Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Dan + Shay react to a performance on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

That loud whooshing sound you heard earlier this week was NBC sucking all the momentum out of The Voice Season 25.

What was beginning to look like a promising season thanks to front-runners like Bryan Olesen, Madison Curbelo, Kyle Schuesler and Maddi Jane came to a screeching halt when The Voice aired a clip show Monday night, then went completely dark on Tuesday.

The bad news, Voice fans, is that it ain’t gonna get much better.

It’s important to remember that The Voice now pre-records all the show through the playoffs. That means the episodes we’ve been watching were filmed months ago.

And NBC seems determine to stretch those pre-taped shows out as long as possible.

One new episode will air Monday night as the knockout round begins. But that’s all fans will get this week.

There will be no Voice episode on Tuesday. In fact, there won’t be another Tuesday episode of The Voice until May.

Part two of the knockouts will air April 15. Then The Voice will stretch the playoffs out for two weeks, airing two teams on Monday, April 22 and the other two on Monday, April 29.

The live shows, with fan voting will begin Monday, May 6. There will be three of them this season, with the performance finale set for May 20.

That’s a minor improvement from last spring, when fans got to vote just twice.

But it’s not nearly the artist showcase The Voice could have created for fans and artists by tightening up the schedule and airing five or six live voting shows like it used to.

Consider this contrast.

Voting on American Idol begins Sunday night. And continues every Sunday and some Mondays through May 19.

For seven straight weeks, fans who tune in will get to see performances from every remaining artist on the show. Not just part of the cast like on The Voice. Then they’ll get to vote for their favorites.

It translates into a better fan experience. And it’s a much better showcase for the artists.

Which is of the reasons American Idol is overflowing with talented singers in their teens and young 20s while Madison (21) and Kyle (19) are the exception rather than the rule on The Voice.

It’s almost as if NBC executives and Voice producers sat down for a brainstorming session designed to develop the most effective ways to make views lose interest in the show.

Montaged performances mean some contestants are barely introduced or disappear for weeks at a time. Dani Stacy was the first contestant we met in Season 25. She turned four chairs, making her an immediate front-runner.

Her battle was montaged, meaning we haven’t seen a second performance from Dani over the course of six weeks. And there’s no guarantee she’ll air Monday.

Then there’s the playoff pass, perhaps the silliest gimmick The Voice has ever dreamed up, which is saying an awful lot. It allows contestants to skip a round. The end result: Four of the show’s top performers disappear for two weeks.

It’s a shame, because The Voice Season 25 cast has the talent to put on one heck of a show, week after week after week.

Too bad they’re saddled with a format that makes that so difficult.

But, hey, this is The Voice.