Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Carson Daly during Monday’s Fan Night on The Voice Season 16. (NBC Photo)

What did we learn from Tuesday night’s results show on The Voice?

First and foremost that we should never, ever underestimate producers’ ability to do something more stupid than all the stupid stuff they’ve already done in Season 16.

In the midst of serving up results Tuesday, Carson Daly shared this bit of news: Next Monday’s Top 8 show will feature songs by The Beatles.

Huh?

Was Carson paying attention when Team Blake Shelton dominated the Cross Battles?

Was he sleep-walking through Top 24 week, when Team Blake Shelton steamrolled the competition?

Could he not foresee what was going to happen Tuesday, when five members of Team Blake marched right into the eight-singer semifinals?

Remember, Carson is one of the show’s producers.

Remember, Team Blake is country heavy.

And yet someone thought it would be a bright idea to make next Monday Beatles Night on The Voice. Are you kidding me?

And if having Team Blake cover George Harrison’s “I’ve Got My Mind Set on You” was supposed to convince us that it’d all work out just fine … oh, my.

Look, I’m not big fan of theme weeks on singing shows. Single artist and genre specific theme weeks are the worst of all.

Call me silly, but here’s my theory. If you bring together a diverse and talented group of singers, your best chance of getting a night full of great performances is to let those singers sing something they’re comfortable singing.

Wanna have a theme week? Fine. But make it a theme as broad as possible so your singers can do what they do best.

By all means, encourage them to take risks. Push them to create a memorable moment by doing something at least a little different.

But to force a cast of country singers and a rapper to perform songs by The Beatles …

Well, that’s about as logical as a format where the blind auditions and battle round last as long as the finals. Or cross battles that were about as well thought out as a high school term paper written in an hour the night before it’s due.

Or a season in which we’ve still only heard the Top 8 perform five times. While rival American Idol has treated fans to 15 performances — that’s right, 15 performances — by its Top 6.

As I’m writing this, I’ve been thinking that there must be some rationale behind all this Voice nonsense. And I think I’ve stumbled upon it.

Carson and the rest of The Voice producers are simply trying to see how many sharks a singing show can jump in a single season.

And, hey, if that’s the goal, The Voice is on a record pace.