By Anna May @AnnaMayMight

So...I sat down to watch the adverts on ITV last night and I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but I'm pretty sure I witnessed more than just a few brief snatches of The Voice flickering on and off the screen...at, say, ten minute intervals? Anyone else? Okay…

In other words, the show's transition to ITV is not one I'm happy with, especially as each segment seems to have been edited to contain just a few minutes of singing, and a whole lotta judging.

Newbie chair-dweller, Jennifer Hudson, is a great choice (I’m a huge fan, so sit back and enjoy the bias) and it will be interesting to see how she and will.I.am work alongside each other. She’s certainly bursting with bubbly attitude and I think, if anyone’s capable of outsassing him, it’s her.

I hope I’m not the only one who had very little knowledge of Gavin Rossdale’s work. Google is a wonderful tool, however, so I’m now all up-to-date with his experience and what he might be looking for in a singer. Time will tell if he’s up to the job, but there is certainly a nice mix of expertise among the judges. Let’s see.

I have to say, the return of Sir Tom Jones pleases me a lot. You can tell he waits to hear a certain quality and richness in a singer’s tone…and we often sit here shouting, “Tom’s loving this, he’s gonna turn, he’s turning…yayy!!” Sorry, but we do and we don’t care. Glad to see him back.

Thankfully, will.I.am has been a very welcome constant throughout each series. It's obvious he appeals to so many viewers, young and old. My youngest daughter stayed up just to watch the show and, as she bounced past the TV on her space hopper, she happened to look up at the exact moment he pressed his button with his elbow…and shouted, "He just dabbed! Omg, he is sooo cool!" Immediately abandoning said space hopper, she sat for the rest of the show waiting for him to say something else with a big grin on her face. As I said…young and old. There's no going back now.

First off, we had a great singer and all the judges turned. Okay…I expected that. But then a girl we felt definitely deserved a turn got nothing. Here’s where it all gets a bit sad, because she had to leave with no feedback whatsoever. Here we go, I thought. Now let’s see a load of crap people get through instead.

But no…I was pleasantly surprised when even more talented singers graced the stage and were duly snapped up. The standard was high in this first episode, so anyone less than pitch perfect was binned. I just hope it’s a taste of things to come. But, then, I always feel like this at the beginning of a series. Then it all goes wrong and I wish I’d never told everyone how much I loved it in the first place. Actually...no I don't...stuff 'em.

You have to wonder what the guy who sang Paul Simon’s ‘You Can Call Me Al’ was thinking, when only Gavin turned and immediately tried to console him with, “I turned!” The smug auditionee quickly responded with a cutting, “Yeah…but why so late?” WHAAAT!? Even when the other judges turned to give feedback, he was still swagging it out by agreeing how hard the song is to sing…and basically trying to big himself up to people who were already digging deep for compliments as it was...and hadn’t even bothered to turn anyway!

Contrast that with his friend, 21 year old Mo Adeniran, who auditioned straight after with an outstanding performance of Paolo Nutini’s ‘Iron Sky’. He managed to bag four judges! Not only was this lad polite and grateful for their appreciation of his talent, he was humble too! This immediately elevated him to ‘husband’ status with my daughter, so that’s the first son-in-law in a long list of son-in-laws I’m about to acquire, before the judges start kicking them all back out again.

I don’t know why, but I thought the judges wouldn’t be able to turn at all if they hadn’t turned in the first place. It seems that’s only the case if NONE of them do. Let's have a bit of consistency here...please!

Maybe it's so we get even more disappointed for the rejects than usual, but do the judges really prefer it this way? Is it really more embarrassing for a singer to receive four doses of constructive feedback on an unsuccessful performance, than to be seen skulking off backstage feeling somewhat disgraced? All that’s missing is a quirky voice-over sneering, “Awwwkwaaarrrd!”

These shows are all for tugging at our heart strings, though, aren’t they…and, I could be wrong, but I’m sure I felt a little dribble of X Factor trickle down my throat, as the sob stories started to pour out and all the crying started. Here’s a tip...if you ignore the emotional piano music playing in the background, it’s really not that sad.

I’ll be honest, if I want to find out about a contestant’s background or what they’re up to, I prefer to use that Google thing again, rather than have it all shoved into the small amount of time allocated on TV. Inevitably, this means fewer singers get airtime. Not that these shows are about the singers or anything, but it would be nice to actually see more of them…you know…singing.