The Voice coaches for Season 29 will include John Legend, Kelly Clarkson and Adam Levine. (NBC Image)
And, get this, the show is undergoing a format reboot.
Which isn’t surprising after a disastrous Season 27 in which ratings plummeted to an all-time low.
Will the changes help or hinder?
Hmm …
First off, the show will only have three coaches in Season 29 — Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson and john Legend.
Here are the rest of the changes, provided in the exact words from an NBC press release.
1. The Triple Turn Competition in the Blind Auditions: Our three Coaches will compete against each other in a Triple Turn Competition, in which they’ll attempt to score the most 3-Chair Turns, with the winner gaining a special advantage in the next round. (More on that below.) Coaches will end the Blind Auditions with 10 Artists each.
2. The Battle Rounds will feature a new Super Steal: Whichever Coach wins the Triple Turn Competition will earn a Super Steal for the Battles. This game-changing prize can only be used once and negates any other Coach’s attempt to Steal, guaranteeing their win.
3. For the Knockouts, each Coach will bring back two Artists from their former teams for an In-Season All-Star Competition. The selected All-Stars will represent their Coaches in head-to-head sing-offs, and the Coach with the most sing-off wins is guaranteed two Artists from their Season 29 team in the Finale.
4. More Voice Artists will return to vote in the Season 29 Semi-Finals and Finale. The Season 29 Semi-Finals will kick off with the Top 9 performances and culminate in the Top 4 Finale. For the first time ever, a new voting block comprised of super-fans and past Voice Artists will have the opportunity to weigh in firsthand. They’ll experience the competition as part of the in-studio audience voting for their favorites in real time during the Semi-Finals and Finale.
Those are the changes The Voice is making.
Here are the changes The Voice should have made.
1. Get rid of the blind audition gimmicks — the blocks, the replay button, anything that takes the focus from the artists and puts it on the coaches.
2. Reduce the number of artists per team to ensure speedier battle and knockout rounds, especially if the show winds up airing just once a week ago. Consider eliminating the battles. After all, we’re looking for the best singer / artist, not the best duet partner.
3. Save all steals and saves until the end of the battle and knockout rounds to ensure every artist has a chance to earn one. In the current taping process, that’s not the case.
4. Do whatever possible to add more live shows to the end of the season. There should be at least five with fan voting.
Do those things, and you’d be adding legitimacy back to a singing show that’s become a sorry shadow of its former self.
Do what NBC and The Voice have done, and you’re just junking the show up with more gimmicks.
Heck, reading NBC’s description of the upcoming changes, I’m not even sure fans at home will be voting in Season 29.
Guess we’ll have to wait and see. That’s if anyone cares at that point. I could care less. I’m not sure I’ll watch or blog about Season 29.
Oh, by the way, they’re calling Season 29 The Battle of Champions.
Given The Voice’s recent history, that’s a laugh.
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NBC will begin the 2025-26 season the week of Sept. 22, with the premiere of The Voice season 28 and the finale of America’s Got Talent season 20.
https://www.mjsbigblog.com/nbc-announces-2025-fall-premiere-dates-including-the-voice.htm
I predict another rushed season.
“The Voice” is about the coaches and the gimmicks.
The contestants are just chess pieces.
Ratings will get worse.
NBC will just keep rubber stamping the show’s renewal, because it all about the money.
Thank you again, Mark, for writing the truth about this manipulative show.
Many of the elements – such as the spinning chairs, the boxing ring stage, etc. – make it feel like a game show.
“The Voice” was supposed to show “American Idol” how to do a better singing competition.
Contestants were just going to be judged on his/her voice.
Not whom the producers wanted to win whichever season.
No gimmicks (like that Wild Card “Idol” has–the judges/producers choose who they want. Not the singers who are the most deserving.)
Equal exposure for each contestant–So many “Idol” semifinalists/finalists got treated differently (often unfairly, depending on the airtime he/she received).
Honest (not distorted) backstories for the contestants.
No judges’ shenanigans.
A fair voting system.
Finalists who were promoted well afterwards.
Instead, “The Voice” has become similar to “Idol”
All about the coaches and their bantering.
Ridiculous, unfair gimmicks.
What a blown opportunity.
I would argue The Voice is far more gimmicky than even American Idol is today. There were numerous moments it had Idol on the ropes (and at one point it took it down in 2016). But it has fallen greatly while Idol has stabilized…now the roles have reversed.
Last year was the first season of Idol where ALL of the top 24 had their auditions featured, so there was a fairly level playing field.
I have DVR service now, so I can record American Idol when it conflicts with PBS shows I watch on Sunday nights, unless my local PBS station goes off the air due to the funding cuts.
Kelly Clarkson’s ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, has died after a battle with cancer.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/07/entertainment/brandon-blackstock-death
If anyone here watches Dancing With The Stars, that begins next Tuesday, September 16.
Here’s the celebrities who will be participating:
https://www.mjsbigblog.com/dancing-with-the-stars-season-34-official-cast-reveal.htm