Gigi D’Alessio, the king of molasses: Rating 4.5
Balance on the throne. For the third time in a row, Gigi D’Alessio is again confirmed as King of Malassa in the jury. In fact, the Neapolitan singer-songwriter has implemented his proven strategy “Violining to catch” in this new edition and voilà, the team is served. It’s hard to find anything memorable about his seasonal sitting in the red armchair. But not impossible: thanks to The Voice Senior 3, we found out that we have a life-size statue of Elvis at home (that Loredana Bertè gave him years ago). He keeps it near the piano (again a Cadeau by Renato Carosone). Basically it looks like you live in a very cheesy 5 star pawn shop. Painful as the notes of most of the duets he has engaged in are, as if they were a nice thought for viewers. The version of the monumental Never tell him by rapper Clementino, which is “decorated” with random beats, is particularly criminal. On the other hand, the barbaric courage with which the bespectacled coach uttered the following sentence is to be envied: “I don’t like pimps”. Oxymoron D’Alessio.
Clementino, half fool, half scavenger: Voice 7
We told them all sorts of things. But looking back at the complete edition, one would like to thank him. His relentlessly misplaced exploits at times managed to really add rhythm and panache to episodes of The Voice Senior, thanks in part to the laziness of some of his fellow judges. The 40-year-old rapper, who was literally a ’90s tourist entertainer plunged into 2023 by a time travel gone wrong, knew how to navigate the sacred monsters of Italian music around him. Usually to annoy them. Although the constant tender bickering with D’Alessio was repeated (they’ve been going on since the first edition, we understand the game), Clementino, the coaching nut, still had his own cards to play individually. And the team he put together is proof of that. In addition, it is impossible not to empathize with those disadvantaged on paper. Cross this issue for him, the fact that very few competitors have chosen him. Thus, against all odds, he was almost always the first to turn around at the candidate’s first note, intoned or not, in an attempt to instill a priori confidence in the unfortunate person and take the bone home. He plays the role of The Voice Senior 3’s scavenger, a beggar who made it.
Rich and poor refugees who came to finish us off: Voice 3
Mamma Maria, how boring these rich and poor! Newcomers to the third edition of the talent show, Angels of Clerici Angelo Sotgiu and Angela Brambati didn’t shine with exuberance and betrayed expectations. Over the course of episodes, we saw them brag about an employment agency – they pitied golden throats with promises to put them in their band – but mostly weary repeaters. Rarely have they contributed to the show with anecdotes or notable remarks simply by following the other coaches. The only pale attempt to join the fray was that of Brambati, when, armed with profane bravery, he attempted to persuade a competitor by intoning a Neapolitan neomelodic piece. Too bad that as a native of Genoa she only managed to pick up every possible inflection. A dialectal jumble that isn’t enough to awaken from the watchful coma that her participation in a double seat has spilled into this talent. And considering that the two, who we’ll be seeing again in the meantime, starting Saturday March 4 along with the rest of the The Voice Kids jury, Milly Carlucci is even set to be a competitor for the next edition of Dancing with the Stars had suggested. Maybe we won’t get rid of it anytime soon. Of course we could do without it.
Loredana Bertè Supreme Queen: Voice 10
“I am the daughter of a certain fame, I am a daughter of Loredana”, Bertè sang a few years ago. And to see her dominate The Voice Senior’s jury for the third straight year, there’s no doubting the hypothesis that she may have given birth alone. Charisma of steel, again this season she was the most sought-after coach of the competitors in the competition. The best, on a ground floor of excellence, always went straight to her. And she repaid the tributes with sci-fi anecdotes about her brilliant past. We’ll list a few in bits: he skated with Federico Fellini in New York and, while still in the Big Apple, attended an English class with Pele as a classmate. Here in Italy in the 1970s, she was in the cast of the musical Hair and “spent more time in court than in the rehearsal room” for some nude scenes that so offended the public morality of our bigoted Bel Paese. And not only. Loredana says: “I was arrested in Santiago because I was wearing clothes that were too daring. ‘I’m dressed like me, as Loredana’, I told him, ‘if you wanted Orietta Berti, you had to name her’”. And so, because of the compulsive imprisonment, the opportunity to perform at the Viña del Mar Festival in Chile disappeared for her, while today she declares that she wants to go on stage at the next Sanremo. Future plans? continue to rule.
Duets like locusts, someone disinfects the stage: Voice 4
Duets, duets everywhere. During the issue, we’d already dealt with the thorny issue of features storming the stage of The Voice Senior like they were invasions of crazed locusts. Only Loredana Bertè has always managed to score and bring top performances to the stage. The other coaches, with the exception of the sympathetic curtain between Ricchi e Poveri and Don Bruno Maggioni, could have avoided (and spared us) the selective ordeal. Already mentioned, the tremendous “mash-up” by Clementino and Gigi D’Alessio on the sheet music of Non dirgli Mai. But any captatio benevolentiae attempts by the jurors to ingratiate themselves with a coveted competitor by going on stage with him (or her) are also avoidable. They left a lot to be desired. D’Alessio at the piano, Clementino and his criminal bars, all musical massacres that could have been avoided (and perhaps should have been). Short duration was the only intrinsic quality of such a ritualistic atrocity. For the next edition we hope with heart and eardrum for corresponding cuts in the lineup.
Antonella Clerici, at the top without protagonists: Voice 9
Recently we saw her freak out on the notes of “Furore” along with Paola and Chiara during È Semper Mezzogiorno (Rai 1). Antonella Clerici knows how to take the stage, but she also has the shrewdness and empathy to step aside, like The Voice Senior, to let the contestants shine with their extraordinary voices and personal stories. The plausible risk was falling into an excess of emotainment and focusing on “tear-cracking” narratives that would have moved, but also depressed, viewers. A bit like what unfortunately happened in the last installment of “Dancing with the Stars” where, according to the jury, “the only contestant who said he was happy was killed in the third episode”. Clerici, the host who shouts “Long live life!” shoos away all the horrors of pain television, never dwelling on the dramatic parts of the experience of those before her, to instead highlight that of rebirth. Before the performance, each golden suppository sat down on the sofa with her to tell a little about themselves. And the result was a polite, respectful portrait full of positive energy, right on time. It wasn’t obvious. And we are very grateful to him for that.
The game is nice if it doesn’t last long (even on TV): voice 8.5
Despite the shortcomings that certainly cannot be missing from the testimonial, The Voice Senior reconfirms itself as a nice and consolidated surprise in the general television programs. Ever since the first edition was announced, one would have expected talent to focus on two main ingredients: tears and trash. Instead, none of these wild components have almost never peeked on the show’s stage or behind the scenes. Among the exceptional cast of Over 60 there are those who sing without half a lung, those who have never been able to devote themselves to singing (but always wanted to), those who, after a year in the infirmary, have met the woman of their lives after the operation, who gave him would have left very little hope of survival on paper. But also those who attended the Actors Studio in New York to then work with Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin and go on a US tour with Joe Cocker. Others “happened” to write lyrics (or music) for memorable songs for Mina, Francesco De Gregori or Lucio Dalla. All the stories of the participants are unique and very personal, as are their voices, which, in terms of intonation, are well above the average of far more well-known talents that we are used to endure as if they would not offend our eardrums. After all, all these rollercoasters of emotions and high-quality performances have the inestimable advantage that they condense into a bourgeois season: Like Cinderella, each episode closes its doors at midnight. Today, like today, a truly unusual form of respect for the viewers (who, by the way, return the politeness with sensational ratings). The winner is then immediately chosen on seven evenings and appointed for the coming year. Yes, the game is good if it doesn’t last long. Even on TV.
Maria Teresa wins and there is a happy ending (also for Clementino): 8.5 votes
“This is a program that empowers talent,” concludes a proud Stefano Coletta on stage at The Voice Senior, praising Rai 1’s talent and leaving room for the announcement of the winner. With 31.19% of the preferences, Maria Teresa Reale of the Clementino Team triumphed (who for the first time in three editions has one of her competitors on the top step of the podium). Maria Teresa, 61, enchanted the audience of the first Rai channel by singing Oggi sono io, the historical ballad by Alex Britti, but in Mina’s version. Born in Sora, she sang in piano bars in the 1980s. He then put his passion aside to devote himself to teaching. Until the challenge of The Voice Senior, where she deservedly triumphed over the other three superfinalists: Paolo Piluso (Ricchi e Poveri), Lisa Malosperti (Loredana Bertè) and Alex Sure (Clementino). Last year’s winning coach Gigi D’Alessio accepted the defeat with a dry mouth: “The audience is king”. Maria Teresa was very excited about the achieved goal and bordered on disbelief. Now, in addition to great personal satisfaction, her reward is the recording of an unreleased song for Universal Music, which will be included in an EP of all the covers, which she presented on the Over 60 talent show stage. Well deserved victory, although the competition was more than tough. Almost all of the 12 finalists, particularly the four who went on to fight for the crown, would not have been charged with burglary if they had won. In any case, congratulations to Maria Teresa, the audience wanted to reward her elegance, class and flawless vocal perfection. And it was a happy ending.