Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Voice cast apparently won’t be returning Sept. 24 as planned. (NBC Photo)

Deadline is reporting that the return of The Voice has been pushed back because of the pandemic.

American Ninja Warrior is now slated to air in The Voice’s 8 p.m. Monday time slot beginning Sept. 7.

The Voice was supposed to kick off Season 19 on Monday, Sept. 24. The new tentative kickoff date is apparently Monday, Oct. 19, according to spoiler sites.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone. When The Voice premieres each season, the blind auditions, the battles and the knockout round have already been filmed.

The Voice recently wrapped up the blind auditions — done virtually for the first time ever. I haven’t seen any reports yet on how the show is handling the battle round.

Bottom line: This is bad news for artists counting on the show for exposure and fans counting on the show to present a legitimate singing competition.

Last fall marked the last time The Voice did that. The spring 2019 and spring 2020 season were, quite frankly, jokes.

For anyone that doesn’t remember, Season 19’s coupe de farce was a three-week sprint from a Top 17 to a winner, a schedule that was created prior to the pandemic.

As a blogger, I seriously have to consider whether The Voice is worth the effort anymore.

It’s a sad shadow of its former self, is now far less effective as a showcase for upcoming artists and clearly doesn’t give a damn about what happens to the artists after they leave the show.

Little wonder so many talented young artists see American Idol as the better gamble at this point.