NBC
The season finale of NBC’s The Voice airs tonight, May 19, 2020, but fans have expressed frustration with the way that the finalists were chosen. This year, there are five artists in the finale, though the way results were read, it was ensured that each coach has an artist in the finals.
What happened for season 18 was that the one contestant from each team with the most votes was able to advance to the finals, rather than having the four contestants with the most overall votes advance.
Now, the contestants in the finals are Micah Iverson for Kelly Clarkson’s team, Thunderstorm Artis from Nick Jonas’s team, CammWess from John Legend’s team, Todd Tilghman from Blake Shelton’s team and Toneisha Harris also from Shelton’s team, though she only advanced after competing for the instant save.
Fans Expressed Frustration With the System on Twitter
Some fans believed that the way the results were announced actually manipulated the vote and made it matter less since the top overall artists were not the ones who were actually advancing to the finals.
One fan replied to Blake Shelton’s tweet, writing “Would have preferred to see the top vote winners overall get into the finale rather than how it was done team by team.”
@blakeshelton Would have preferred to see the top vote winners overall get into the finale rather than how it was done team by team. #TheVoice-Booo
Another fan called out the entire process, writing “#thevoice your process sucks! The fans voted it should be the top 5 vote getters, NOT 1 from each team. You ruined this season.”
#thevoice your process sucks! The fans voted it should be the top 5 vote getters, NOT 1 from each team. You ruined this season.
Another said that “The Voice manipulates the top 5. Come on show the actual numbers for the real top 5.”
Some fans even thought that the process meant their vote mattered less than it had in previous seasons, with one fan writing, “#CarsonDaly you jus said “every vote counts.” Apparently not!! By #TheVoice guaranteeing each coach a singer in the finale, votes are NOT the most important thing this season.”
It’s Possible ‘The Voice’ Will Revert to the Way it Was Before
It’s possible that the backlash on this process will cause The Voice to revert to the way boring was before. In season 16, the then-coach Adam Levine was allegedly upset and “expressed frustration” at having to be present for tapings when he had no artists left in the competition.
At that time, The Voice had made it so that it wasn’t a guarantee that each coach went to the live playoffs with the same number of team members, and that meant Levine had no singers left and no chance to win the season.
Whether or not viewers think the way the finalists made it to the end of the competition is fair, at the very least they can take comfort in the fact that every vote does, in fact, matter when it comes to deciding who wins the competition. Since there’s only one or two artists left per team, there is no team manipulation in the vote for the winner, and the one with the highest number of votes will be named The Voice.
The Voice finale airs tonight, May 19, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. The special is three hours long and will feature many performers.
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