The Voice is an American singing reality competition television series that premiered on NBC on April 26, 2011. Based on the original The Voice of Holland and part of The Voice franchise, it has aired 26 seasons and aims to find unsigned singing talent (solo or duets, professional and amateur) contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. Singers must be at least 13 years of age to compete.[2]
An adaptation of the Dutch show The Voice of Holland, NBC announced the show under the name The Voice of America in December 2010;[4] its name was soon shortened to The Voice due the association of the former name with a popular US news and radio broadcaster. Notably, the American edition of the series is the only one in the franchise that does not feature its country's name.[5] In each season, the winner receives $100,000 and a record deal with Universal Republic Records (seasons 1 and 2) or later Universal Music Group (season 3–present).
Selection process and format
Each season begins with the "Blind Auditions", where coaches form their team of artists whom they mentor through the remainder of the season. The number of artists varies per season, with a set range between 8 and 16 artists. The coaches' chairs are faced towards the audience during artists' performances; those interested in an artist press their button, which turns their chair towards the artist and illuminates the bottom of the chair to read "I want you." At the conclusion of the performance, an artist either defaults to the only coach who turned around or selects their coach if more than one coach expresses interest.[6] Introduced in the 14th season is "Block", which allows one coach to block another coach from getting a contestant. Introduced in the 26th season was the "Coach Replay" where the coaches can save an eliminated artist who had no chairs turn and have them default to their team.
In the "Battle Rounds", each coach pairs two of their team members to perform together, then chooses one to advance in the competition. Each coach is assisted by different celebrity advisors which vary each season. In season one, coaches sit alongside their respective advisors in the battle stage; however, the advisors no longer join the coaches in the battle stage starting season two. In season 23, there are no advisors and its coach assumed the duties for advising the artists alone. Season three introduced "steals", allowing each coach to save/select individuals who were eliminated during a battle round by another coach. First seen in the eighth season, artists are either given a walkover or is reassigned to a three-way battle in the event of another artist withdrawing from the competition if each coach sees fit. Saves were also added starting Season 14, which lets a coach prevent someone that they eliminated on their team from going home; in Season 23, Saves are replaced with "Playoff Pass" (based on the Battle Pass from the Australian version) which allow one artist to exempt them from participating in the Knockouts and directly advance to the Playoffs (the other artist advancing to the Knockouts as usual).
The Knockout Rounds were also introduced in season three (except for seasons six and sixteen). A pair of artists within a team are selected to sing individual performances in succession. They are not told until a few minutes prior to their performances who their partner is. The artists get to choose their own songs in this round, although they continue to get help and advice from their respective coaches, and since season six, a celebrity advisor serving as a mega mentor (except seasons 14 and 22). At the conclusion of the performances, coaches would decide which one of each pair gets to advance to the next round.[6] Similar to the battle rounds, the coaches can steal one eliminated artist from another coach starting with season five. Starting in season 14, coaches can save one eliminated artist from their own team. From season 18 till 20, artists who were saved faced a Four-Way Knockout, with the winner decided through a public vote.[7] In season twenty-four coaches were able to save one eliminated artist from their team or another coach's team in a twist called the "Super Save".[8]
The "Battles, Round 2" were introduced to replace the Knockout Rounds in season six.[6] Similar to the Knockout Rounds, each singer is paired within their team. One celebrity key adviser also assists all four of the coaches and their teams in preparation of these rounds. Coaches give each Battle pairing a list of songs and each pair must agree on which song to sing.[9] Like the first Battle round, each coach can still decide which of their singers in each pair will advance to the next round, and also allowed one steal.[10]
In the sixteenth season, the knockouts were replaced by The Live Cross Battles, a format identical to the Cross Battles from the Chinese version of The Voice. Each coach selects an artist to perform with another coach's artist together. The artist that receives the public vote will move on to the Playoffs, while the losing artist risks being eliminated from the competition or could be save by their coach or stolen by another coach. Like the knockouts, each coach had 1 save and 1 steal. The Live Cross Battles did not return in season seventeen due to poor reception.[11]
Previously eliminated artists can also advance to compete in the live shows; between seasons nine and thirteen (except season 11), each coach saved one artist (from either the Battle or Knockout rounds) to put through to the Live Playoffs. For seasons 15 and 16, selected singers (prior to the Live elimination rounds) are put through to the "Comeback Stage" (which would be mentored by a fifth coach) and competed in a series of duels for a place in the live shows, with the winner earning a right to join a team of their choice. Season 21 added "Voice Comeback" where each coach picked one artist to compete in a Twitter poll, and only one artist with the most votes moves on.
In the final live performance phase of the competition (playoffs and elimination rounds), artists perform in weekly shows, where public voting narrows to a final group of artists and eventually declares a winner.[6]
Under the current format since season three in favor on a more competitive standard previously seen on other similar reality shows, any artists, regardless of each team, who earned the lowest number of votes were progressively eliminated each week until five artists remain (three until season six, then four prior to season 17), hence introducing a possibility where at least one coach would not represent a single artist in the finale.
Prior to season three, the coaches have the power to save one artist that had not received the public's vote that week, and as of season two, "last chance performance" are added where artists performed an additional song to vie for their coach's save, or other twists employed such as "instant elimination", where an artist faced immediate elimination without going through a public vote. However, in deciding who moves on to the final four phase, the television audience and the coaches have equal say. With one team member remaining for each coach, the contestants compete against each other in the finale, where the outcome is decided solely by public vote. Season 18–20 temporarily reverted this format allowing each coach to guarantee at least one artist advancing in the finale to accommodate the short number of live shows at three weeks,[12] but these changes were reversed on Season 21 by reverting to the regular elimination format while retaining the top five finalists.[13]
In a first for a music competition series, NBC and Universal Republic Records offered fans of the show the ability to vote for their favorite artists by purchasing the studio versions of the songs that they perform on the live show each week via the iTunes Store. Alternative methods of voting can be done through toll-free phone calls (until season eight), text messaging, "The Voice Official App on NBC" app, and online votes via NBC.com and Facebook. Each method is limited to ten votes per user, and voting lasts until noon EST the next day.
From the top 12 results show of season three to the end of season 17, a rule regarding voting was enacted with regard to iTunes singles purchases. In the first two seasons, voting via iTunes purchases of contestant performances counted singly during the official voting window and only accredited to the live show in concern. When a competitor's performance peaked within the Top 10 of the iTunes "Top 200 Singles Chart" during this window, it was given an iTunes bonus that multiplies iTunes votes made by ten. In season five, the iTunes bonus multiplier was reduced to five for the studio versions of the songs performed by the competitors. The finale's vote count included a 'Cumulative iTunes Vote Total' of all singles (from the live shows onwards) purchased during and outside of the various voting windows, with iTunes bonuses previously earned.[14] Between seasons 15 and 17, the bonus multiplier was revised to include streams counting as a vote, and the only artist with the most streams after the voting window ended would receive the bonus.[15] The iTunes bonus multiplier was discontinued beginning with the live shows of season 18, as the performances are now recorded away from the studios and could not be recorded to iTunes or Spotify; this measure was initially enacted for safety reasons as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.[16] In season 19, studio performances are now recorded on YouTube Music, replacing the traditional iTunes and Spotify recordings that were done between the seasons 2–17, but this was changed back beginning season 20, though bonuses do not apply regardless if the song charted within the top 10 or not. Season 22 was the first season to not have any studio performances released on any platform overall.
Only the studio recording of the contestants' performances, not the live performance, were available on iTunes. In the first season, the battle rounds were recorded in the studio with both artists in the pairing. However, from season two to season 18, only the winner's version of the song from the battle round was released. Season seven reverted to the old style of both artists. With the introduction of the Knockout Rounds in season three, where each contestant sang a separate song, only the winner's single was released.
The "Instant Save" was introduced in season five. During the live elimination episodes, viewers are given a five-minute window to vote for the contestants at risk of elimination by using their Twitter account (and since season 17, the official app) to decide which contestant will move on to the next show, starting with the Top 13. Home viewers can only vote once per account for one contestant of their choice. Since season six, the instant saves now function as a last-chance performance where artists perform an additional song to rally votes.
Coaches and hosts
Coaches and host for the upcoming 27th season of The Voice
CeeLo Green of Gnarls Barkley and Adam Levine of Maroon 5 became the first confirmed coaches in February 2011,[17] followed by Christina Aguilera[18] and Blake Shelton in March.[19] Aguilera and Green did not return for season four and were replaced by Shakira and Usher.[20] Aguilera and Green then returned for season five, while Shakira and Usher returned for season six.[21][22] In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres in February 2014, Green revealed that he would not be returning to The Voice.[23] On March 31, 2014, it was announced that Pharrell Williams would become Green's replacement.[24] On April 19, 2014, it was announced that No Doubt's Gwen Stefani would replace Aguilera in season seven due to her pregnancy.[citation needed] On May 20, 2014, Shakira and Usher confirmed that after season six, they would focus on their music.[25][26] On March 25, 2016, Miley Cyrus confirmed that following her role as key advisor during the tenth season that she would be joining the series once again in its eleventh season as a coach.[27] That same day, Alicia Keys was also announced to be joining the series as a coach for the eleventh season.[28] On October 18, 2016, it was announced that Stefani would re-join the coaches' panel for the series' twelfth season, alongside returning coaches Keys, Levine and Shelton; it was also confirmed that Cyrus would return for the thirteenth season.[29]
On April 27, 2017, in an interview published by TV Insider, Keys confirmed that the twelfth season would be her last. She stated, "Who knows what the future holds, but I know this one is my final season."[30] On May 10, 2017, NBC announced that Jennifer Hudson would join the coaches lineup for the series' thirteenth season alongside Cyrus, Levine and Shelton.[31] On May 11, 2017, it was announced that Kelly Clarkson would be a coach in season fourteen in 2018.[32] On October 18, 2017, NBC announced that Alicia Keys would return to the series for the 14th season.[33] On May 10, 2018, it was announced that Hudson would return for the series' fifteenth season after a one-season hiatus joining Clarkson, Levine, and Shelton. Kelsea Ballerini also joined season fifteen as the fifth coach for the "Comeback Stage" of the competition.[34] On September 13, 2018, John Legend was announced as a coach for the show's sixteenth season, alongside returning coaches Clarkson, Levine and Shelton. On February 25, 2019, it was announced that Bebe Rexha will be the fifth coach for season 16's "Comeback Stage".[35]
In May 2019, it was announced that all four coaches from the same sixteenth season would return for the series' seventeenth season.[36] Later that month, it was announced that Levine would exit the series; Stefani was announced to be returning to the coaching panel as his successor.[37] In October 2019, it was announced that Nick Jonas would join the show as a coach for its eighteenth season, alongside returning coaches Shelton, Clarkson and Legend.[38][39] In June 2020, it was announced that Stefani would be returning to the coaching panel, replacing Jonas, for the nineteenth season, alongside returning coaches Shelton, Clarkson and Legend.[40] In November of the same year, it was announced Stefani would again depart the coaching panel ahead of its twentieth season, and would be replaced by a returning Jonas.[41] In March 2021, it was announced that Ariana Grande would replace Jonas for season twenty-one alongside returning coaches Clarkson, Legend and Shelton.[42] In May 2022, it was announced that Stefani would be returning to the coaching panel for season twenty-two alongside returning coaches Legend and Shelton.[43][44][45] It was later confirmed that Clarkson would also not be returning to the series in 2022, while Camila Cabello would enter the coaching panel as a new coach.[46] On October 11, 2022, it was confirmed that Shelton and Clarkson would be returning for season 23, along with new coaches Chance the Rapper and Niall Horan. It was also announced that Shelton would leave the show after season 23.[47]
On May 12, 2023, NBC announced the show would return for a 24th season in fall of the same year.[48] The following day, it was announced that Reba McEntire would join the panel, alongside returning coaches Horan, Legend and Stefani.[49] On June 21, 2023, NBC announced that the show would return for a 25th season which aired in the spring of 2024, in which a double chair will be presented for the first time in the history of the show.[50] The following day, it was announced that Dan + Shay would join the panel as the first duo coach on the American version, with returning coaches Legend, Chance the Rapper, and McEntire.[51] On May 10, 2024, NBC announced that the show would return for a 26th season which will be released in Fall 2024.[52] On May 13, 2024, it was announced that McEntire and Stefani would return as coaches for the 26th season, while new coaches Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé would replace Legend and Chance the Rapper.[53]
On June 4, 2024, it was announced that the show had been renewed for a 27th season set to air in Spring 2025.[54] The following day, it was announced that Levine will return to the panel after a 10-season hiatus, alongside returning coaches Bublé and Legend, while season 15 "Comeback Stage" coach Kelsea Ballerini will be joining the panel as a main coach.[3]
Carson Daly has hosted the series since the inaugural season.[55]Alison Haislip served as the original "backstage, online, and social media correspondent,"[56] and she was replaced by Christina Milian. Milian did not return for season five, at which point Daly assumed the duties as the social media correspondent.[57][58]
Coaches' advisors
Battles/Playoffs round advisors are listed first; additional advisors and their roles are denoted by superscripts.
^a During the week of the Top 10 performances, CeeLo Green, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton brought in Jennifer Hudson, Ron Fair and Scott Hendricks respectively to help them coach their teams.
^b During the week of the Top 8 performances, CeeLo Green brought in Bill Withers to help coach his contestant Nicholas David on his performance of "Lean on Me".
^c Due to being sick during the rehearsals of the Top 6 performances, CeeLo Green brought in Pat Monahan to coach his team for the week. Green did however pick the songs which his team members would sing that week and kept in touch with them by phone.
^d The mentors of the Battle Rounds reprised their roles during the week of the Top 10 performances except Joel Madden who was working on The Voice in Australia. Shakira instead brought in CeeLo Green to help coach her team that week.
^e During the week of the Top 12 performances, Usher brought in his choreographer Aakomon Jones to help coach his team.
^g With the replacement of the Knockout Rounds with the "Battles, Round 2" in season 6, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin served as the sole advisor for every team.
^h During the week of the Top 10 performances, all four coaches brought advisors to help coach their teams. Graham Nash helped Team Adam, busbee helped Team Shakira, Natural helped Team Usher, and Scott Hendricks helped Team Blake.
^i During the week of the Top 8 performances, Adam Levine brought in fellow band member James Valentine, and Blake Shelton brought in season two contestant Gwen Sebastian to help coach their teams.
^j With the return of the Knockout Rounds in season seven, Taylor Swift served as the sole advisor for every team.[59]
^k During the week of the Top 10 performances, all four coaches brought advisors to help coach their teams. Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump helped Team Adam, Christina Aguilera helped Team Gwen, Diana Ross helped Team Pharrell, and Colbie Caillat helped Team Blake.
^l During the week of the Top 12 performances, Reba McEntire helped all four coaches coaching the teams.
^m During the week of the Top 10 performances, all four coaches brought advisors to help coach their teams. Dave Stewart helped Team Adam, Ryan Tedder helped Team Pharrell, Mark Ronson helped Team Christina, and Scott Hendricks helped Team Blake.
^n During the week of the Top 8 performances, all four coaches brought advisors to help coach their teams. Usher helped Team Adam, Gwen Stefani helped Teams Pharrell and Christina, and CeeLo Green helped Team Blake.
^o During the week of the semi-final performances, Dolly Parton helped all four coaches coaching the teams.
^p During the week of the semi-final performances, Pink helped all four coaches coaching the teams.
^q During the week of the Top 12 performances, Garth Brooks helped all four coaches coaching the teams.
^r During the week of the Knockout rounds, all four coaches brought past winners of the show as advisors to help coach their teams. Season nine winner Jordan Smith helped Team Adam, season 12 winner Chris Blue helped Team Alicia, season three winner Cassadee Pope helped Team Kelly, and season 13 winner Chloe Kohanski helped Team Blake.
^s During the week of the semi-final performances, Kelly Clarkson brought in Brynn Cartelli to help her team in the rehearsals.
^t During the Battle rounds in Season 20, due to being sick, Kelsea Ballerini was brought in as a guest coach, filling in for Kelly Clarkson.
^u During the rehearsals for the Knockout rounds, Niall Horan, due to schedule issues, brought in country pop duo Dan + Shay to replace him and help coach his team.
^v During the week of the Top 12 performances, Chance the Rapper helped all four coaches coaching the teams.
^w During the Playoffs, John Legend, Dan + Shay, Chance the Rapper, and Reba McEntire brought in Maluma, Saweetie, Meghan Trainor, and Anthony Ramos respectively to help them coach their teams.
^x During the Playoffs, Michael Bublé, Gwen Stefani, Reba McEntire, and Snoop Dogg brought in Carly Pearce, Machine Gun Kelly, Lainey Wilson, and Simone Biles respectively to help them coach their teams.
^y During the Knockouts, Jennifer Hudson served as mega mentor for Teams Bublé and Reba and Sting served as mega mentor for Teams Gwen and Snoop.
Coaches' teams
These are each of the coaches teams throughout the seasons from the playoffs to the finale.
Considering the final placement of the contestants who are members of their team (not the final placement of the coaches):
Coaches' results
Coach
Winner
Runner-up
Third place
Fourth place
Fifth place
Blake Shelton
9 times (2–4, 7, 11, 13, 18, 20, 22)
15 times (1, 3, 6, 8–10, 12, 15–19, 21–23)
9 times (4, 9, 12, 14–16, 19–21)
Thrice (13, 14, 16)
Twice (22, 23)
Kelly Clarkson
4 times (14, 15, 17, 21)
Once (20)
Once (23)
Twice (19, 21)
Once (18)
Adam Levine
Thrice (1, 5, 9)
Thrice (7, 11, 13)
5 times (2, 5–8)
4 times (7, 10–12)
—
Niall Horan
Twice (23, 24)
—
Once (24)
—
—
Reba McEntire
Once (25)
Twice (24, 25)
—
Twice (24, 26)
—
Christina Aguilera
Once (10)
Once (5)
Once (1)
Once (2)
—
Alicia Keys
Once (12)
Once (14)
Once (11)
—
—
Usher
Once (6)
Once (4)
—
—
—
Michael Bublé
Once (26)
Once (26)
—
—
—
John Legend
Once (16)
—
Twice (17, 25)
Thrice (18, 22, 25)
4 times (19–21, 24)
Gwen Stefani
Once (19)
—
Once (26)
Twice (9, 17)
—
Pharrell Williams
Once (8)
—
Once (10)
Once (8)
—
CeeLo Green
—
Once (2)
Twice (1, 3)
—
—
Nick Jonas
—
—
Once (18)
Once (20)
—
Miley Cyrus
—
—
Once (13)
—
—
Camila Cabello
—
—
Once (22)
—
—
Jennifer Hudson
—
—
—
Once (15)
—
Chance the Rapper
—
—
—
Once (23)
—
Dan + Shay
—
—
—
—
Once (25)
Snoop Dogg
—
—
—
—
Once (26)
Shakira
—
—
—
—
—
Ariana Grande
—
—
—
—
—
Reception
In 2016, a New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that The Voice "is most popular in North Dakota and least popular in New York. It was behind only Duck Dynasty and Fast N' Loud in its correlation with Trump voters".[60]
The first season premiered strong at 11.78 million viewers and actually grew upon that audience through its first season. In the 18–49 demographic, the show constantly found itself in the top 5. For its average season rating, the show landed itself as no. 20 with total viewers at nearly 12 million viewers. In the 18–49 rankings, the show was no. 4 at a 5.4 ranking.
The second season premiered on Super Bowl Sunday, February 5, 2012, and for a while managed to keep a 6.0 in the adults 18–49 demographic and 17 million viewers. Partnering The Voice with Smash (NBC's musical Lab) helped NBC win the Monday night ratings. However, by Monday, April 9, the ratings had fallen to a 4.0 rating in the adult 18–49 demographic.
The third season premiered on Monday, September 10, 2012, to 12.28 million viewers and a 4.2 rating in the 18–49 demographic and has since then grown to a season-high 4.8 rating in the 18–49 demographic on October 8, October 15 and 29, 2012 and a 4.9 rating in the finale. The Voice, along with NBC's new Lab, Revolution has once again led NBC to win every Monday night of the season so far, just like it did last season. On Tuesdays, comedies Go On and The New Normal has been successful thanks to The Voice, leading NBC to be the only network of the Big 5 to grow in ratings from last season.
Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.
†^ Including an episode that aired after a live broadcast of the Super Bowl:[125]
10:19–10:30 = 46.786 million viewers (retention: 76.68% – football game itself reached a peak of 118.355 million viewers)
10:30–10:45 = 39.494 million viewers
10:45–11:00 = 36.310 million viewers
11:00–11:15 = 32.630 million viewers
11:15–11:21 = 31.792 million viewers
Video game
The Voice: I Want You is a video game based on the television show. It was released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and Wii U on October 21, 2014, and was published by Activision. The game includes a microphone and has songs from the show including songs performed by the coaches.
Broadcast
The Voice is broadcast on the NBC network in the United States. The show premiered in Canada on April 26, 2011, on CTV. In Asia, the series began airing on August 21, 2011, on AXN and was transferred to Star World (now Fox Life) starting in Season 11 until cessation of transmission on October 1, 2021.[126] It premiered in New Zealand on July 16, 2011, on TV2, in Australia on August 9, 2011, on Go!, in South Africa on October 5, 2011, on SABC 3, and on March 31, 2012, in the Philippines on Studio 23 (later known as S+A).[127] On May 22, 2019, it premiered in Germany on sixx starting Season 14.[128]
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