Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC
Season 15 of The Voice premieres with Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson as the coaches. Sometimes, the coaches on the show can change from season to season, but this season has added a coach … and a companion series to boot. Country music artist Kelsea Ballerini has joined The Voice, as the coach of The Comeback Stage.
The Comeback Stage is an online series that features six cast-offs from the season 15 blind auditions of The Voice. These contestants will compete against each other, in hopes of winning their way back into the competition. The winner will have another chance at the title, jumping back into the regular show as a member of the top 13, in the live shows, according to NBC.
So, how does The Comeback Stage work?
First, Ballerini will pair up the six “Comeback Artists” into three “battle pairings” to go head to head in a battle round. Ballerini determines the winner of each battle. After the battle rounds, the three winners will move forward to the Comeback Stage Finals. Each artist will perform a final song and based on their performances, Ballerini will pick two final artists to perform live for America’s votes.
These two artists will perform live for America during the November 13, 2018 Live Playoffs Results Show on The Voice season 15. Voting will happen by using the very first Twitter Instant Save of the new season. Then, the lucky winner actually gets to pick which team they would like to join.
For those wondering how to watch the “Comeback Stage” series, it will air on YouTube, The Voice Official App, IGTV (Instagram), Facebook and NBC.com. Clips of each digital episode will be shown during The Voice broadcast on September 24th and 25th. More footage will be shown on theses October dates: 1-2, 8-9, 15, 22, and 29. Footage will also be shown on November 5, 2018.
According to Billboard, Ballerini recently posted her excitement about joining The Voice on Instagram, writing, “Y’all, I have been SO excited to share that I’m joining the @nbcthevoice family this fall as the 5th coach for the first ever Comeback Stage. It’s been such a new, fulfilling challenge and I’ve been beyond inspired by the artists I’ve gotten to meet and work with. I can’t wait for you to fall in love with them.”
The Voice isn’t the first series to incorporate a comeback digital series. For example, Top Chef has their own “comeback kitchen”, which is a web-series featuring cast-offs from the show. Battling it out in the kitchen, against other contestants, only one can redeem themselves and rejoin the show, to compete in the finals.
The Voice premieres in a two-night event, starting on September 24, 2018, at 8 p.m. ET/PT and 7 p.m. CT. The show will continue to air twice per week, aside from highlights episodes or specials that may air on Wednesday nights, on occasion.
In addition to becoming a coach with The Voice, Ballerini has also teamed up with a season 15 Voice coach. Ballerini and Kelly Clarkson are set to tour together in 2019.