Even though I hate having American Idol and The Voice on at the same time of year (after all, I have only so much time for catching up with my DVR on Saturday mornings), I was looking forward to seeing how Usher and Shakira would fit in with Blake and Adam on this year’s new coaching panel. So far, I like what they had to offer. They were competitive, critical and enthusiastic. I liked Christina and Cee Lo a lot, but this combination of personalities worked as well. These rounds on The Voice are miles better than the early rounds of Idol because everyone can actually sing, making the suspense that much more interesting. Sometimes a singer doesn’t get picked and you’re seriously disappointed. But there are also a lot of sob stories to fast-forward through, because I don’t always need to know that you were teased as a kid for having crooked teeth. Of course, I don’t have a heart of coal. Occasionally, the stories get to me. I had feelings when 19 year-old Vedo got Usher to turn his chair around by singing “Boyfriend” by Justin Bieber. He’s just a kid, and his mom has Stage 4 cancer. It was hard not to be rooting for him. But seriously – does The Voice seek out singers who have the saddest ever back stories? I mean, the guy who had premature twins who only lived for ten minutes? I was so sad I almost threw up. And no one turned around! Gah! My heart kind of broke when no one turned around for the tiny fifteen year-old country singer, a girl named Leah who’d been adopted from China as a baby and wanted to go on The Voice so that her dad could retire. She chose “Blown Away”, a very tough song, and “so close” pretty much summed it up. She was almost there, but it’s a big (and low) song, and she didn’t quite hit it. She was just so damn adorable! Judith Hill’s sob story was about Michael Jackson dying (she was supposed to sing on his tour), so I didn’t feel on the verge of tears during her performance. She did an AMAZING rendition of Christina Aguilera’s song “What A Girl Wants”. Where was this lady last season? She would have been the best one on Team Xtina! Judith is very talented and has fantastic hair, so I think she’ll go far. I thought Judith should have gone with Adam but expected her to choose Usher, so I was happily surprised when she did choose Adam. He has a lot of passion, but mostly I love what he’s done with past artists on this show. I love the songs he chooses and performances he puts together. I think Judith will be great. I really liked Josiah Hawley from the second night. His version of “Sunday Morning” was fun, and different enough from the Maroon 5 original. He ended up on Usher’s team, and that seemed like a good decision. Adam pushed his button but didn’t seem as passionate about working together. I think Adam likes to mentor artists who are different from him. Based on my music tastes, I was destined to love “Midas Whale”. An accordion! They sang “Folsom Prison Blues!” Their band name comes from saying “Might as well”! There’s a lot to love, and they were great. I wasn’t surprised that all the coaches pushed their buttons. I liked seeing the coaches fight over them. Adam telling Blake “They’re from Idaho, back off!” and their Spanish conversation with Shakira were highlights. They chose Adam, which was probably the best fit. It was a great first week for The Voice. Did you guys like it? ...