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Doug Elfman
Talent show adds voices as mentors
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Michael Desmond/Nbc
Cee Lo Green, left, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton are the judges on "The Voice."
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Updated: Jan. 10, 2012 | 2:49 a.m.
The hit show "The Voice" has lined up a cluster of stars for its second season, debuting right after the Super Bowl.
The guest mentors are Vegas-raised Ne-Yo, Alanis Morissette, Jewel, Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Lionel Richie and Robin Thicke.
"It's a great group of mentors," says "Voice" judge Adam Levine, who comes to Vegas on Friday to sing at 1 Oak nightclub at The Mirage.
Levine found good friends through "The Voice." He and fellow judge Blake Shelton took their significant others to Oklahoma to celebrate New Year's Eve together.
So that was Shelton with wife Lambert, and Levine with model-girlfriend Anne Vyalitsyna, who tweeted a photo of the four goofing off.
"Miranda and Blake are great friends," Levine says. "I love them to death. It was great getting to know them through the show."
On top of that, Levine's band joined with "Voice" judge Christina Aguilera to create their mega-hit "Moves Like Jagger," leading to Maroon 5's Grammy nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
"Moves Like Jagger" was so ubiquitous in 2011 that when a woman wrote on Twitter that the song was overplayed, Levine playfully retweeted her complaint.
"Well, you know," he tells me, "songs get overplayed. That's not necessarily a bad problem to have. ... Eventually, it dies down, and people have a fondness for the song as time goes on."
Now that "The Voice" is entering its second season, the atmosphere of the set is more relaxed.
"Now it's just like: Enjoy the ride," Levine says. "In a weird way, you don't take it as seriously, which makes the show better. This year is just more fun."
Because Levine is a certified music judge, it would be remiss of me not to ask him for coaching advice for karaoke singers. Here's his counsel: "Try singing in the shower. No one ever sounds better than when they're in the shower. The acoustics does everybody good."
RAPPER BUSTED
A Nevada Highway Patrol officer pulled over rapper Tyga on Saturday -- just south of Vegas on I-15 at 6:35 p.m. -- saying he was driving 101 mph in a 70 mph zone.
Tyga (Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson, 22) was booked at the Clark County Detention Center, charged with failing to appear in court for several Clark County traffic warrants: driving without a license, failure to yield at a stop sign, no proof of insurance and a registration violation.
Tyga performed New Year's Eve at Rio's Crown nightclub/theater.
STARGAZING
Keep your eyes alert for stars in town for the Consumer Electronics Show and a charity golf tournament.
Here to promote tech wizardry or host cable TV coverage at CES: Justin Bieber, Eliza Dushku, 50 Cent, LL Cool J, Dennis Rodman, Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan, former NBA stars John Salley and Robert Horry, chef Allison Fishman, actor Greg Grunberg, Wayne Brady, former NFL star Carl Banks, "James Bond" directors John Glen, Martin Campbell and Michael Apted, Bond girls Olga Kurylenko and Caterina Murino, and UFC fighter Alistair Overeem.
The golf tourney brings "Breaking Bad's" Bryan Cranston, John Walsh, "Burn Notice's" Jeffrey Donovan, "Law & Order's" Michael Pena, Kevin Sorbo, Stephen Baldwin, "Entertainment Tonight's" Mark Steines and actor Chris Rich. Strip performer Murray SawChuck is hosting a red carpet.
That's for Thursday's Canon USA charity tournament for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at TPC Las Vegas.
Reporter Mike Blasky contributed to this column. Doug Elfman's column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Email him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.
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Ah, for the Good Ol Days. When "talent" really did have talent. Instead, TV plays and replays manufactured entertainment, over and over, to try to convince us of the substance of their celebrity. I don't see it.