Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Along with the news that The Voice was lowering its audition age limit to 13 for Season 12 came fears that the show would turn into The Voice Junior Edition.

Well, it hasn’t happened yet.

Yes, Season 12 features one of the youngest casts in the show’s history.

But the truth is, only three of the 48 singers who made the show — Quizz Swanigan, Aaliyah Rose and Brennley Brown — wouldn’t have been eligible to audition in any of the seasons that had 15 as the youngest audition age.

Quizz, 13, from Los Angeles, is the show’s youngest contestant. He turned two chairs in the blinds and joined Team Alicia Keys.

Brennley, of Apple Valley, Calif., was 14 when she auditioned, but has since turned 15. She also turned two chairs, then opted to join Team Blake.

Both are familiar faces to reality show addicts; they competed on America’s Got Talent. And I’d be willing to bet both were “invited” to audition for The Voice.

Aaliyah is the show’s youngest female contestant. A YouTube sensation, she turned just one chair in the blinds, landing a spot on Team Gwen.

What impact will the youthful trio have?

Brennley’s on a team loaded with talented country artists; Quizz is on a team where Chris Blue looks like a more legitimate R&B fan favorite.

Honestly, though she turned only one chair, Aaliyah impressed me the most of the three during the blind auditions, both with her vocals and her distinctive style.

And Gwen seemed so intent on coaching a young pop singer, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her make sure that Aaliyah makes it to the voting rounds

Overall, the Season 12 cast features 12 singers who were minors when they auditioned. The only season in which The Voice cast featured more was Season 3 with 13 minors. But that was also the lone season in which each team consisted of 16 artists, meaning 64 singers made the show.

Still, the 12 minors aren’t a marked difference from Season 11, when there were 10. Or Season 9, when there were 11.

And The Voice will still feature plenty of performers with lots of experience, some of whom were performing before Quizz, Aaliyah or Brennley were born.

Twelve of the Season 12 cast members are 30 or older, including Troy Ramey and Valerie Ponzio, both of whom turned four chairs in the blind audition.

That’s wise casting on The Voice’s part.

In the 11 seasons so far, minors have won just twice — Sawyer Fredericks in Season 8 and Danielle Bradbery in Season 4.

Singers over age 30 have won the show six times, including the past two seasons. Alisan Porter was 34 when she auditioned; Sundance Head was 37.

Want to learn more about the Season 12 contestants than you heard on the show?
Want to learn about pre-Voice music they’ve released that that you can download now?
Head here for links to profiles for the Season 12 contestants.