Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Ricky Duran and Joana Martinez are two of the artists we’ll see in the live playoffs on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

But there will be a new twist on results night of the live playoffs.

According to the NBC episode synopsis for next week, the live playoffs will feature a Top 20.

That doesn’t leave room for comeback artists.

And it means Season 17 will be the first since Season 11 not to feature a Top 24, including comeback artists or singers saved from the knockout round.

As for the new twist, here’s how it will work.

After the live playoffs, eight singers will advance based on fan voting, presumably two per team as they typically have. Then each coach will select one artist to save.

Then, in that new twist, the top remaining vote-getter from each team will compete for a wild card spot, likely through the instant save process.

Now, about these changes …

1. I can’t say I’m disappointed there won’t be comeback artists. I’ve long argued that all the saves and steals sap drama from the show. Of course, in order for that drama to exist, the show needs to let us know the rules before the knockout begin, right?

2. I still think the steals and saves process would be fairer in the battles and the knockouts if all those decisions were saved until the end of each round. By bringing all the at-risk singers back to the stage for the coaches to make their decisions after seeing and hearing every performance.

3. Let’s not lose sight of the big picture. This means there will be a full schedule of live shows in Season 17, not the sham The Voice pulled in the spring where the finals lasted just three weeks. Congrats to Voice producers for seeing the error of their ways. Here’s hoping that format never returns.

Here’s that results show synopsis I was talking about. And thanks to a reader for directing me to it!

LIVE TOP 20 ELIMINATIONS
In the live results show, eight artists will be revealed as safe by America’s votes and the coaches, Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, will each select an artist to save. The remaining artists from each team with the highest overnight vote will have a chance to compete for the Wild Card and one artist will continue on. Carson Daly (“TODAY Show”) hosts.

See also …
Check out this week’s matchups on The Voice