Ribbons

Salut, y'all. Here are two clips from my attempts to film myself lip-syncing to "Ice Cream" in the bathtub (inspired by the bubble bath segments in Mika's Italian show 😄). I hope it gives some of you a good giggle. It was my first time trying to film myself with my laptop, so the reason you can't hear the song is because I didn't realize it wasn't being captured by the app. If y'all want to splice a bit or bits of these into MFC's group video(s), feel free. 😊 What I am really looking forward to is filming a session on stand-up paddleboards. I suggested it to the manager of my favorite outfitter and he's totally game (and he has a waterproof music player). I can't do headstands like some of the other yogis on the lake, but I'll probably try for some 90-degree jumps or bow pose -- while holding ice cream. I'm thinking of wearing my life jacket during whatever routine we come up with so that the ice cream has a better chance of staying above water when I fall in. 😁 ice cream with ribbons and ducks 1.mp4 ice cream with ribbons and ducks 2a.mp4

And, irreverent as they are, even they were bowled over by the duet: Loose translations: Whoa, the decor - it's gorgeous, like an apartment renovated by Stephane Plaza [French television personality on HGTV-style shows]. Beautiful chemistry between Mika and Whitney -- we are totally fans.

I read Voici's livetweets a few hours after the show, and they were cracking me up, especially since I usually hate kisscams: Comme ce n'était pas déjà assez ringard, ils ont fait une kiss cam. #TheVoice Mais bon, ça nous a permis d'avoir un bisou à déboîter la mâchoire, entre Mika et Julien Clerc, et ça, c'est priceless. #TheVoice (Loose) translation: As if this wasn't already cheesy enough, they've got a kiss cam going. But hey, it let us have a jaw-dropping kiss between Mika and Julien Clerc, and that, that's priceless.

Quite a bit about Mika in this Purebreak interview: https://www.purebreak.com/news/whitney-the-voice-8-je-voulais-faire-fermer-les-langues-de-vipere-sur-internet/177118

At this point, everyone left was accepted right away during KO -- no one stolen or red-zoned made it past this round, and none of the combined teams made it through last round. I'll be interested to see if/how they adjust the format next year based on these results. I'm in agreement with the slate except for Vay -- I can't listen to him for more than a few bars, so I don't get what there is to discover. But Mika was ready to eliminate Gage even earlier, so competition-wise there's something in the way of persuading the coaches he can win. I'm really loving the interaction among the coaches this year, especially when they trade looks/comments during a performance. (I may have to GIF Julien grinning at Mika as Mika raves during "To build a home." J'adore aussi! )

Watching Mika and Julien recognize that they're partial to the same type of voice (Clementine and Pierre Danae) is fascinating.

The block button certainly led to some entertaining moments, but it's interesting that none of the talents it was used for were kept by their original coaches, or claimed by the people doing the blocking. One wonders how much coachability factors into the coaches' decisions. I'm looking forward to seeing how Mika fares with Virginie (the one who sang a Pink song in her blind audition), now that she's on his team after all.

Another thing I like about this episode is how it shows two kinds of steals -- the kind where the original coach is thrilled that a contestant they can't keep is being saved by another coach (it reminds me of Zazie's delight when Mika buzzed for Casanova last season), and then the kind that had Soprano shouting "Non! Non! Non non! Non nooon! Non noooooooon!" and the contestant getting to say "C'est le jeu, c'est le jeu" (it's the game, it's the game) to him. (I looooooove how expressive Soprano is. His "Magnifique! O magnifique!" when Julien blocked Mika made the whole thing funnier.

For folks who might be interested in "Nathan" (performed by a member of Soprano's team), I posted an English version to Lyrics Translate after watching the clip: https://lyricstranslate.com/en/nathan-nathan.html-0 Many thanks to the translators here for all your hard work! My listening comprehension is not too hot, so your help definitely adds to my enjoyment!

I've been eager to watch this episode (Soprano's KO) since seeing the teaser at the end of "La suite" from last week, when Mika exclaims, "Oh mince!" and slaps the red button. For the people wondering what "mince" means, here's an explanation: https://www.thelocal.fr/20180928/french-word-of-the-day-mince Since not everyone has seen the episode yet, I won't get specific yet, but I will say that his decision to keep Loko for the battles may seem less peculiar after one hears him talk about how much he likes "quirky" voices. (Something I was already aware of, given some of his other choices over the years -- for example, Audrey. I know she had her fans, but her voice was like the female equivalent of Mano's to me -- and while I loved Mano's look and the reactions to him during his blind audition, good grief that take on "Beds are Burning" was awful.) I'm sad that my favorite performer on Soprano's team didn't get past this round, but objectively speaking I actually agree with the coaches -- in both their blind and KO performances some notes weren't quite on pitch, and the vocal technique not solid enough to carry them to the finals. Which just goes to show that performing and connecting involve more than just how a performer sounds. I'm not sure how I feel about the Zone Rouge -- it definitely adds to the drama, but man, it's hard to watch the people who get put there trying to stay positive as other people get chosen and their chances dwindle. Though it's also lovely to see some of them reacting enthusiastically/graciously to good performances by their rivals (Ana Carla on Jenifer's team had some of the best faces), and I have admit I laughed out loud at Agathe and Heather watching Coco. 😏