Archive for the ‘The Voice’ Category

The Voice – semifinal

Monika, Magne and Martin at rehearsals earlier in the week 
(Picture from Romerikes Blad)

Last night it was time for the semifinal in The Voice, with eight contestants remaining – two on each team.

First up on Magne’s team was Monika Blomeid, performing her own song “London Bound”.

“It’s extremely important for a vocalist and performer like Monika to become good through songwriting, write good melodies. That’s often the hard part. With this song, Monika shows that she does indeed excel in her songwriting, and that she has strength and integrity in her performance”, Magne said in his comments.

Next, it was Martin Halla performing “Release Me” by Swedish band Oh Laura.

When describing Martin’s performance, Magne decided to use the ultimate compliment at his disposal:

“The last time I encountered a voice that made the impossible seem possible, it was a young man in his early twenties – named Morten Harket. Martin is very different from him, but definitely in the same league.”

The decision on who would go through to next week’s final was once again spilt between the mentors and the TV audience. Magne had the chance of giving a certain percentage of votes to his two talents, but ended up giving Monika and Martin 50% each.

“For me, this is very simple. I have believed in Monika from the very beginning and she has proven her unique qualities. Martin has gradually taken off like a rocket. I’m not able to favor any of them, so I’ll leave the decision to the audience. They both deserve a future career, and I would like to keep following them. So I give them 50/50.”

The final decision showed that Martin received a big majority of the votes from the TV audience, and he is the one who will represent Magne’s team in the final next Friday.

He is joined in the final by Leif Anders Wentzel on Yosef’s team, Hege Øversveen on Hanne’s team and Aleksander W. Åsgården on Sondre’s team.

The Voice – episode 16

Magne with his two semifinalists; Monika Blomeid and Martin Halla 
(Picture from dagbladet.no)

Magne had three talents left on his team in yesterday’s live episode of The Voice, but only two of them would go through to next week’s semifinal.

Here are last night’s performances:

Shaun Bartlett (performing his own song “Secret Mission”)
Monika Blomeid (performing “Blowin’ In The Wind”)
Martin Halla (performing “We Found Love”)

Martin received the most audience votes, and it was up to Magne who would join him in the semifinal; Shaun or Monika.

He ended up choosing Monika, who did an amazing version of “Blowin’ In The Wind”, but said afterwards that it had been a very difficult choice:

“Shaun has been one of the best, all along. So in some ways this is unfair, but I hope to make it up to Shaun at a later point. (…) I hope I’ll be able to give him what I have of contacts and inspiration in the future”, Magne told VG.

“You never know how the audience will vote. I have been lying awake for a few nights now, thinking about this. (…) I tried to picture who would have the most to gain from this show, that’s why I chose to keep Monika”, he added to Dagbladet.

Before the show, there was a video interview with Magne on tv2.no. Afterwards he was interviewed by both VGTV and backstage in the Red Room studio.

The Voice – episode 14

Magne interviewed after the show, with Marius Beck and Marianne Pentha

The first live show of The Voice was broadcast from Chateau Neuf in Oslo last night, where Team Magne competed against Team Yosef.

Magne’s five talents had to be reduced to three by the end of the night, decided by both viewer votes and Magne’s own choices.

Shaun Bartlett got the most votes from the viewers, and Magne wanted to keep Monika Blomeid and Martin Halla on the team. So Marius Beck and Marianne Pentha are both out of the game.

“This was an incredibly difficult choice. I would have wanted to keep all my talents, they all deserve to be in the final”, Magne said after the show.

The performances can be seen here:
Marius Beck   Martin Halla   Marianne Pentha   Shaun Bartlett   Monika Blomeid

Earlier in the week TV2.no posted a 6-minute video interview with Magne and Marius Beck, which can be seen here.

Magne on Senkveld

Magne and the other mentors on The Voice were guests on TV2’s talkshow Senkveld tonight, before they are off to Magne’s cabin on a mountain trip before next week’s live show.

Talking about the upcoming live shows, where the TV-audience will be able to vote for their favorites, Magne said:
“It will be interesting to see what people think, people who don’t have the same close knowledge of the talents we’ve been working with. But that’s how it is outside the show as well – people “vote” by buying someone’s album. And I think all four of us would like to see specific artists sell a lot more albums, because we like them. But they don’t get enough “votes”, or purchases on iTunes. So there’s always a certain element of competition. We’re just trying to navigate through this as best as we can, and do our best for the talents on our teams.”

When asked what it’s like working with Magne, Sondre Lerche mentioned how he’s always been a big a-ha fan:
“I’ve had quite an intense interest in Magne and a-ha, going way back, and I have defended the band through thick and thin. When I was 12 years old, in the early 90s, and all the boys in my class liked Guns N’ Roses and Metallica, I stood up for East Of The Sun and Memorial Beach – those more serious a-ha albums.”

The Voice – episode 13

Magne with his top five talents (l. to r.): Shaun Bartlett, Marius Beck, Marianne Pentha, Monika Blomeid and Martin Halla (Picture from TV2.no)

In tonight’s sing-off episode, three of Magne’s talents had to perform their blind audition songs again – to determine who would go to the final round, the live shows, starting next Friday.

Video clips:
Kristiania (“Viva La Vida”)
Kathrine Fugllien (“Wake Me Up When September Ends”)
Marianne Pentha (“When Love Takes Over”)

Magne ended up choosing Marianne Pentha, who joins Shaun Bartlett, Marius Beck, Monika Blomeid and Martin Halla as the final five talents on Team Magne.

The Voice – episode 11 and 12

Here are last week’s duels on Magne’s team in episode 11 of The Voice:
Kathrine Fugllien vs. Yvonne Walderhaug (performing “Erase/Rewind”)
Ruben Gundersen vs. Martin Halla (performing “Keep on Walking”)

And the duel from episode 12 yesterday:
Heidi Blåsmo Frantzen vs. Marianne Pentha (performing “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”).

In next week’s episode, Magne will need to reduce the number of talents on his team from seven to five, through a sing-off contest. And those five will then be ready for the live shows, starting on April 27th.

The Voice – episode 10

Two new duels for Magne and Martin Terefe on yesterday’s episode of The Voice.

Kjell Ove Knutsen vs. Shaun Bartlett, performing “Side” by Travis. And Birgitte Einarsen vs. the duo Kristiania, performing “Suddenly I See” by KT Tunstall.

Click on the links to see who Magne ended up choosing.

The Voice – episode 9

Tini, Monika, Martin and Magne during rehearsals

Magne made it tricky for himself on The Voice last night, when he decided to put Monika Blomeid and Tini Flaat Mykland, probably the two best talents on his team, up against each other in a duel.

A video clip of their performance of Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” can be seen at TV2.no.

“The two of you are lightyears ahead of so many others. And each of you manage to own the song in your own special way. I’m not able to point out any mistakes in the performance. You go straight to my heart, both of you. I get completely blown away each time I listen to you, including tonight”, Magne said after the performance.

“But I just can’t get past Monika. It has to be Monika”

 

“Setting two such strong talents as Tini and Monika up against each other in a duel might seem strange to most people, and I guess it may not be the most strategic move, but remember that I’m also trying to create unique musical moments. I also feel that there should be a certain balance, in that both talents can have a real chance of actually winning the duels”, he told VG afterwards.

“Magne is so dedicated and excited. He gives me so much inspiration and motivation. It’s almost unreal. Being backed by Magne Furuholmen – it almost feels strange to say it out loud”, Monika said in a VG interview.

“Monika’s voice is a force of nature. She is definitely capable of winning the whole contest”, Magne said in the same interview.

 

But even though Tini is out of the contest, Magne wants to continue working with her as well.

“Yes, it’s true that Tini and me have been in contact after she left The Voice. Martin Terefe and myself really want to make an album with her. She is a singing talent we both strongly believe in, regardless of this contest, and we are hoping to help her release her full potential”, Magne told VG.

“We have had a meeting and are in a dialogue, that’s all I can say. I’m really humbled that he wants to keep working with me, and he seems to mean what he says. It’s really fun”, Tini herself says.

Martin Terefe joins Magne on The Voice

Martin Terefe – Magne’s Apparatjik bandmate and longtime collaborator – appeared on The Voice last Friday as Magne’s handpicked assistant, as the contest moved onto the so-called battle phase.

Assistants to the three other mentors are American drummer David Heilman (Sondre), Barbadian singer Shontelle (Hanne) and Norwegian songwriter Thom Hell (Yosef).

The first two talents on Magne’s team to compete were Knut Anders Sørum and Marius Beck. Their performance of Keane’s “Bend and Break” can be seen at TV2.no.

The battle phase episodes, which were taped at the end of January, will continue for five more weeks. After that, it’s time for the live shows, which start on April 27th. Tickets for the live shows seem to be available now from Billettservice.

The Voice – episode 4

Magne got one new talent for his team in Friday’s episode of The Voice; Kjell Ove Knudsen, who performed Coldplay’s “Fix You”.

Commenting on the performance, Magne said:

“That was a very fun little journey. The thing about Coldplay… [At Yosef:] I assume you’ll come up with a joke about how I’m friends with Coldplay. But that has nothing to do with it. I’m actually very sceptical when people attempt cover versions of songs like that, but you managed to add a certain desperation to it that touched me. There is a potential in you, and I would really like to come along on your journey, if you’ll let me.”

Magne now has nine talents on his team.

 

In other news, Magne is on the cover of gossip magazine Se og Hør’s weekend edition. Inside there is a 4-page article about his “dramatic life”.

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