After nearly a decade on the air at NBC, The Voice has captivated audiences. With genuine singing talent and some truly incredible stories from the contestants, and a lineup of influential judges hailing across all genres of the music industry, The Voice continues to be one of the best talent shows on television. Some say American Idol walked so The Voice could run.
For 20 seasons, The Voice showcased a wide range of singers aspiring to be the next Tim McGraw or Christina Aguilera, both as soloists and in groups. Soloists always claimed victory — until sibling folk trio Girl Named Tom took home the crown at the end of Season 21. While that was a noteworthy development in the history of the hit reality competition series, it was a polarizing result among viewers and prompted the question: should groups still be allowed to compete on a show called The Voice, let alone go all the way to the end?
The Voice has a unique format: four celebrity judges — who have included Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine, Usher, Peacemaker’s favorite singer Ariana Grande and Nick Jonas — judge singers based on nothing but (you guessed it) their voice. If a judge chooses to turn their chair around during a singer’s audition, the vocalist joins that coach’s team for the rest of the show. If more than one judge turns around, the hopeful gets to choose which music industry giant they wish to be mentored by. Seeing the judges fight it out over the top vocalists is one of the most entertaining parts of every season.
But the success of Girl Named Tom left fans wondering if duos and trios really fit into the concept of The Voice. A few arguments can be made for both sides of the debate. Vocal groups have more “wow factor” initially as they have the ability to sing in harmony with each other, enhancing the overall quality of their sound by mixing multiple voices to achieve a fuller-sounding result. However, that could also be a disadvantage later on because it’s harder to hear the individual qualities of each singer’s voice in a duo or trio, which might give solo artists an edge when the competition is tougher and the judges get more critical.
Groups are not a new addition to The Voice, though; the show has included them since the beginning, when duos The Thompson Sisters and Elenowen were featured in the first season. But duos and trios have traditionally not lasted long in the competition. Before Girl Named Tom, no group had even made it to the finale since The Swon Brothers in Season 4. The talented duo of Colton and Zach Swon found themselves a spot on Team Blake Shelton, finishing in third place.
So while the success of the Swon Brothers and Girl Named Tom is impressive, the title of the competition show is something to take into account. It’s called The Voice, not The Voices. For groups of singers, platforms like The X Factor or America’s Got Talent may be a better choice as far as reality TV competitions go. Historically, those two series have featured more groups and those groups have routinely outshined solo artists — the exact opposite of what’s happened on The Voice. Does this mean that The Voice should tighten up its parameters when it comes to who is allowed to compete?
While vocal duos and trios have appeared on The Voice before, none of them have won the entire competition until this past season, and they haven’t really upset the competition. While some fans are still on the fence about whether or not having groups thrown into the mix presents an unfair advantage, most die-hard fans of The Voice are just looking forward to hearing even more incredible music as the series should air Season 22 later this year on NBC.
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