Usher track?
- This cover was ridiculously good and easily in contention for one of the best performances on Idol ever
- I would have never thought about putting a bluesy rock undertone to Usher’s R&B anthem but Phillip’s creativity in this case was genius
- Sounded great and a song that I’d actually purchase
- Very commercial
- Brilliant
- Judges gave him a deserved standing ovation
- Randy: “You’re Phillip Phillips and you’re the bomb!”
- Couldn’t agree more

Commurtztial

JESSICA SANCHEZ
“Fallin”
- Big performance for Jessica considering how she was technically eliminated last week
- Outstanding vocal once again
- In terms of raw singing talent, Jessica does not have an equal on the show and could be the best singer that the show has ever produced which is shocking considering her age
- Another spectacular performance
- While I like the twists and the fresh nature of The Voice, there is something to be said about pure and unfiltered natural talent like Jessica’s
- After the show, when Ryan asked her about how she felt when the judges took the mic away from her she said that she didn’t think that they liked her and this innocent act is something she needs to lose

Commurtztial

SKYLAR LAINE
”Born This Way”
- The most improved contestant in the competition, Skylar went from being a fringe contender to one of the competition favorites
- The key to her success is two-fold: her amazing ability to perform and her song choice
- Like Colton, she also chose a Lady Gaga song, but performed the country version of “Born This Way” and made the song suit her which was a marked difference from what Dixon did
- Great performance, which I think wasn’t as good as Hollie’s and Phil’s, but still above average

JOSHUA LEDET
“I Believe”
- Decided to go with a Fantasia single
- Fantasia is easily my least favorite idol and I was never a big fan of this song, but Joshua’s talent is undeniable
- One of the clichés that reality show judges use the most is that the singer they are so good that they can sing the phone book but Josh actually can
- Phenomenal performance, imagine what he could do with a good song (I kid, but not really)

Commurtztial and its time for the second performances!

HOLLIE CAVANAGH
”Son Of A Preacher Man”
- Meh
- Not nearly as good as her opening song
- Hollie is a contemporary singer so I think the old school song unnecessarily aged her
- Performed it well but would have liked to her tackle another Adele song

Commurtztial

COLTON DIXON
”September”
- Jennifer Lopez said she was looking forward to this performance, and I was too when they wheeled in a tree as a backdrop for Colton’s piano-playing
- The song was an improvement from his first attempt, but definitely not worth the J-Lo hype
- Colton needs to pick songs that are more relevant to the audience and to himself as an artist
- For the first time, I thought Colton might be in danger, strictly because of bad song choice
- While his “Bad Romance” might have been too much, this ballad was definitely too little
- If the judges faces could speak, they would say ‘ho-hum’

Commurtztial

ELISE TESTONE
”Let’s Get It On”
- I would preferred “let’s get it over with”
- Another disjointed and discombobulated effort from Elise
- The song is sexy, but I didn’t think the performance particularly was
- While I think there is a market for Elise’s music, I just don’t think Idol is the right platform for her
- I am sure that if I went to a small stage somewhere in Venice and Elise was the featured act, she would sound spectacular
- I think her appeal is niche, not commercial
- Wasn’t a fan

PHILLIP PHILLIPS
”In The Midnight Hour”
- Another perfect song selection and a nice change of pace from his opening slow song
- Really felt like tonight seemed like the coronation of Phillip Phillips as he was light years better than everyone else which is a great compliment considering how good the remaining talent is
- It is absolutely hilarious to see him dance
- Because he did only press scrums after the show, I couldn’t ask him to give me a dancing lesson but hopefully I will get the chance to talk to him at the finale when I can ask
- It didn’t matter what support signs fans were holding inside the venue, everyone left as a Phillip fan

Commurtztial

JESSICA SANCHEZ
”Try A Little Tenderness”
- Average
- Not as great as her opening performance either
- Thought it was one of her less than stellar performances but that’s only because her standard is so high
- Her “I Will Always Love You” and “Turn The Beat Around” are still my favorite BBChez performances
- My criticism is the same that I had for Hollie, the theme didn’t work in her favor

SKYLAR LAINE
”Heard It Though The Grapevine”
- Another amazing song choice from Skylar
- Her style, while not unique, is so memorable that you can immediately tell who is singing it and I think this quality, coupled with her amazing stage presence will serve her well long after the show is over
- Easily one of the top performers of the night and I especially like how she can turn any theme that isn’t country into her own style

Commurtztial

JOSHUA LEDET
”A Change Is Gonna Come”
- Another beautiful performance from Josh
- A great week for him, but like Jessica, he has set such a high standard of expectation that he is now only competing with himself
- Unfortunately, I don’t think Josh has the universal appeal that some of the other contestants do and since Idol is also a popularity contest, I think that is where he will have the toughest time
- In terms of sheer singing ability, it wouldn’t even be a competition because of how good Josh is

So there you have it. I was also at the results show and saw Kris Allen and LMFAO perform live, but I was a little distracted. My Idol tickets were stolen from the parking lot but luckily, since I was covering the show, they had noted my seat number so I was still able to check everything out. Part of my wanted the guy who stole the tickets to actually show up just so I would have known who it was. Alas.

With that being said, I was a little more frazzled at the results show than I usually am but that didn’t take away from the absolute shock of Colton going home. My regular readers and viewers will know about my pristine record of predicting reality show winners and when the live shows began, I thought that it would come down to a Jessica/Colton final two. Suffice to say that with Jessica still here only because of the save and Colton now going home, it hasn’t been my best week for prognostication.

In any event, I now believe that the show will likely come down to Phillip (who will pick up Colton’s votes), Skylar and perhaps Jessica with Elise, Hollie and Josh being the next to go.

I will be back at Idol for the finale!

American Idol airs Wednesdays 8 p.m. on FOX and CTV and on Thursdays at 8 p.m. on FOX and CTV Two.
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LOS ANGELES – Last year, I attempted to set a Guinness World record to attend and cover every major reality show finale live. Before you ask, there were twelve in total and I will have a diary-style article available soon.

One of the biggest absences from my 2011 tally was The Voice. NBC’s singing show changed the landscape of reality television talent shows forever simply because it changed all the rules. The judging panel was comprised completely of current performers instead of judgmental industry insiders. These same judges chose competitors to join their teams with their backs turned during the audition phase of the program meaning the show was exactly what it was advertised as… finding America’s next great singing talent. With that being said, the show did add the standard Mark Burnett bells and whistles that have become synonymous with his brand of reality. Battle rounds, instant eliminations, the only thing missing is collaborations between the contestants (there’s always next season right?)

At NBC’s Summer Press Day last week, host Carson Daly, CeeLo Green, Blake Shelton and the aforementioned executive producer Mark Burnett answered questions about the show’s success.

I asked Burnett about where The Voice ranks alongside all of his reality successes.

MURTZ JAFFER: Mark, speaking over here in the purple hat waving at you.

MARK BURNETT: Hold on, my eyes are going.

MJ: Speaking of The Voice being so exciting, you’ve had so many great reality successes. Where does the The Voice rank among them?

MARK BURNETT I love music. My kids love music. And also they sang really great. Who would have thought two years ago saying we’d all be working on the number one show on Mondays and the number one show on Tuesdays on NBC? You’d think we were high. Also it’s kind of a good laugh as well as great work and joyful, you know, and great to be number one.

The fact of the matter is that The Voice is the freshest and most unique reality show on television.

While my 2012 mission/murtzssion was to attend The Voice’s season finale this year, thereby eradicating the only blemish on my perfect reality record from last year, it is unfortunately scheduled to air on the same night as The Amazing Race finale in New York. It would be impossible to physically be at both and as a result, I decided to check out one of the earlier shows this season.

The show, which is staged at the Warner Brothers lot is just as impressive as it looks on television. It is bold, bright and big. It adds a lot of validity to the notion that the show is meant simply as a platform to showcase artists that we haven’t heard from before instead of as a launching pad to launch burgeoning careers.

On this week’s show, it would be Team Blake taking on Team Christina and when Carson Daly opened the show and said that the judges would be instantly eliminating one singer apiece at the end of the performances, I was shocked. My initial thought was that Blake would probably nix Erin and that Christina would cut Ashley De La Rosa but that was prior to their performances.

RAELYNN
”She’s Country”
Team Blake
Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With RaeLynn
- Brilliant song choice from Blake and RaeLynn
- The song almost seemed like RaeLynn had written it especially with the way that she commanded the stage
- RaeLynn’s personality was also starting to kick in as she revealed that she didn’t have a boyfriend but was a “heartbreaker”
- While critics have torn into the young starlet for not being as polished as others in the competition, seeing her perform live validated my theory that she connects not only with the material she picks but also with the audience whereas other singers have struggled with this
- Christina said that she might be a minor but that she is a bad ass and that RaeLynn made her want to sing country
- CeeLo said that it was the best performance she has done so far (I agreed) and that it was like AC/DC did a country song (not sure about this one)
- Adam said that Blake finally did something right
- Blake said that it was the proudest moment he has had on the season thus far and that RaeLynn proved to America that country can kick ass

Commurtzial

JESSE CAMPBELL
”Halo”
Team Christina
Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With Jesse Campbell
- Staging was well done with Jesse singing in a picture frame while surrounded by photos of his daughter
- I have never been a big fan of this boring tune but Jesse sang it incredibly well and almost didn’t even need the accompanying music
- Would have been nice to see him sing it a cappella
- Thought that viewers would struggle to remember the song especially after such a barnburning performance from RaeLynn with six other singers left to perform
- CeeLo said that it was “wonderful”
- Adam said that he wasn’t feeling the song choice until it kicked in
- Blake said that it was a crazy great performance
- Christina said that it Jesse brought it from an emotional level

Commurtztial

JORDIS UNGA
”A Little Bit Stronger”
Team Blake
Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With Jordis Unga
- Along with Lindsey Pavao and Mathai, Jordis was one of my favorites in the competition as I have been following her career since Rockstar INXS
- Didn’t like the choice of a country song (hmm, do you think Blake might have had something to do with that)
- While Jordis looked angelic in a draping white gown and sang the song to the best of her ability, I was unfortunately bored by the performance specifically because of the song choice
- Before the performance, the singer discussed how she had lost a record deal and was about to move out of LA when her friends convinced her to stay and then The Voice happened
- I thought that Jordis deserved to move on but that she would likely have to hope for Blake to save her
- Christina said that the performance drew her in
- CeeLo said that it was a great choice of song (huh?)
- Adam said that that she was so emotional up there that she was close to crying by the end of the song
- Blake talked about how Jordis is actually a song writer

Commurtztial

Team Christina – “Fighter”
- An entertaining performance which saw Christina wearing a ridiculously revealing outfit and mock Blake but that delivered brilliantly in terms of entertaining the audience
- Performance was one of the better staging and singing efforts that I have seen on at a live reality show
- I am a big fan of the mentors singing with the competitors as it almost instantly legitimizes them
- Ashley De La Rosa was the standout in the group performance, probably because “Fighter” is the type of song that I could see on her record but it was hilariously awkward seeing Lindsey, Chris and Jesse sing to a song that is so out of their wheelhouse
- I had actually seen the Crenshaw High School Choir entering the stage so I knew that they would probably be involved in some type of group performance tonight
- Immediately after the song was over, Christina kicked off her heels and ran backstage (obviously wanting to change before the end of the commurtztial)

Commurtztial

ASHLEY DE LA ROSA
”Foolish Games”
Team Christina
Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With Ashley De La Rosa
- While I was quite excited to hear Ashley’s take on Jewel’s classic song, I didn’t really like the cover arrangement
- “Foolish Games” is an iconic song and changing it so drastically was a mistake
- With that being said, Ashley sang it well and I would have especially liked to have her seen her just tackle the original
- The rock edge that Ashley has in her voice and her rock leanings make her someone to follow long after the show has wrapped up its run
- Great singer this week but a bad song choice especially given that someone from Team Christina would be leaving the show immediately after it was over
- The special effects added to the performance’s allure
- The smoke that you saw majestically appear at Ashley’s feet was actually quite intoxicating in the audience
- CeeLo said that it was “good”
- Adam said that she was the biggest surprise to him (me too)
- Blake said that the smartest decision made on The Voice this year was when Christina chose to save Ashley

Commurtztial

Maroon 5 Performance
- This was pre-taped before the show began and Adam asked to do it twice

Commurtztial

ERIN WILLETT
”Set Fire To The Rain”
Team Blake
Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With Erin Willett
- Very solid performance
- Recognizable song was a good choice even if it was risky
- Erin has steadily improved during the competition
- Initially thought she didn’t get the same staging treatment as everyone else but that was until fireworks went off
- Great performance from a great singer
- In her opening video, Erin said that the show gave her an opportunity to shine in her darkest time (the death of her father)
- Christina said that she made the song something great
- CeeLo said that she did the song a great justice
- Adam said that Adele’s phrasing in the song is amazing and that while Erin’s pitch was great, she should work a little bit on the phrasing
- Blake said that he would never have thought of doing an Adele song but that Erin has the ability to

Commurtztial

LINDSEY PAVAO
”Part Of Me”
Team Christina
Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With Lindsey Pavao
- Finally, I was getting the chance to see my favorite singer in the competition sing live
- During her opening video package, Lindsey said that she was going to try a mash-up of Rihanna’s “S&M” and “We Found Love” a cappella with a guitar which got me excited, so I was thoroughly disappointed when she decided to change songs and do “Part Of Me” which I thought was a generic selection from the show’s most talented artist
- I didn’t think it would be as brilliant as her cover of “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye ft. Kimbra.
- The performance itself was solid because Lindsey can sing anything but it didn’t have her usual flair for the dramatic
- I still loved it
- CeeLo said that he hadn’t heard the song before so he had nothing to compare it to
- Adam said that there were a couple of powerful notes where the pitch got away from her
- Blake said that he noticed the pitch things too but that she gets a pass
- Christina said that she adored her and while she wasn’t familiar with the song (rough night for Katy Perry I guess), she trusted Lindsey because she believed in her as an artist

Commurtztial

Team Blake – “Heartache Tonight”
- Given the elaborate staging of Team Christina’s performance, this one was much more basic with Blake’s team simply singing the song
- Good performance which highlighted the competitors rather than their coach
- Would have been nice to see Erin involved a little more but I was a fan of RaeLynn
- Sometimes on reality television singing programs, a strong stage presence is just as important as The Voice, and while this show emphasizes the latter, it is still important and this is an area where RaeLynn excels

JERMAINE PAUL
”Against All Odds”
Team Blake
Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With Jermaine Paul
- Another safe song choice
- I preferred Paul’s audition choice of “Complicated” by Avril Lavigne
- Because of the song choice, I thought that Jermaine might be in jeopardy
- Acoustics in the venue really provided the perfect backdrop to his melodic tone
- I thought that the song was too old for him
- Would have liked to see him try an Usher, Jason Mraz or Seal song
- Christina told Blake that Jermaine was her favorite member of his team
- CeeLo said that he might not have heard the Katy Perry song but that he definitely had heard the Phil Collins tune and that Jermaine was one of the strong contenders in the competition
- Adam said that he had to make a song like that into his own thing
- Blake said that tonight America would say “oh my gosh, someone is a superstar”

Commurtztial

CHRIS MANN
”Viva La Vida”
Team Christina
Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With Chris Mann
- Great song choice!
- Made Chris seem a lot younger and highlight his vocal superiority without shoving his operatic background down our throats
- One of the better performances of the night with great staging
- Christina’s touring experience clearly helping her team as their performances almost always look like major events
- With that being said, I thought Chris would be the most in danger, not because he did a bad job but just because the competition in Christina’s group is the fiercest and I could not see her eliminating Lindsey or Jesse
- Adam said that he thought it was a little odd but that odd was good
- Also said that he wanted to see him sing opera
- Christina said that he already sang opera and that he stepped out of his comfort zone

Commurtztial

Time for the results.

Christina eliminates… JESSE CAMPBELL? Huh?! Did I miss something?

Before I could even react…

Blake eliminates…. JORDIS UNGA

Wow. And this is why I love reality television shows. I have no problem admitting that I didn’t see either elimination coming a mile away. Christina claimed that she wanted to keep the most versatile team while Blake was obviously affected by Jordis barely making it through during her last performance. Still, Jesse was the clear-cut favorite so even a week removed from the live show, I am still dumbfounded.

As we know, the next night America saved Chris Mann in another shocker with Christina saving Lindsey and sending Ashley home.

For Team Blake, America saved Jermaine Paul with Shelton protecting Erin, meaning that RaeLynn was sent packing.

The Voice live was everything I expected it to be and more. It was an amazing experience to witness live. The shocking results also magnified how it is changing the rules of reality.

In the end, I think that executive producer, Mark Burnett said it best at NBC’s Summer Press Day when he addressed a reporter’s question about the state of reality programming.

“Well, first of all, I hate the word reality show. It’s a journalistic term from journalists. What is reality? Reality is sitting here with you right now. It doesn’t matter whether it’s unscripted or it’s an unscripted drama or it’s a music show, or weight loss show. In the end to build network television, primetime is major gift and a major responsibility. All that matters is can you tell a story? And does it connect? Does it feel like it’s worth giving your time of an hour or two hours, after being at work? You have to treat it the same as the scripted drama or comedy and great lineup on a network is sports, news, unscripted, comedies, dramas, and they all seamlessly flow. All that matters is is it good or not? You know good shows make it; bad shows don’t. And the arbiter of good or bad shows isn’t anybody in this room. You guys have made your opinions, but you’re wrong a lot, I’ve noticed. I’m wrong a lot on shows. I mean, people talk about my success. So many shows haven’t made it. In the end, the arbiter of that are the American viewing public. That’s what makes it great.” – Mark Burnett

Here are my post-show red carpet interviews with the performers in case you missed them from earlier in the week.

Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With RaeLynn

Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With Jesse Campbell

Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With Jordis Unga

Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With Ashley De La Rosa

Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With Erin Willett

Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With Lindsey Pavao

Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With Jermaine Paul

Murtz Post-Show Red Carpet Interview With Chris Mann

The Voice airs Mondays at 8 p.m. and Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC and CTV.
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I talked to Jesse on the red carpet right after one of the most shocking eliminations in reality TV history (right up there with Pia Toscano from American Idol) and why he thought that Christina didn’t fight for him more.

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Immediately after her elimination, I had the chance to interview Jordis on the red carpet. While I was excited to talk to her and tell her about our mutual friends, I wish it had been under better circumstances.

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