Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Camila Cabello and John Legend annonce that she’ll be his battle round advisor for Season 21.

They will include Jason Aldean for Team Kelly Clarkson, Dierks Bentley for Team Blake Shelton, Kristen Chenoweth for Team Ariana Grande and Camila Cabello for Team John Legend.

Personally, I don’t care. Not one bit.

What I do care about is the format for Season 21, especially since NBC has announced that The Voice will only air once during the upcoming 2021-22 TV season.

Will the show revert to the format used during its heyday, where contestants were eliminated one or two at a time leading up to the finale, resulting in a full slate of live shows?

Or will NBC once again serve up a helping of Voice Lite in which the show goes from a Top 17-20 to a finale in three live episodes, asking fans to select those finalists based on just five performances, one of those a duet?

If it’s the latter, I remain firm in my opinion that The Voice should have folded its tent at the end of Season 20.

As for the battle round advisors, Camila Cabello is most intriguing, since she got her start on a singing show, Season 2 of The X Factor.

Camila entered that competition as a solo artist, but was placed in a girl group named Fifth Harmony.

Fifth Harmony proved easily the most successful of The X Factor U.S. alum. Then Camila struck out on her own and became a solo star as well.

All that said, why does The Voice need battle round advisors? Or a mega mentor for the knockouts (reportedly Ed Sheeran for Season 21)?

The battle round rehearsals mark the first time the contestants work with their superstar coaches. Isn’t that enough? Especially since most of the real preparation takes place off-camera, behind the scenes?

There’s no proof that having advisors or mega mentors does anything for the show’s ratings. In fact, when Taylor Swift was mega mentor back in Season 17, the show’s ratings dropped for the knockout round episodes.

And if the show didn’t waste screen time the oohs and ahhs as singers meet mentors before every damn performance, maybe The Voice wouldn’t have to montage battle round or knockout performances.

The Voice returns for Season 21 on Monday, Sept. 20 with $20-million-girl Ariana Grande in Nick Jonas’s coaching spot.

If The Voice reverts to its old format, it’ll be worth watching.

If it doesn’t, it won’t, no matter who’s coaching or who’s advising.