Film & TV

Review: The Voice Australia National Tour

Last night at the Entertainment Centre Theatre, The Voice top eight finalists took to the stage for the second show in their national tour.

thevoiceontourLast night at the Entertainment Centre Theatre, The Voice top eight finalists took to the stage for the second show in their national tour.

After the long and entertaining process that has been the Channel Nine reality talent contest, Teams Ricky, Kylie, Joel and Will showed the sold out Adelaide audience what they were made of.

The show was opened by season one finalist Prinnie Stevens who performed her new single, ‘One Night’, and covers of ‘Tainted Love’ and ‘Wake Me Up’, proving why she’s currently one of the country’s most sought after pop stars.

The seven casually dressed finalists (Sabrina, Jackson, Kat, Johnny, Holly, Frank and ZK) bounded onto the stage (sans winner, Anja,) and performed Pharrell Williams’ ‘Happy’ in front of a red curtain – which appeared to be hiding the main event.

Much to the delight of the audience, who were mainly families, the seven singers played to the crowd and were clearly adoring their time on the stage without having to await feedback or judgement.

After that uplifting and energised performance, a spotlight shone onto the red curtain, accentuating the silhouette of the 2014 winner, Anja Nissen who was singing the introduction to David Guetta’s ‘When Love Takes Over’.

The curtain dropped dramatically, revealing the blond bombshell from NSW.

Her voice filled the theatre and, in a blue glitter mini dress with pearl white heels, she owned the stage, looking every bit a pop superstar.

The show went on with solo performances from each of the eight finalists, except, of course, Adelaide’s ZK who come as a set; and duets between Australia’s favourite contestants.

Having changed out of their play clothes and into formal attire, each number was slick and professional (even the on stage banter was well rehearsed), with each performer introducing the next.

Jackson Thomas was like a reincarnation of Michael Hutchence, rocking songs like Matt Corby’s ‘Resolution’, but showing his versatility with a passionate rendition of Seal’s ‘Kiss from a Rose’ and Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ – a duet with the incomparable Sabrina Batshon.

Sabrina was sassy, gorgeous and engaging with an incredible voice; her version of Sia’s ‘Chandelier’, went further than doing the original justice, it was better.

Johnny Rollins was a crowd favourite, commanding a unanimous swoon with his rendition of ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’.

The nine-piece band had a blast playing with rocker, Frank Lakoudis who was in his element performing Kiss and Queen.

Highlights were, of course, Adelaide contestants ZK and Kat Jade who were obviously energised by playing such an event in their hometown.

ZK sang Cindi Lauper’s ‘Time After Time’, which showed off their exceptional talent and perfect harmonies, and, with Anja, Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ was unique and enjoyable.

Kat was quirky, lovable and totally genuine on stage; her voice has enormous potential and she injected feeling and narrative into Katy Perry’s ‘Dark Horse’ and ‘Memory’ from the musical, Cats.

Holly Tapp and Anja Nissen had some excellent solos; Holly’s jazzy version of Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ was fun and Anja got the big numbers like Whitney Houston’s ‘I Have Nothing’ and Jackson 5’s ‘I’ll Be There’.

Imagine Dragons’ ‘On Top of the World’ was a fitting way to end the show as it was obvious the eight youngsters truly were indeed on top of the world.

The audience called for an encore and were rewarded with John Farnham’s Aussie classic, ‘You’re the Voice’.

Although perhaps not all of the contestants will have a long and prosperous career in the music industry, they will have the memory of this tour and the appreciation of the audiences who have clearly fallen in love with the final eight.

More News

To Top