Michael Slezak from TV Line interviewed The Voice host, Carson Daly on his reaction to the newbie show’s Emmy nod for Outstanding Competition Reality show, but he also teased a few spoilers on what we might expect from the new Season. The Voice 3 premiers on NBC September 10.
Read the entire interview at TVLine. Unlike his boss, Mark Burnett, Carson was diplomatic about Idol’s Emmy snub. “Idol is, come on, arguably the greatest, strongest show in the history of television. For The Voice to be mentioned in the same breath is really an honor.”
- The Battle Rounds will be tweaked: “The best way to categorize the changes is that we’re playing with some potential interchangeability.” When Michael suggested that he wished the mentors would be allowed to steal an eliminated battle round contestant from a competing judge, Carson answered “I will unofficially not comment on that, but I think that you in particular will enjoy this season of The Voice.”
- There will be fewer people in the live rounds: “We had too many people in the live rounds, and it was hard to keep track of them, and it was hard to fall in love because there were so many.” There won’t be 24 contestants for the live shows.
- Bigger backstories, More performances: “When we get to the live shows, we want America to be a little more invested in fewer singers.” There will be an increased number of performances from each contestants by the time the confetti flies.
- Even more Blind Auditions: There will be 3 hours worth a week, with The Voice now airing on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Carson took this little jab at Nigel Lythgoeand his sickness and mishap filled American Idol Hollywood rounds:
“You’ll never see on The Voice a promo with a flashing ambulance because somebody fell backstage. We don’t produce our show that way. We’re not trying to capitalize on any headlines of that nature, and we haven’t really needed to thus far.”
Carson also is not holding his breath waiting for The Voice to produce a huge star. Nor does he think it’s necessary:
“We’d like to have that Kelly Clarkson sort of moment, and it’s important to the longevity and stability of the brand of The Voice. At some point I think you have to have somebody pierce popular culture. But on the other hand, it’s not something we can control, and we don’t think the show’s success is predicated on that. We’re also only two seasons in. There’s a timeline, but it’s not anytime soon.”
I’m still not convinced the Battle Rounds can be improved short of totally re hauling that phase of the competition. Adding more gimmicks such as allowing coaches to steal fellow panelists’ contestants won’t do much to make the round less tedious, although it may save a contestant who was robbed.
Giving finalists more opportunities to sing in the live rounds is imperative to keeping viewers from losing interest. I still can’t tell you who half of Season 2’s contestants are, although I remember ALL of Idol’s Top 24. Invested fans also buy post competition albums. So there’s that.
If the live round tweaks are executed successfully, maybe I won’t feel like tossing things at my TV half way through the live rounds this season.
ETA: Taking a cue from comments–making the live rounds LONGER to accommodate 1 elimination a week would be ideal. But the format as it stands, doesn’t allow that. Short live rounds will continue to contribute to the lack of viewer investment problem The Voice currently has.
