When Chris Jamison’s mother, Michelle, asked whether he minded her inviting over a few friends and relatives to watch NBC’s “The Voice,” he replied, “Yeah, we can have some people over to watch.” Of course, his mom took “some people” as “tons of people.”
So it was that their Ross home was filled with 30 to 40 well-wishers, old high school friends, current band mates and a television crew last week to watch him sing in the show’s battle round.
“To see their reactions and watch myself on national television is a crazy experience, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he said.
NBC generally doesn’t announce which singers will be featured on broadcasts of the early rounds, which were shot last summer. It is likely, however, that Mr. Jamison could be featured next Monday or Tuesday.
“If you would have told me last year that I would be on ’The Voice,’ I would have laughed in your face because of how far-fetched that is,” he said. “My mom and I used to watch the show and she would say, ’You know, I could see you up there on that stage singing,’ and I would always shrug it off.”
Some of his friends who joined the watch party — including a few mates from the Chris Jamison band — gave him a hard time about the battle rounds wardrobe chosen for him.
“Personally, I’m very cheap when it comes to clothes. I shop at Target, and I shop at Kohl’s.” At the last moment, a dresser suggested he wear a silver chain.
“My friends thought that was the funniest thing ... because it wasn’t something I’d normally wear.”
He said he was surprised to find that staff members were flexible in allowing him to keep or nix clothing choices.
“I thought they’d be strictly business, all the time. But they say they always want us to look good, and it’s very calming.”
A junior at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, he’s taking the semester off. The next level of competition is the knockout rounds, where each team’s singers choose their own songs and perform head to head against another.
• Although the champ of Syfy’s “Face Off” will not be revealed until Oct. 28, Drew Talbot is already a winner. At the end of last week’s show, it was announced the Pleasant Hills man won the fan favorite social media award, good for $10,000.
Creatively, it also was a good week for Mr. Talbot, a former instructor at the Tom Savini Special Makeup Effects program. He will be featured in next Tuesday’s finale, which will feature knights in a “life-or-death” scheme. To get there, he had to create a sloth-like monster that somehow got past the fact that sloths are pretty cute. Savini grad Cig Neutron of Los Angeles and Dina Cimarusti of Chicago are other finalists.
“Face Off” will return for an eighth season Jan. 13, trying out a “Voice-”like format. “Return of the Champions” will bring former winners Rayce Bird (Season 2), Anthony Kosar (Season 4) and Laura Tyler (Season 5) to choose and mentor teams of five. Glenn Hetrick and Neville Page return as judges, and Ve Neill is back after finishing “The Hunger Games.”
• Two men with local ties are among the 30 finalists for “The Price Is Right Male Model Search,” a five-episode Web series on www.PriceIsRight.com.
Garrett Morosky attended Fox Chapel Area High School and Allegheny College. Jared Scott Houy, according to his Facebook page, went to Upper St. Clair High School and Point Park University. Each answered an open call in Los Angeles and survived the first cut. Webisode 1 airs Oct. 27, with subsequent installments each Monday.
Three finalists will appear on CBS’s “The Talk,” Dec. 1, the day online voting begins. Voting closes four days later, and the winner will be announced on “The Price Is Right” Dec. 8. He’ll begin a week of appearances on the show Dec. 15.
• An hour before the Nov. 10 premiere of “Godfather of Pittsburgh,” A&E presents “Growing Up Gotti: 10 Years Later.” This update on Victoria Gotti and her three sons airs at 9 p.m.
* Amid TMZ reports that "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" star 'Mama' June Shannon is dating a convicted child molester, TLC has canceled the program and reportedly will not be airing re-runs.
Maria Sciullo: msciullo@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1478 or @MariaSciulloPG.
First Published: October 25, 2014, 4:00 a.m.
