To honor the ten-year anniversary of NBC’s The Voice, we’re taking a look back on how the show has evolved since its premiere.
The Voice celebrated the premiere of its 20th season on Monday night. The singing reality competition has made its mark on television since 2011. In a changing world and digital landscape, here are ways that The Voice has transformed itself throughout the years.
New Judges
The Voice has been known to switch up its judges since its run with different superstars that have impacted the music industry. The show started with judges like Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton. While Shelton has sat in the red chair since season one, other judges have swapped throughout the series’ run. Other judges have included Shakira, Usher, Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams, Alicia Keys, Miley Cyrus, and Jennifer Hudson in the ten-year run.
For season 20, Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, John Legend, and Shelton take the stage as the judges.
The Comeback Stage
This online show gives six contestants a second chance to be on The Voice after not getting a chair turned when they auditioned. Country singer Kelsea Ballerini and pop artist Bebe Rexha starred as the online contestant’s mentors for the two seasons. After the two seasons, the show decided to cancel this online portion.
Block Button
In its 14th season, the blind auditions renovated their set and added a new mechanism called the block button. If a judge likes a contestant and doesn’t want another judge to have a chance, they can block them. The judge who is blocked won’t know until they turn their chair around, making room for many dramatic but humorous outbursts from individual judges.
Live Cross Battles
The show changed up its live rounds with the addition of live cross battles. Out of the 32 contestants left, two from opposing teams would face off, and viewers would be able to vote on who they’d want to stay for the top 24. After one season, the show got rid of the cross battles and decided to go back to its original format: blind auditions, battle rounds, knockouts, playoffs, then live performances.
Live From Home
Because of COVID-19, the show decided to have the competition from home in April 2020. They broadcasted live from the contestant and judges’ houses. Out of the judges, Kelly Clarkson was in Montana, Blake Shelton in Oklahoma, and John Legend and Nick Jonas in Los Angeles. It was a nice way to showcase the contestant’s hometowns and where they grew up. The show has returned to its set this season with COVID safety precautions.
In just ten years, The Voice has evolved through its various formats and variety of talented judges. We can’t wait to see what this season brings!
You can catch The Voice on Mondays at 8 pm ET/PT (7 pm CT) and Tuesdays at 9 pm ET/PT (8 pm CT)
