The VOICE'S Dia

I'm so burned out on American Idol, I'm not even watching it this year. Until they limit the votes to a certain number per phone and eliminate any kind of computer dialing, there's no way the voting can be fair. How many of us have grown weary of seeing truly talented artists voted off in favor of the laughably inept? I have.

So, instead, I began watching THE VOICE: "...a vocal competition series modeled after Holland's top-rated vocal talent discovery show, The Voice of Holland. Hosted by Carson Daly, the show features four musician coaches: Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, who will coach only the most talented vocalists.

"The show's innovative format features three stages of competition: the first begins with the blind audition, then the competition enters into a battle phase, and finally, the live performance. The show's casting team is working with the music industry and searching the country for the best singers to bring to the blind audition process.* During the blind auditions, the decisions from the coaches are based solely on voice and not on looks.**"

*I don't know why I assumed these singers would be non-professionals. I guess if the "music industry" is involved, it stands to reason they aren't out there yanking folks off the street. They have Connections.

**Great premise, and what drew me to the show in the first place (thinking of the amazing Susan Boyle).

The show's contestants included a very talented young girl named Dia Framptom who told the host that she writes children's novels "on the side." Intrigued, I checked out her page on The Voice's website: "This 23-year-old singer-songwriter from St. George, Utah is half Korean and half Dutch. Her career aspiration has been to be a voice-over actress, but her considerable singing talents may just steer her elsewhere. A life-long bookworm, Dia also writes novels and children's books."

Further intrigued, I Googled her some more and couldn't find a single thing she'd written. However, I did find on her Wiki page that she is the lead singer in a band that includes her sister Meg, and others, and that they've recorded several albums, including one for Warner Bros. So this is how I really figured out why The Voice doesn't subject us to weeks of excruciating auditions, not to mention the profane, delusional ramblings of those who get kicked out. The Voice's singers are not newbies to the business. While I have no problem with that, I think the commercials for the show intentionally mislead viewers to believe that the contestants are not professional singers.

Well, that's fine. I still enjoyed the show. However, I wonder why contestant Dia didn't mention that she'd had previously record deals and some moderate success on the indie circuit?

She did, however, mention to the host that she wrote children's novels "on the side." The way she said it, it sounded as if she, yanno, really wrote books--as in having published books. I mean, I Googled her instantly because I admired her audition, and wondered what she'd written, if she had a website, a blog, etc.--and found squat about her writing, but plenty about her recording.

I wonder why, if writing is simply a hobby of Dia's--and what an awesome hobby, right?-- why not mention it as such? Then again, she never mentioned her record deals. What does this mean? That she is a professional singer posing as an amateur singer? A hobby writer posing as a professional writer? She doesn't mention a freaking album she recorded for Warner Bros....but she pretends to be in the publishing business?

Anyone else confused?

Who cares, right? :)