I’ll admit, I’m excited for the latest season of The Voice if only because the original American Idol Kelly Clarkson is sitting in one of the four coaches swivel chairs. She’s the poster child for the modern era of singing/talent competition success. She’s had career longevity, stayed true to who she was and has endeared herself to both American and global audiences.
When The Voice first started out in 2011, it was competing against Idol and even The X-Factor when it moved into its fall slot. The Voice felt fresh, different from what we had been seeing on television. Of course the swivel chair gimmick was enticing, but we also had relevant music artists as judges or “coaches.” I would say the least known judge to the mainstream audience was Blake Shelton, but it’s funny how well-known he has become because of his time on the show. The original lineup also included Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Cee-Lo Green and Christina Aguilera. They all had great chemistry with each other right off the bat and the excitement of watching a singing competition felt refreshing.
That feeling would not last.
By the time Season 3 had rolled around, I was honest to God bored to death watching The Voice. While I had an instantaneous favorite to root for (Cassadee Pope, who was the lead singer of my favorite pop-rock band in the late aughts, Hey Monday) watching every week felt exhausting and became a chore. After Season 3 ended, I decided to tune out and give it a break. My voice was starting to disappear.
Fast forward five and a half (5.5) years and eleven (11) seasons later, I have decided to give the show another shot. While I’ve been aware of the various twists and coaching changes the show has introduced since, I was intrigued by the idea of Kelly Clarkson as a full-time coach. That was the hook for me to tune in. She herself had put herself in front of America week in and week out and been judged on her talent, and she now can help these young (and oftentimes old) artists get to the next level.
Here’s the thing though, when’s the last time you’ve heard a winner of The Voice truly have mainstream success, regardless of genre. I am a HUGE country music fan and I can say that the only two winners from The Voice that I can say have gone on to have success, true success and longevity is Cassadee Pope (Season 3) and Danielle Bradberry (Season 4). Outside of them, I would say winning The Voice is about as important as being awarded an honorary degree from a prestigious university. When you think about American Idol and the contestants who have come away from that show, even if they didn’t win, many of them have gone on to greatness (I’m looking at you Jennifer Hudson). Even The X-Factor produced Fifth Harmony, and now Camila Cabello who is making a name for herself on her own. These shows produced household names, something I don’t believe that The Voice has truly done in its 13 seasons.
In my opinion, people are tuning into The Voice because they want to see the chemistry and interaction between the coaches. The “bromance.” that has formed between Adam Levine and Blake Shelton has persisted throughout 13 seasons. When Christina Aguilera was on the original few seasons, she had a chip on her shoulder because she was the only female and she brought a different appeal to the show. Regardless of whether or not I now consider her a has-been, she is extremely talented and at that point had managed to survive putting out albums that bombed. When The Voice started tinkering with their winning formula by adding in Shakira, Usher, Gwen Stefani, Pharrell, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Miley Cyrus and now Kelly Clarkson, they provided the audience with a revived panel of coaches, but not necessarily a panel that had chemistry. As we all know, Blake and Gwen ended up falling in love (if not because of The Voice) and the constant rotating of coaches in and out has made The Voice more about the coaches than the contestants.
My biggest problem with The Voice and to be honest with most reality competition shows is that they focus too much on turning the contestants into characters. Every time I watch any of these shows, especially The Voice, I feel like I’m watching one of those sad ASPCA commercials with Sarah McLachlan’s “I Will Remember You” playing in the background. Most of the contestants that they find all have sad stories, and while that helps give them depth, it’s become a running joke of sorts. To be honest, the most annoying part about The Voice is how they use “sad contestant trope.” as a means to bring sympathy to these people. If I want to be sad while watching complete strangers, I’ll turn on the news. Furthermore, it’s hard to find a contestant and then get attached to them if we know there’s a chance they’re going to be voted out or eliminated. It’s a very tricky and sadistic routine that we as an audience go through every season.
The same way that American Idol did away with the bad auditions in front of the judge’s panel, I believe that The Voice needs to limit the amount of storytelling that they do with the contestants before they go for their blind audition. I don’t need to feel like I need to pop an antidepressant every time I watch The Voice.
I’m going to do my best this season to watch The Voice from start to finish, if only to support my American Idol Kelly Clarkson. Here’s to hoping The Voice fatigue is kicked after the current season ends.
Featured image via NBC’s The Voice
