The Voice (American Season 24)

The twenty-fourth season of the American reality television series '' The Voice'' premiered on September 25, 2023, on NBC. The season is presented by Carson Daly, who returned for his twenty-fourth season as the host. This season's coaching panel consisted of Niall Horan, who returned for his second season; John Legend and Gwen Stefani, who both returned for their eighth and seventh seasons, respectively, after a one-season hiatus; and debuting coach Reba McEntire.

Huntley was named the winner of the season, marking Niall Horan's second and final win as a coach, with Horan becoming the third coach to win multiple consecutive seasons, following Blake Shelton's winning streak from seasons 2 to 4, and Kelly Clarkson's consecutive wins in seasons 14 and 15. Horan is also the second coach (after Clarkson) to win their first two seasons.

With Shelton's departure as a coach, the twenty-fourth season was the first not to feature any of the original coaches from the show's inaugural season.

Overview

Development

On May 15, 2023, during NBC's upfronts for the 2023–24 United States network television schedule, it was announced that ''The Voice'' would return for a fall season later that year. The filming of the blind auditions began on July 10. Despite the season's inclusion of SAG–AFTRA members, such as John Legend and Reba McEntire, in its cast, the taping for the show was left unaffected when the union went on strike on July 14, as the show was covered under the union's Network Code, which is not subject to the contract negotiations between the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

On the announcement of NBC's 2023 fall schedule, on July 19, 2023, it was revealed that the season would premiere on September 25.

Coaches and host

Out of the four coaches that appeared in the previous season, only Niall Horan made a return, marking his second season as a coach. Coaches Kelly Clarkson, Chance the Rapper, and Blake Shelton, all left the panel for the season.

Shelton remarked in an interview with '' Access Hollywood'' that the previous season would be his last due to familial reasons. His departure makes the twenty-fourth season the first to not feature any of the coaches from the inaugural season. Meanwhile, Clarkson's departure comes amid her talk show's move to New York, as well as the allegations of a toxic work environment within it formed by its producers.

Former coaches John Legend and Gwen Stefani, who both last coached on season 22, returned for their eighth and seventh seasons, respectively.

During the semifinals of the previous season, it was revealed that country music singer and actress Reba McEntire would appear as a coach for her first season. McEntire previously made several appearances on the show—she served as the battle advisor for Team Blake on the show's inaugural season; an advisor for all teams during the Top 12 live shows on season eight; and as the mega mentor on season 23. She was also tapped to serve as a coach on the show's first season, but she declined. McEntire's history on the show, as well as her respected career in country music, have led several publications to identify her as Shelton's replacement. The addition of McEntire to the panel made history as the series’ oldest and most experienced coach. Adrianna Freedman of '' Good Housekeeping'' noted that McEntire's inclusion as a coach garnered a positive response from longtime viewers.

Carson Daly returned as the host for his twenty-fourth season.

Substitutions

Due to scheduling conflicts, Horan was not present for rehearsals for the knockouts. Filling in for him was country music duo Dan + Shay, who are set to serve as full-time coaches in the following season. The pair previously made several appearances on the show — appearing as guest performers on the live shows in seasons 15 and 19, and serving as the battle advisors for Team Blake in season 20.

Mega mentor

On October 31, 2023, it was announced that country music singer Wynonna Judd would serve as the mega mentor for the Knockouts. For the second consecutive season, there were no guest advisors in the battles, meaning the artists were solely mentored by their coaches.

Marketing and promotion

A preview of the season was first aired on August 31, 2023. Ahead of the season's premiere, on September 22, the show, via its online media platforms, released a cover of the 1972 Eagles single " Take It Easy" performed by the coaches.

Shortly prior to the season premiere, the blind audition of Jordan Rainer, performing the Bobbie Gentry song " Fancy" based on McEntire's 1992 cover of the song, was released online. Later episodes saw the auditions of Ephraim Owens, Chechi Sarai, Laura Williams, Nini Iris, Olivia Eden and Dylan Carter released online as a sneak peek for their respective episodes.

Teams

Blind auditions

The show began with the Blind Auditions on September 25, 2023. In each audition, an artist sings their piece in front of the coaches, whose chairs are facing the audience. If a coach is interested in working with the artist, they may press their button to face the artist. If a singular coach presses the button, the artist automatically becomes part of their team. If multiple coaches turn, they will compete for the artist, who will decide which team they will join. Each coach has one "block" to prevent another coach from getting an artist. This season, each coach ends up with 14 artists by the end of the blind auditions, creating a total of 56 artists advancing to the battles.

This is the second consecutive season (fourth overall) in ''The Voice'' history where at least one coach (John Legend and Niall Horan in this instance) do not have any one-chair turns on their teams. The others were Adam Levine and Pharrell Williams in season 7, Legend in season 17, and Clarkson in the previous season. This is also, by far, the season with the most four-chair turns.

With Reba McEntire having four 4-chair turn contestants, she tied with Camilla Cabello in which a debuting coach has the most 4-chair turns in their season.

Episode 1 (Sept. 25)

Among this episode's auditionees were Sophia Hoffman, who previously auditioned unsuccessfully in season 23, and Mara Justine, who previously competed on the 9th season of ''America's Got Talent'' and the 16th season of '' American Idol''.

Episode 2 (Sept. 26)

Episode 3 (Oct. 2)

Among this episode's auditionees were Mac Royals, who previously competed under his real name, Malcolm Allen, on the 13th season of '' American Idol'', and Rudi, who previously competed on '' The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart''.

With the acquisitions of Chechi Sarai and Rudi, Gwen Stefani obtained her first two four-chair-turns since Joshua "JChosen" Hunter and Troy Ramey in the twelfth season.

Episode 4 (Oct. 3)

Episode 5 (Oct. 9)

Among this episode's auditionees were Al Boogie, who previously auditioned unsuccessfully in season 23, and Corii, who previously appeared on season 2 of ''Songland''.

Episode 6 (Oct. 10)

Episode 7 (Oct. 16)

Among this episode's auditionees were Claire Heilig, who previously competed on the 26th season of '' The Bachelor'', and Katie Wheatley, who previously auditioned unsuccessfully in season 23, though her audition went unaired.

Battles

The second stage of the show, the battles, aired from October 17 through November 6, 2023, comprising episodes 8 through 13. In this round, the coaches pitted two of their artists in a singing match and then select one of them to advance to the next round. For the second consecutive season, there were no guest advisors for the battles, which meant the artists were mentored solely by their coaches.

Losing artists may be "stolen" by another coach, becoming new members of their team. Multiple coaches can attempt to steal an artist, resulting in a competition for the artist, who will ultimately decide which team they will join. At the end of this round, nine artists remained on each team; seven were the battle winners, while the other two were stolen from another coach. In total, 36 artists advanced to the knockouts. For the first time since season 16, there were two steals in this round, with no saves available since season 8.

Knockouts

The third stage of the show, the knockouts, aired after the final battles on November 6, and ran through November 14, 2023, comprising episodes thirteen through sixteen. Wynonna Judd served as this season's mega mentor. In the round, each coach groups three of their artists in a singing match. The artists themselves will select the song they will sing in the round, and then their coach selects one of them to advance to the playoffs.

Throughout the round, each coach can steal one losing artist from an opposing team and save one of their artists. At the end of the round, 12 artists win their knockout, remaining on their teams, while four artists are stolen, and four are saved by their respective coaches. Each coach also granted a "super save" to an artist, regardless of team, to allow them to advance to the playoffs as members of their team. In all, a total 24 artists advanced to the playoffs.

Playoffs

The fourth stage of the show, the playoffs, aired from November 21 through November 28, 2023, comprising episodes eighteen through twenty. The round was preceded by a recap episode titled "The Road To Playoffs".

New to season 24 is the Super Save, which saw the return of eliminated contestants Azán, Ms. Monét, Julia Roome, and Lennon VanderDoes as recipients for Team Legend, Team Reba, Team Niall, and Team Gwen, respectively.

The top 24 artists perform for the coaches with a song of their choosing. At the end of the round, each coach selects three of their artists to advance, creating a total of 12 artists advancing to the live shows.

Like season 6, season 13, and the previous season, the playoffs were not contested live. They were prerecorded and taped at the same stage as the prior three rounds, hence the lack of an interactive viewer voting component or a subsequent results episode.

In episode 19, Tom Nitti from Team Reba withdrew from the show due to undisclosed personal reasons; leaving the remaining five members to perform on the episode.

Live shows

Week 1: Top 12 – Quarterfinals (Dec. 4–5)

The Top 12 performances comprised episodes 21 and 22. The Top 12 artists, three from each team, performed on Monday, with the results following on Tuesday. The top eight artists were saved by the public's vote, while the remaining four artists, who received the fewest votes, competed for the Instant Save in the results show. Last season's coach, Chance the Rapper served as the mentor for the Top 12 live shows.

With all three members of Team Reba advancing, Reba McEntire became the first new coach to take three artists from her team to the Semifinals.

Week 2: Top 9 – Semifinals (Dec. 11–12)

The semifinals comprised episodes 23 and 24. The nine semifinalists each performed a solo song and a Taylor Swift trio with two fellow semifinalists on Monday, with the results following on Tuesday. The four artists with the most votes automatically moved on to the finale, while the remaining five artists competed in the Instant Save for the fifth and final spot in the finale.

With the elimination of Bias, Gwen Stefani no longer has any artists on her team. This is the fourth time out of her seven seasons as a coach where there are no artists representing her team in the finale. Meanwhile, with the advancements of Ruby Leigh and Jacquie Roar to the finale, Reba McEntire became the ninth new coach to successfully bring her team to the finale, the first being Usher (Michelle Chamuel in season four), the second being Alicia Keys (Wé McDonald in season 11), the third being Kelly Clarkson (Brynn Cartelli in season 14), the fourth being John Legend (Maelyn Jarmon in season 16), the fifth being Nick Jonas (Thunderstorm Artis in season 18), the sixth being Camila Cabello (Morgan Myles in season 22), the seventh Chance the Rapper (Sorelle in season 23), and the eighth Niall Horan ( Gina Miles also in season 23). Also, McEntire became the first new coach to have two artists competing in the finale. She is also the second female coach to advance two artists in the finale, the first being Clarkson in season 21. This also marks the second time that multiple coaches have multiple artists competing in the finale, with McEntire and Horan both having two artists each, following the twenty-first season. Additionally, this marks the first time in ''The Voice'' history where every finalist was originally a four-chair turn in the Blind Auditions.

Week 3: Finale (Dec. 18–19)

The season finale ran through two nights, Monday and Tuesday, December 18 through 19, 2023, comprising episodes 25 and 26. The Top 5 performed on Monday, with each artist performing an up-tempo song and a ballad for the title of ''The Voice''. At the episode's conclusion, the overnight voting for the season's winner began. The following night, on Tuesday, the finalists performed a duet with their respective coaches before the results of the public vote were announced, and the winner of the season was named.

Huntley was named as the winner on the season finale aired on December 19, 2023. His victory marks Niall Horan's second consecutive win as a coach, with Horan becoming the third coach to win multiple consecutive seasons, following Blake Shelton's winning streak from seasons 2 to 4, and Kelly Clarkson's consecutive wins in seasons 14 and 15. Horan also became the fourth coach to have won multiple times, the first three being Shelton (9 wins), Adam Levine (3 wins), and Clarkson (4 wins), and is also the second coach to win their first two seasons following Clarkson's wins in the fourteenth and fifteenth seasons.

Elimination chart

Overall

Per team

Ratings

Notes

References

External links

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The Voice (American TV series)
2023 American television seasons