Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Season 17 coaching lineup for The Voice, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend (NBC Photo)

Great news, Voice fans.

A public relations rep for the show confirmed for Voice Views this week that Tuesday episodes will be back for the duration of The Voice Season 17.

You’ll recall that during the spring, Tuesday episodes were eliminated for a month-long stretch as the show aired the pre-taped blind auditions and battle rounds.

The result: Singers disappeared for a month at a time. As a fan, I felt that format made it much more difficult to get to know the Season 16 cast.

That won’t happen in Season 17, and that’s the second major format change that should benefit Season 17, which kicks off Monday night.

The knockout round is also back for Season 17, replacing the poorly conceived and executed live cross battles from Season 16.

All that said, the live show schedule for Season 17 hasn’t been released yet.

So I’m still waiting for word on whether the abbreviated finals — the show went from a Top 13 to a winner in just three weeks last spring — will become the norm or whether the show will revert to the much preferred five weeks of finals as in most recent seasons.

The Voice has also leaked its first blind audition of Season 17. You can check it out below as Katie Kadan turns four chairs with her cover of Aretha Franklin’s “Baby, I Love You.”

Speaking of Season 17 contests, I’ve researched many of them already. And several have already released music you’re likely to enjoy. Just follow the links below to learn more!

Alex Guthrie
Cali Wilson
Caroline Reilly
Damali Gutierrez
Destiny Rayne
Gracee Shriver
Hello Sunday
Injoy Fountain
Jake HaldenVang
Jake Hoot
James Violet
Jared Herzog
Jessie Lawrence
Joana Martinez
Kat Hammock
Katie Kadan
Khalea Lynee
Kiara Brown
Kyndal Inskeep
Lauren Hall
Marina Chello
Marybeth Byrd
Max Boyle
Melinda Rose (Rodriguez)
Mendeleyev
Myracle Holloway
Preston Howell
Ricky Duran
Royce Lovett
Shane Q
Will Breman
Zoe Upkins