When I first watched The Voice, I assumed it was going to be a rip-off of The X-Factor, a spin on Idol and which has been running in the UK for years. A strategic spoiler for fall's launch of X-Factor in the USA. In fact, The Voice has been way superior to Idol and Factor, largely down to the rarely seen network additive of kindness and encouragement for the contestants. The excellent judges have each done themselves a deal of good by making what appears to be a genuine commitment to their respective teams - and the contestants, well, i enjoyed all eight performances on Tuesday and thought Wednesday's cull seemed fair, although I will miss Nakia and Xenia. Bottom line, The Voice went from Zero to Hero in my book. I hear it is being picked up by the BBC in the UK, so good luck with that Syco!