LIVE: THE VOICE - Featuring Kerry Ellis Audition!

By: Mar. 31, 2012
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

Thanks for your company this evening - I'll liveblog The Voice again towards the end of the series, but I'll also be liveblogging the Oliviers in a fortnight's time - join me then!

8.20pm: That's it, then, guys. So Kerry Ellis had no interest from any of the judges, but she's got the entire country up in arms about it, so good for her. Who was your favourite auditionee tonight?

8.17pm: He's chosen Jessie as his mentor. Seriously?!

8.14pm: Ooh, it's a clean sweep of judges. And he sings "very" with an oddly pleasing Welsh lilt.

8.12pm: The next contestant is a Welshman. Expect much Tom Jones-related drama. He's singing Superstition. That man from The Script turns round almost instantly, and then proceeds to dance in his chair.

8.10pm: She's singing 'Stronger' by Christina Aguilera, and Sir Tom Jones wants her on his team. Hooray hooray! When that man from The Voice realises that she is Denise from Five Star, he is quite shocked. Jessie J offers helpful criticism about doing "too many tricks". *rolls eyes*

8.07pm: Hooray, it's Denise Pearson, being credited as Deniece Pearson! She talks a little about her experience in Five Star, and says she would like to repeat that level of success. (Stedman is there by her side - bless.) No mention of her West End stints in Thriller and Respect La Diva, but wasn't really expecting it.

8.02pm: Teenage girl dressed in fishnets and basque. So far, so Gaga.

8pm: Tom and Jessie both want them. So they flip a coin. Seriously? How very flattering for their new mentor. (Tom wins, by the way.)

7.56pm: Ooh, a duo coming up. They say the spend the majority of their time together, and do most of their singing in the bathroom. He looks a bit like one of The Magic Numbers. They perform a peculiar version of A Little Time, but it's not necessarily unpleasant.

7.52pm: Next is a girl called Frances, who wears a bobble hat for inexplicable reasons. She is singing 'Where Is The Love?'

7.51pm: Ooh, it seems that Denise Pearson, formerly of Five Star, is auditioning tonight as well - she made her West End debut a couple of years ago in Thriller Live!

7.48pm: While Aleks attempts to flirt with Jessie J, we can note that "Kerry Ellis" is now trending on Twitter in the UK.

7.45pm: Cheeky chappie Aleks cannot be a lawyer, because he was kicked out of school and has no qualifications. Just as well that he doesn't want to be one - he wants to be a singer.

7.40pm: Vince Freeman is another professional performer. He's singing 'Sex On Fire', accompanying himself on acoustic guitar and bouncing up and down as he does so. He has a little Gervais-esque goatee beard, and no shoes. The man from The Script wants him on his squad, and Will.i.am informs Vince that he belongs with the man from The Script, so looks like that's a done deal.

7.37pm: Montage. Attractive man singing 'Time Of Your Life' up the octave. Tattooed man singing 'Why Do Fools Fall In Love?'. Hennaed-hair lady singing 'Hallelujah'. All get resounding rejections but the panel then regret it.

7.35pm: None of the judges want her even though they all thought she was good. She says she's never had a singing lesson in her life. Hmm. Will.i.am wonders if she could "reinvent radio" or something.

7.34pm: Ah, this girl has a very, very raw soprano voice in there - she's singing 'Nessun Dorma'. With some training to control the vibrato, she could be good. But surely she is not the "specific type of girl singer" any of the judges are looking for?

7.32pm: The 17-year-old girl auditioning now has a karaoke machine at home. So do I! Maybe I should audition!

7.31pm: He's decided to go with Jessie J, who claims that she is now excited.

7.27pm: Um, there is now a man singing a bizarre version of 'Like A Virgin'. And that man from The Script and Jessie J and Will.i.am and SIR TOM JONES all want him on his team. I don't think I understand this show.

7.26pm: So Kerry is out of the competition before it starts. What did you think of her audition?

7.25pm: Kerry slinks backstage and hugs her husband. She says the public rejection is character-building. Tom does a piece-to-camera about Kerry's audition showing what a tough competition this is.

7.24pm: Kerry keeps saying, "Why didn't you turn round?" to each of the judges. Tom is puzzled and says, "But if you're in musicals, you've already made it, you're already there."

7.23pm: Tom asks her nicely about her singing experience. Jessie J asks her what musicals she's been in. The fangirls in the audience shout: "WICKED!" That man from The Script says he's looking for a specific type of girl singer and she's not it.

7.22pm: There's a lot of shouty belting going on here and gasped breaths. She's in tune perfectly, but nobody's turned round, even with her vocal acrobatics at the end. Whoa.

7.21pm: She's singing 'Son Of A Preacher Man'. Her husband, dad and stepmum are backstage looking nervous.

7.20pm: Kerry is having her hair brushed and she's suddenly got stage fright. "I hope someone turns round, I really do!" She thinks this opportunity could change things for her, but fears being humiliated.

7.19pm: The man who left his job is just deliberating over who to choose. I'm sure Kerry will be back shortly.

7.16pm: It's just sunk in that when they were introducing Kerry initially, they said that the best vocal talent from around the country had been invited to audition. THAT's interesting...don't you think?

7.15pm: Another man interjects about quitting his job and singing a song by The Script. Come on. Back to Kerry.

7.14pm: Heeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Kerry! She talks about her West End career, but then adds, "It's not every day you get the chance to work with four superstars." Somewhere, Brian May winces. She says that she needs to take a risk.

7.13pm: Tom and Barbara are clearly a match made in heaven. 

7.10pm: Barbara is apparently a "glam gran from Glasgow", and this results in her being soundtracked by Shirley Bassey and patronised by Reggie Yates. She does a piece-to-camera about her need for recognition on "the best show on the planet". She sings 'Wild Horses' and gets applauded for belting in tune.

7.08pm: The man has chosen Will.i.am to be his mentor. Will.i.am has an exceptional smug face. Let us hope that man from The Script does not now go on a killing spree.

7.06pm: That man from The Script says he would kill to have this man on his team. I hope he does not mean that literally. That'd be an innovation on Saturday night prime-time TV. JUDGES GONE WILD.

7.04pm: The man singing at the moment has got so excited he is opting to sing sharp. He has a nice tone to his voice though.

7pm: Good evening, all! Right, so you know the premise of this show, yes? Blind auditions, where the judges (Tom Jones, Jessie J, Will.i.am, and that man from The Script) don't see the person who's singing. They spin round if they rate what they're hearing.

Well, tonight, by all accounts, we'll be hearing the West End's very own Kerry Ellis audition for the panel. (If she's not on, that'll mean I'm wasting a fair amount of my evening hoping that she will be.)

We knew ages ago that she was slated to audition - and it triggered a heck of a lot of debate among theatre fans and Kerry Ellis devotees. After all, she's an established artist, with records released, with that long-time collaboration with Brian May, and some people thought it was a strange career choice. What do you think? Good move or not?

We also saw Rock of Ages' Twinnie Lee Moore audition last week, and get rejected - what did you think of her performance?



Videos