The Voice (franchise)
| The Voice | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Reality Television |
| Created by | |
| Opening theme | This is The Voice |
| Composer | Martijn Schimmer |
| Country of origin | Netherlands |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22–104 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Release | 17 September 2010 – present |
The Voice is an international reality television singing competition franchise. It is based on the reality singing competition The Voice of Holland, which was originally created by Dutch television producer John de Mol. Many other countries have adapted the format and begun airing their own versions since 2011. It has become a rival to the Idols franchise, Rising Star and The X Factor.
History
John de Mol, creator of Big Brother, first created The Voice concept with Dutch singer Roel van Velzen. The concept came after de Mol was asked by Erland Galjaard, a Dutch program director, about whether he could go with a format further than The X Factor. Galjaard asked de Mol after Galjaard was excited about the Dutch version of The X Factor. So, de Mol then came with the idea of Blind Audition. He wanted to focus on singing quality alone, so the coaches must be top artists in music industry. The rotating chairs concept was invented by Roel van Velzen. It would also be the first talent show in which social media is actively involved.[1]
On September 17, 2010, The Voice of Holland began to air on RTL 4 with Angela Groothuizen, Roel van Velzen, Nick & Simon, and Jeroen van der Boom as the mentor-judges (dubbed as "coaches") of the show.[2] The show proved to be an instant success in the Netherlands.[3][4]
The format was later sold to different countries, in many cases replacing a previous Endemol music contest format, Operation Triumph / Star Academy.
Format
The show's format features five stages of competition: producers' auditions, blind auditions, battle rounds, knockouts (since 2012), and live performance shows.
Blind auditions
Contestants are aspiring singers drawn from public auditions, which are not televised. Unlike Idols and The X Factor, the producers pick fewer contestants (usually from 100 up to 200 contestants), which are deemed "the best artists", to perform in the televised auditions.[1] The first televised stage is the blind auditions, in which the four coaches, all noteworthy recording artists, listen to the contestants in chairs facing away from the stage so as to avoid seeing them. If a coach likes what they hear from that contestant, they press a button to rotate their chairs to signify that they are interested in working with that contestant. If more than one coach presses their button, the contestant chooses the coach he or she wants to work with. The blind auditions end when each coach has a set number of contestants to work with. Coaches will dedicate themselves to developing their singers mentally, musically and in some cases physically, giving them advice, and sharing the secrets of their success.
Battles
The contestants who successfully pass the blind auditions proceed to the battle rounds, where the coaches put two of their own team members against each other to sing the same song together in front of a studio audience. After the vocal face-off, the coach must choose only one to advance. If no specific winner can be identified the competition turns to a game of fate via a coin toss. In some versions, there are steals where opposing coaches can steal a contestant who was voted off by their own coach by pressing their button. As in the blind auditions, if more than one coach presses their button, the contestant chooses which coach they want. Each coach has a set number of steals (usually one or two).
Knockouts
In some versions, the winners of the battle rounds proceed to the knockout rounds (dubbed Super-battle round in some versions). The Knockout Rounds can happen in one of two method: Sing-off or Hot-seat/Chair Challenge.
In sing-off method, as in the battle rounds, coaches pit numbers (usually 2/3/4) of their own team members to compete against each other. This time, the contestants choose their own song to perform individually while the other watches and waits. After that, the coach chooses one to advance while the other is sent home. At the end of the knockout rounds, the strongest members of each coach's roster proceed to the live stage shows. Some versions also have steals. Like in battle round, the opposing coaches can steal a contestant who was voted off by their own coach by pressing their button. Also same in the blind auditions, if more than one coach presses their button, the contestant chooses which coach they want.
In hot-seat or chair challenge method (first introduced in the sixth season of The Voice of Holland), a format similar to The X Factor's six-chair challenge, there will be three seats (the number of seats varies sometimes). After the first 3 contestants perform a song of his or her choice, they will all sit in the three chairs. However, after these contestants perform, the fate of the fourth artist will be decided based on whether his or her coach would like to switch out an artist already seated in favor of this performer. In the case of a switch-out, the artist that was switched out will be eliminated, and this performer will sit down. If the coach would instead like to keep the performers already seated and thus not give a seat to this performer, he or she will be immediately eliminated. After all artists have performed, those who end up seated will advance to the Live Shows.
Live shows
In the final performance phase of the competition, the top contestants from each team compete against each other during a live broadcast. The television audience vote to save one contestant on each team, leaving the coach to decide on live television who they want to save and who will not move on. In the next round, the public chooses between the two artists left on each team, and the coach also has a vote that weighs equally with the public vote.
Finally, each coach will have his/her best contestant left standing to compete in the finals, singing an original song. From these four, one will be named "The Voice"—and will receive the grand prize of a recording contract. Universal Music Group is the general record company associated and affiliated with The Voice format in most countries.
Social media participation
One of the cornerstones of The Voice format is the social media participation via Twitter, Facebook and the especially designed platform "connect." Users are able to log in via their Facebook account and retrieve background information about the show. The platform also offers the possibility to stream the show online as well as to vote, interact with friends and to discuss various topics and questions asked by the producers throughout the show.[5]
Format variations
Coaches' line-up
In various franchises, a duo coach is placed in the coaches' panel—a difference from the usual four individual coaches line-up. It was first introduced in the first season of The Voice of Holland with Nick & Simon as the first duo coach. The same variation is also used in seen in various The Voice Kids format.
Another variation was introduced in The Voice Kids. The same format usually have three individuals in the line-up of coaches. However, a variation was introduced in the second season of the O Ses Türkiye—the Turkish version of the format—wherein the said show included four individual coaches, but then was dropped in the later seasons. However, this was adopted in the second season of the Indian-Hindustani version, the seventh season of the Dutch version, and in the fifth season of the French version.
Contestants
Originally, The Voice only allowed solo artists and groups with two members, but not trios/quartets. The first case of a trio entering was in the first season of The Voice van Vlaanderen. In the second episode, the Vinken Sisters participated and three coaches turned. They commented that trios weren't allowed for participation and that there was a chance that the group had to drop a member[citation needed]. However, the trio remained in the competition without dropping members. Many versions of The Voice stuck with the original rule of only allowing solo artists and duos. The American version, the UK version and some other versions[citation needed] currently won't allow for trios to participate. However, the limit of two people per group was ultimately lifted in The Voice of Holland. In the fifth season of the Dutch version, girl group O'G3NE was the first trio that entered and ultimately won the show. After that, a few versions[citation needed] started to allow groups with more than two members. Trios/quartets have been seen entering the second season of Indonesian version (Mervo) and the sixth season of French version (The Sugazz). A different rule was applied in the blind auditions in the Philippine version of The Voice Teens, wherein if contestants auditioning as duo had received only one-chair turn, the coach who turned for them must decide either dropping a member or advancing both of them. The said rule was also seen in the Malaysian and Singaporean version.
Elimination twists
Blind auditions
Starting from the fifth season of The Voice of Holland,[6] if all the coaches rejected one specific contestant, the losing contestant would leave the stage straight away, without any conversations with the coaches, and the chairs would remain unturned. The format is currently used from the fourth season of The Voice of Bulgaria, fourth season of Lietuvos Balsas, sixth season of The Voice of Poland, the sixth series of The Voice UK, fourth season of The Voice of Armenia, and to the sixth season of La Voz... Mexico. This mechanic was used in the fifth season of the Vocea României,[7] but it was abandoned in later seasons.
Live shows
In some versions, all contestants perform each week and only the public's vote determines which contestants advance in the competition, a format similar to both Idols and The X Factor. This means that any contestant can be eliminated and no coach is guaranteed a spot in the finals. Along with this elimination method, there is an Instant Save in certain versions, most notably the US version, Israeli version, and Australian Version, where contestants (usually two or three) who are in danger of elimination have to perform again and another vote is conducted to save one of those contestants.
Battles twists
The Cross-battle was introduced as one of the live rounds in the fourth season of The Voice of Holland[8]. In this round, two contestants from two different team compete each other and the public vote determines who will advance. The Cross-battles returned in the fifth season of the Dutch version, but later dropped in the succeeding seasons. The Cross-battles was also used in the fourth season of The Voice Of China, the fifth season of The Voice Brasil, both fifth and sixth seasons of the Vocea României and in the third season of The Voice of Greece.
The seventh season of the Dutch version features "non stop steals", which means that steals during the battle rounds follow a hot-seat procedure: a coach may replace his or her stolen contestant as many times as he or she likes until the end of the battles. This feature also applies in the seventh season of the Romanian version and the fifth season of the Dutch Belgian (Flanders) version.[9]
Twists adopted in different rounds
Swapped rounds
Normally, The Voice have Knockout round come after Battle round. However, the sixth season of Australian version have the rounds swapped (Knockout round come before Battle round). It is followed in the fifth season of the Lithuanian version, the sixth season of the Brazilian version, and the sixth season of Thai version.
Remix rounds
Introduced in the fifth season of the Brazilian version, the coaches will again attend the performance of the contestants and at the end, each of them will press the famous red button to choose who will move to the next phase. contestants who have more than one button pressed will be able to decide which team they want to stay in. Coaches may use a wildcard, which guarantees Supreme Power at the time of choice. If more than one of them presents the card, the priority will always be the team's original coach. At the end of Remix each coach will have three candidates for the Semifinal rounds.
Live shows' judging system
A new feature of the Live Shows in the seventh season of the Dutch version is the judging of each performance by all four coaches with a number from one to ten. This number will then be averaged and combined with the public vote, which voted during each contestants performance – voting method similar to Rising Star – ultimately giving a score to each artist, then contestants will be graded based on the score at the end of each performance.
Stage design
The appearance of coaches names on the floor (after pressing the buttons in the blind auditions) was first introduced in the eleventh season of the U.S. version and ongoing until the present. The format was adopted in several other versions as well.
Versions
A combined 314 singers have won the television series The Voice, a reality singing competition adapted in one-hundred twenty-seven regions. Each winner is given a recording contract, a monetary prize, and a title as that nation's The Voice, La Voz, Golos, Holos or La Voix. The first was Ben Saunders of the Netherlands and the most recent was Selim Alakhyarov from the Russian version of The Voice.
- Franchise with a currently airing season
- Franchise with an upcoming season
- Franchise that had ceased to air
- Original Version of The Voice
- Original Version of The Voice Kids
Multi-franchise coaches
The following coaches had appeared in multiple franchises:
- Alejandro Sanz –
Mexico (1, 5) and 
Spain (3–4) - Boy George –
Australia (6–) and 
United Kingdom (5) - Carlos Vives –
Colombia (1) and Mexico (6–) - David Bisbal – Mexico (3) and Spain (1–2; Kids, 1–3)
- Garou –
Quebec (6–) and 
France (1–3, 5; Kids, 1) - Jennifer Hudson – United Kingdom (6–) and
United States (13) - Jerry Rivera –
Ecuador (1) and 
Peru (1–2) - Jessie J – Australia (4–5) and United Kingdom (1–2)
- José Luis Rodríguez –
Argentina (1) and Peru (1–2) - Kylie Minogue – Australia (3) and United Kingdom (3)
- Laura Pausini – Mexico (4, 6–) and Spain (3)
- Lene Nystrøm –
Denmark (1–2) and 
Norway (2) - Maluma – Colombia (Kids, 1–2) and Mexico (6–; Kids, 1)
- Paulina Rubio – Mexico (2) and United States (Kids, 1)
- Ricky Martin – Australia (2–4) and Mexico (4)
- Rosario Flores – Mexico (Kids, 1) and Spain (1–2; Kids, 1–)
- Soledad Pastorutti – Argentina (1) and
Paraguay (1–) - will.i.am – Australia (3) and United Kingdom (1–; Kids, 1–)
Notes
- ^
The Voice of Albania is also broadcast in Kosovo. People from Kosovo are also allowed to join the show. - ^
The Chinese version allows people who can speak Mandarin to join starting from season 3. In 2016, there was a controversial issue between the producers of Chinese version of the series and Talpa on the copyright of The Voice of China. Therefore, from season 5 on, the show was renamed Sing! China to solve the problem provisionally.[36] - ^
While La Voix is broadcast all across Canada, people from provinces outside Quebec (excluding those from the Ottawa/Gatineau area) are not allowed to join the show. - ^
The Voice of Greece is also broadcast in Cyprus. Cypriots are also allowed to join the show. - ^
The Voice Angola is also broadcast in Mozambique; people from Mozambique are also allowed to join the show.[13] - ^ In the Australian version of The Voice, Joel Madden served as a solo coach from seasons 1 to 3. From the season 4 on, he was joined by his brother Benji Madden, and became as a duo coach called "The Madden Brothers". They also have served as the coach of the Australian version of The Voice Kids.
- ^
By this time, the Season 2 of the Turkish version of The Voice Kids is the only season which has four coaches' teams of all versions of The Voice Kids. However, the French, Indian and Dutch version of The Voice Kids has confirmed to add the fourth coach, making it the next versions to have the four coaches' teams of all versions of The Voice Kids, respectively. - ^ The American version of The Voice is also broadcast in Canada and select Caribbean countries; people from all Canadian provinces (excluding Quebec) are also allowed to join the show, as well as people from select Caribbean countries.
- ^
South African network M-Net is not to be confused with South Korean music channel Mnet. - ^
Vocea României is also broadcast in Moldova; Moldovans are also allowed to join the show, provided they have a biometric passport or a visa (which is free for Moldovans). - ^
The Voice of Italy is also broadcast in San Marino and Vatican City, but people from Vatican City are not allowed to join the show. - ^
The Voice – la plus belle voix is also broadcast in Luxembourg and Monaco. People from Luxembourg and Monaco are also allowed to join the show. - ^
La Voz is also broadcast in Andorra. People from Andorra are also allowed to join the show. - ^
Although the Kazakh, Russian, and Ukrainian versions are never broadcast outside of their countries in the CIS area, but people from other CIS countries are allowed to join of those shows.
References
- ^ a b "Galjaard keek eerste aflevering The voice of Holland 8 keer" (in Dutch). Zappen. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "John de Mol bedacht The Voice uit jaloezie" (in Dutch). Algemeen Dagblad. 17 September 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "The Voice of Holland successfully launched" (in Dutch). Parool. 18 September 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "The Voice of Holland succesvol van start" (in Dutch). Metro International. 18 September 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Heiko A. S. Johannsen (April 2012). "Exploring the Relationship Between Engagement and Loyalty in the Context of Social TV: A German Television Show's use of Social Media Interactions".
- ^ "Vernieuwingen in The Voice of Holland op een rijtje" (in Dutch). Blog.nl. 29 August 2014.
- ^ "VOCEA ROMANIEI, sezonul 5, schimba regulile. Ce se intampla daca niciun antrenor nu apasa butonul pentru un concurent" (in Romanian). Pro TV. 8 September 2015.
- ^ "Nieuwe battles in halve finale The Voice of Holland" (in Dutch). Televisier. 10 December 2013.
- ^ "Sezonul șapte Vocea României aduce noutăți în format!" (in Romanian). Pro TV. 22 August 2017.
- ^ "'The Voice of Afghanistan' on TOLO TV: TELEVISION's TOP GLOBAL SHOW SET TO LAUNCH IN AFGHANISTAN". Moby Group. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Nieuw: The Voice of Afghanistan" (in Dutch). RTL Nieuws. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Fillon "The Voice of Albania-Vokali"" (in Albanian). Gazeta Online. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b "Angola and Chile join list of Voice countries". Talpa. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "The Voice أحلى صوت" (in Arabic). MBC1. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ ՛՛Հայաստանի ձայնը՛՛ Մերի Մնջոյանն է. ArmStar News.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "The Voice 2012: Highlights and Memorable Performances". PopSugar. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Knox, David (15 August 2013). "The Voice Kids coming to Nine in 2014". TV Tonight. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
- ^ Priscilla Hendriks (31 August 2014). ""The Voice" goes to India, Croatia, Azerbaijan and Pakistan". Onscreen Asia. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ ""La Voz Kids" será producida por el Canal Caracol" (in Spanish). Mundonets. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Con varias novedades llega 'La Voz Teens' al Canal Caracol" (in Spanish). El Pais. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b "The Voice se décline dans une version pour les 6 – 15 ans : The Voice kids" (in French). TF1. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Puteri Nur Emilia Bte Samian (4 May 2015). "&TV to air 'The Voice India'". OnScreenAsia. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Fabio Traversa (25 September 2012). "The Voice of Italy: Gianni Morandi conduttore, Gianmarco Mazzi direttore artistico, primo giudice". Blogosfere. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Pietro Berna (19 November 2012). ""THE VOICE": FABIO TROIANO ALLA CONDUZIONE". TV Zoom. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "The Voice Kids reaches Kazakhsta". Talpa. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "The Voice 隆重登陆新马！The Voice, has finally hit the shores of Singapore and Malaysia!". www.thevoicesgmy.com. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- ^ "The Voice Singapore-Malaysia launches online auditions". 5 May 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- ^ "La Voz... México 2016 – Sitio Oficial – Televisa". Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- ^ "The Voice Mongolia to launch in 2015". Talpa. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b "South Africa 60th country to launch local edition of The Voice". Talpa. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Versión peruana de "The voice" se emitiría en julio del 2013". El Comercio. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "After US tour, Sarah gears up for 'The Voice'". ABS-CBN News. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "'The Voice Philippines' to premiere June 9". Rappler. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b ""The Voice of The Philippines" Returns this Summer with Kids Edition". ABS-CBN PR. 17 March 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "O Ses Türkiye Çoçuklar Ne Zaman Başlayacak?". Haber Gazete. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Tina Villareal (10 July 2014). "The Voice of China in Singapore!". Today Online. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)
External links
- Talpa Media's Official website
- The Voice on Talpa
- The Voice Kids on Talpa
- The Voice Global on Youtube
