The Voice of Ireland- Episode 3

Tonight was an interesting night on The Voice of Ireland. My two favourite singers of the night were Nollaig O Connor and Rory Quinn.

Nollaig was the judges favourite performance of the night with all four judges turning their chair, begging her to choose them. Bressie said it was his favourite performance on the show so far. In the end, she decided to pick Sharon to help her deal with the issues she has with her nerves when performing on stage.

Rory Quinn was my personal favourite of the night. He sang one of my favourite songs "Man in the Mirror". His voice is incredibly beautiful and I could listen to him sing that song over and over and over again!

Amy Winehouse Wanna-Be

I think the oddest performance of the night was by the Amy Winehouse obsessed singer Lindsey Hamilton. Brian Kennedy laughed through her performance yet decided to turn his chair to pick her. I think she has amazing potential but could her kookiness be a turn off or a turn on....will she be a future star or not?! Her voice is like early Amy Winehouse and her personality is a little like Lady Gaga, (the cheekiness and that feel that she is from a wealthy background). Her performance, image and attitude all scream out that she wants to be unique and I think there could definitely be a bit of a diva inside her. Check it out for yourself and let us know what you think?!

The one that got away

Ellie McMahon not only looked like a recording artist, she also had a great recoding voice. Bressie said "if I had seen you, I would have picked you, you are my type of artist". Bressie seemed very disappointed later and said he felt he made a big mistake. Hopefully we will see Ellie at some point in the future because she definitely has star potential!

The Voice of Ireland- Episode 1 & Tara Blaise

When I first found out that Niall Breslin was taking part in this reality TV singing competition I was very excited, however, the first episode was slightly disappointing. I thought the talent was so so...now that's the talent on stage...Bressie did not disappoint at all!!!

One of the highlights of the first episode was Conor Quinn's performance. It is one of my all-time favourite performances on The Voice of Ireland so far. He is an attractive guy and has such a nice smile! But he looked like the Hunchback of Notre-Dame singing! His voice though is incredibly strange but outstanding at the same time and if he recorded an album I probably would buy it! It will be exciting to see what Bresie does with him.

Tara Blaise

Tara Blaise blew everyones minds in episode one...was she good..was she not...and then it turned out that she has already had a recording contract and a relatively successful career in music but just never really made it massively. She was the only contestant that made me want to insert her name into google!

She is on wikipedia and has many many fans on youtube. All her fans on youtube have commented that her management company are not doing its job. Her fans all advise her to get a good PR person on her team. So I am pretty sure this is why she decided to put herself forward on a show like this, to increase her fan base. She did not get chosen as the judges said they felt she was too nervous. However, Sharon Corr said she thought she had guessed it was her voice as she knows Tara. Sharon has also said that she knows all about conquering your fears on stage..then why didn't she choose her?! 

I couldn't stop staring at her amazing bone structure. She is very attractive and is stunning in her youtube videos. Tara has worked as a model. In late 2008,  she was featured in an advertising campaign for Tommy Hilfiger in Ireland. In 2009,  Tara appeared on the RTÉ show Off the Rails. She has a special Claire Danes quality about her. Tara has also worked as an actress starring as 'Beth' in the first stage production of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. Tara also appeared in the short film Dental Breakdown that was shown at the Corona Cork Film Festival in 2009.

Tara who is 36, and just has a baby appeared quite casual in a loose jumper and jeans infront of the judges. Tara has released two albums Dancing on Tables Barefoot (2005) and Great Escape (2008). Hot Press describes the 2005 album as “a warm and honest record, lit by a genuine sense of personal adventure, and delivered with feeling and panache in equal measure.”

In the 2009 Irish Meteor Awards, Tara was nominated in the category of Best Irish Female Artist. Imelda May won the award.

Do you think the judges should have put her through? Do you think it was a good or bad PR move for Tara to put herself on reality tv?! And will we see or hear about Tara Blaise again?

Tallafornia Versus Fade Street

We just can't get enough of reality TV. When I was living in the US, I was 20 and became addicted to Laguna Beach. I was amazed by their life style and I thought it was REAL! I was heartbroken when a guy broke the news to me in drama class that it was set up. Thinking back and having watched a few years of reality TV, the Laguna Beach/The Hills/City/Fade Street type TV is obviously very scripted and set up. Poorly acted programmes like Fade Street REALLY bring this to light. It also makes me realize how great an actress LC is (Lauren Conrad), who is one of the great heroines of reality TV.

I think EVERYONE who watches TV has at least one reality TV programme they are somewhat addicted to. My friend and brother are major addicts of Jersey Shore. One day, my friend forced me to watch Jersey Shore before we hit town. So I went to her house early with a big bottle of rum, made a bunch of mojitos, sat back and watched tons of Jersey Shore! It is not something I would have watched on my own...but I have to say, I did enjoy it. I really enjoyed Snooki. She is the star of the show...the rest are just annoying. And yes the Snookmeister..is an annoying little monster but she is a funny little Guidette. Four things come to mind when I think about Snooki..1. Snooki arriving in her bumpy car...2. Snooki answering the duck phone and sounding like the duck phone...3. Snooki rolling around the sand drunk and getting arrested and finally 4. Snooki getting punched in the face! I highly doubt Irish reality tv will be this funny!

Fade Street

I just couldn't get into Fade Street..and I am really surprised there is a second one! But I guess somebody must like it. I watched the first episode of the first series and it just made me feel sick in the stomach as the acting was attrocious. Yes it's reality TV..so technically they shouldn't be acting..so why did it just look like terrible terrible improv???

The part where Danielle from Wexford told her mother she was taking a gap year to explore other career opportunities in Dublin was a cringe worthy moment. It should have been cut out. It was just so obviously fake...the poor mother should have taken some acting classes! This moment turned me off the programme completely...sorry Danielle's Mom!

I have two friends who loved Fade Street. One who lives in D4 and then one who lives in London and watched it all online. I don't know how they did it...because everytime I try, I just can't help but flick!

Tallafornia

Now, I have to say Tallafornia is a whole different story...it is becoming my guilty pleasure. No it doesn't have Snooki or anyone who is as funny as Snooki, eventhough little Nikita TRIES...but just doesn't make the cut. The question is..is she a Snooki wanna-be or a Sami Sweetheart wanna-be?! Or is she just trying to be herself! Tallafornia is definitely more interesting than Fade Street..I can watch and not want to flick. I watched the repeat of it today. REPEAT of reality TV..so it must be good..RIGHT!

It is still not Jersey Shore but it definitely has great potenital and it seems more real than Fade Street and the cast are more likeable. The two boys Cormac and (especially) Dave lack the Tallaght accent. Dave definitely has that yuppy rugby boy thing about him. Dave is a Blessington boy now living in City West where he works locally as a personal trainer and gym supervisor. Personally, I think he is the best looking of the bunch...but there is something cute about Phil especially when he became very red in the face when he was embarrassed when one of Natalie's friends who is gay was having a laugh and a bit of fun in the jacuzzi and Phil seemed a little afraid to enter the jacuzzi!

The AWWW moment in Friday's episode was when they visited Jay's mothers house. He is the image of his mother. And it was cute that she was so proud of him. And she gave them all a lovely fry!

The vodka stealing moment is SO IRISH! When we think of doing something bold and going wild at an Irish house party...how come it always involves stealing vodka..and how come we always think it is SOO BAD!

Tallafornia..so far, so good..hopefully it will get messier though!

Tallafornia OR Fade Street..which do you prefer and why?
Let us know your opinions!

Welcome to Irish Telly Talk! A blog dedicated to Irish television. Reality TV is taking over our screens and it is funny to see reality TV in Ireland. Irish telly talk will discuss all types of Irish TV from Fair City to Raw to Fade Street to Tallafornia. We will also look back at older Irish programmes like The All Ireland Talent Show, The Model Scout and Glenroe!

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