The Voice: Season 15 Premiere

Published on September 11, 2018

by johnadeleon

The four-time Emmy Award-winning “The Voice” returns with the strongest vocalists from across the country invited to compete in the blockbuster vocal competition show’s new season.

Returning superstar coaches Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton reclaim their red chairs for season 15, and Carson Daly returns as host.

The show’s innovative format features five stages of competition: the first begins with the Blind Auditions, then the Battle Rounds, Knockouts, Playoffs and, finally, the Live Performance Shows.

During the Blind Auditions, the decisions from the musician coaches are based solely on voice and not on looks. The coaches hear the artists perform, but they don’t get to see them — thanks to rotating chairs. If a coach is impressed by the artist’s voice, he/she pushes a button to select the artist for his/her team. At this point, the coach’s chair will swivel so that he/she can face the artist he/she has selected. If more than one coach pushes his/her button, the power then shifts to the artists to choose which coach they want to work with. If no coach pushes his/her button, the artist is eliminated from the competition.

Also returning this season is the “block,” which adds another layer of excitement during the Blind Auditions. The recently redesigned coach chairs each have an extra set of buttons with the other three coaches’ names. The block button prevents a coach from adding a new artist to their team. The coaches can only use their block buttons on one artist for the entire first round of the competition. When a coach hits the block button with the name of the other three coaches, the coach who hit it automatically turns around. The “blocked” coach only discovers they are blocked if they press their button. The blocked coach’s chair will still turn, however, instead of their lane lighting up with their name, it says “BLOCKED.” If the coach doesn’t press their button, the block is still available for another audition.

Once the teams are set, the battle is on. The coaches dedicate themselves to developing their team of artists, giving them advice and sharing the secrets of their success, along with help from their celebrity advisers. This season the coaches enlisted music industry heavyweights to prepare their artists for the Battle Rounds. Clarkson teams up with Thomas Rhett, Hudson with Halsey, Levine with Ceelo Green, and Blake Shelton with Keith Urban.

During the Battle Rounds, the coaches will pit two of their own team members against each other to sing the same song together in front of a studio audience. After the vocal battle, the coach must choose which of his/her singers will advance to the next round of competition, while the losing artist is available to be stolen by another coach. Each coach has two steals available during the Battle Rounds.

At the end of the Battle Rounds, only the strongest members of each coach’s roster remain and proceed to the Knockout Rounds. Here, the artists will be paired against a teammate once more, but this time they will select their own songs to perform individually while their direct competitor watches and waits. They are vying for their coach’s confidence and decision to take them to the final and crucial round before the live shows, the Playoffs.

One superstar universal adviser will be on hand to work with all of the coaches and their teams as they prepare the artists for this challenge. But the coaches alone will choose the winner and the artist not selected will be available to be stolen by another coach. In addition to their one steal, each coach has the opportunity to attempt to save an artist they just eliminated during the Knockout Round. However, if another coach presses his or her steal button, the artist can then decide if they want to go to a new team or return to their former coach.

Each coach has one steal and one save available during the Knockout Rounds.

In the Live Playoff Rounds, the top 24 artists will compete to secure a spot in the Live Shows. Each team has six artists left. Artists will perform and the top two vote-earners on each team will automatically advance. Each coach will then have to select one of their remaining artists to complete their roster and move on to the final phase of the competition — the Live Shows.

In the final live performance phase of the competition, the top 12 artists will compete each week against each other during a live broadcast. The television audience will vote to save their favorite artists. Three artists with the lowest number of votes will be eligible for the “Instant Save.” These artists will each perform a new song that represents why they should earn the save. America will then have the opportunity to save their favorite performer by tweeting out #VoiceSave along with the artist’s name. The singers with the lowest number of votes will be sent home each week. In the end, one will be named “The Voice” and will receive the grand prize of a recording contract.

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