Jessica’s doing fine, it’s time to cheer for Cheesa on ‘The Voice’
I confess I have not watched a single episode of "The Voice," another talent search reality show similar to "American Idol." I have been addicted to this year's "AI" since Jessica Sanchez made it to the top 24 and progressed to the top 8 last week. She is heavily favored to reach the final episode where only two finalists will compete for the top prize.
When I heard that a FilAm girl, Cheesa Laureta, was in the top 24 of "The Voice" or "The V," I made it a point to watch the next episode of "AI's" competitor. (The Live Round of "The Voice" starts airing on Thursday, April 5 on AXN, Ch. 49 on Sky). I also searched the internet for more information about her. Cheesa (pronounced "Che-za"), 21, was born and grew up in Hawaii just like Jasmine Trias, who placed third in "AI's" third season. Both of Cheesa's parents are Filipino (her mom is from Cebu and her dad is a Manileño). She has a brother, Troy, who's also musically inclined. He is Charice's musical director when she goes on tour.
Although her father supported his children's decision to go to Los Angeles to pursue their musical dream, he preferred that she settle for a more stable career like nursing. The family moved to Los Angeles in 2006 and experienced financial difficulties.
Cheesa and Troy both auditioned on "AI" and "The V" but didn't get in. She was disappointed, of course, but Troy encouraged her to try again this year. This time, Cheesa passed the blind auditions with her rendition of Beyonce's "If I Were a Boy." As everyone knows, the judges/coaches, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Cee Lo Green have their backs turned to the singer during this round. Thus, it's the singer's voice and not his/her looks that they base their decision on. Cee Lo raved about her performance saying, "You could go from here to be everything that you were meant to be." She became one of the 12 members of Team Cee Lo.
The next round, called the Battle Round, involves 12 singers from each of the four teams who passed the blind auditions, 48 in all, competing for 24 spots in the next round. In this round, each judge paired off two members to compete against each other by singing the same song together. The judge then decided who would proceed to the next round.
The episode I watched on TV last Saturday, a replay, was the last of the face-offs in the battle round. I was impressed by the number of musical personalities who were recruited to coach the contestants. The list included Alanis Morissette, Jewel, Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert, Lionel Richie and Baby Face.
Cheesa's Battle Round performance was aired earlier so I watched her on You Tube. She was pitted against Angie Johnson, 31, a US Air Force Staff Sergeant. The song assigned to them was "Total Eclipse of the Heart." The face-off was a tough one to judge. It was reminiscent of a boxing match as they had to perform in a stylized boxing ring. Instead of landing punches, they used their voices to score a knockout. I was reminded of the fights of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, who were equally matched. Their bouts were always closely fought.
Both singers were impressive and I was of course rooting for Cheesa but it could have gone either way. Even the judges had a hard time deciding who won the match. Adam chose Cheesa but Christina and Blake went for Angie. Their choices didn't matter because only Cee Lo's vote counted and he chose Cheesa.
This meant that Cheesa would join 23 other winners to the live round where viewers will finally have a say who should proceed to the next round. The public will vote on which act from each team should go to the round of eight. The judge chooses the other qualifier. Each team will have two remaining members who will compete against each other. The winner will be decided on a 50-50 basis by the judges and the audience. The fina1 four will then compete against each other and the winner will be decided solely by the viewers.
Cheesa has a tough task ahead of her. I've heard the other contenders and many of them are potential champions. It helps that she grew up in Hawaii, which is very supportive of its hometown girls. Look at the votes that third-placer Jasmine got on "AI." Unlike "Idol," however, where the decision is left to the viewers once the top 24 are picked by J Lo and company, "The V" puts a lot of weight on the judgment of the coaches. Cheesa must therefore impress not just the viewers but more importantly, Cee Lo.
