Last night marked the season two premiere of NBC's The Sing-Off, with Ben Folds returning as a judge on the hit a cappella competition. "The Sing-Off Proves Ben Folds Needs His Own Television Show," declares MTV. "Though all of the judges are excellent, the show really does belong to Folds ... He has both the chops and the experience to really deliver in the judges' chair." NPR calls him "wonderful." In his blog for the show, Folds writes: "The stars of this show are the groups, and whether they leave the show on the first episode or the last, we want them to stay inspired and keep making people happy."
Last night marked the season two premiere of NBC's The Sing-Off, with Ben Folds returning as a judge on the hit a cappella competition, along with fellow hosts Shawn Stockman (Boyz II Men) and Nicole Scherzinger (Pussycat Dolls), host Nick Lachey, and a brand new array of fantastic vocal groups. With one show down and two more weeks of competition to come, Mondays and Wednesdays through December 20, an MTV headline has already declared: "The Sing-Off Proves Ben Folds Needs His Own Television Show."
"Though all of the judges are excellent, the show really does belong to Folds," says MTV's Kyle Anderson. "His responses to the performances exist in a middle ground that isn't normally permitted on television, as he's biting without really being mean and insightful without being fawning. ... He has both the chops and the experience to really deliver in the judges' chair."
Anderson goes on to lament that Folds doesn't have a show of his own, then, giving a more positive spin on it, concludes: "All we have is his music, which is roundly excellent."
Read the complete article at newsroom.mtv.com.
NPR's Monkey See blogger Linda Holmes, in a review of last night's premiere, calls Folds "wonderful" as a judge, and says of The Sing-Off: "It continues to be a very entertaining show, and when it goes away again in a couple of weeks, I'll be sad again. Kudos to NBC for finding and bringing back this odd little holiday-season gem." Read more at npr.org.
The New York Daily News gives the show four stars, saying the show "knocks American Idol off charts as top music show." Read that review at nydailynews.com.
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Folds has weighed in on the experience directly in a new blog for the show called On Key. In today's entry, he gives his first impressions on the show's second season and each of the participating groups.
"The stars of this show are the groups," Folds writes, "and whether they leave the show on the first episode or the last, we want them to stay inspired and keep making people happy."
Read Folds's On Key blog at nbc.com.
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To pick up a copy of Folds's latest album, Lonely Avenue, featuring words by Nick Hornby, head to the Nonesuch Store, and the deluxe and vinyl editions of the album are 33% off standard retail price as part of the Nonesuch Store 3rd anniversary sale. To pick up a copy of any of these, head to the Nonesuch Store now.
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