Rebecca Davis shares her first impressions of M-Net's latest reality show Is the age of TV singing contests coming to an end? There's evidence internationally to suggest that audiences are getting bored. American Idols is on its final season; the UK's X Factor sheds more viewers each year. Five years ago these shows might have been sure-fire ratings hits; they simply aren't any more. Maybe one reason could be that the claim these shows will "unearth the next global superstar" is just rubbish. You get your 15 minutes of fame, and then you fade from public memory.story_article_left1But in South Africa, even though TV singing contest winners aren't exactly filling up the Dome, we seem to have an enduring tolerance for the genre. Hell, Gareth Cliff went to court for the right to stay on Idols, though most weeks I'd go to court for the right not to watch it. The latest local incarnation of a successful global franchise is The Voice South Africa, which takes the usual recipe for these shows and puts two fresh twists on it.The first is that the contestants can actually sing. In fact, many of them are already in the local music industry in some capacity. This means that we're unlikely to end up with some goosebump-inducing winner's narrative - it's much more likely to be "I was working as a back-up artist" than "I was cleaning toilets at KFC" - but it also means that the quality of talent is noticeably better than on Idols.The second twist is that the judges aren't allowed to actually see the contestants before they choose whether they make it through to the next round: they can only decide by the sound of their voices. In other words, contrary to the rules of the normal TV universe, you can be fat and ugly and still stick around on The Voice for at least one round.In the South African version, the judges are rocker Karen Zoid, Afrikaans pin-up Bobby van Jaarsveld, Parlotones lead singer Kahn Morbee and soul diva Lira. Two episodes in, we're already figuring out their vibe. Karen's the nice one, Bobby's the one continually flexing his guns, Kahn wants to be Adam Levine and Lira talks like she's reading off one long motivational Facebook post. "There's a richness to you," she told one contestant, as if she was addressing a creamy sauce. Karen turns her chair (the sign of a thumbs-up) for almost anyone; Lira claims to love everyone but never turns.I read a press release calling The Voice South Africa "M-Net's new Game of Thrones". I got awfully excited until I realised they meant that it would attract large audiences, and not that it would play host to gory duels. Maybe next season, though...