The twenty-first season of the American reality television series '' The Voice'' premiered on September 20, 2021, on NBC. Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend returned as coaches for their twenty-first, eighth, and sixth seasons, respectively.

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

made her first appearance as a coach this season, replacing Nick Jonas. Meanwhile,

Carson Daly Carson Jones Daly (born June 22, 1973) is an American television host, radio personality, Television producer, producer, and celebrity, television personality. Prior to 2003, Daly was a VJ (media personality), VJ on MTV's ''Total Request Live'', ...

returned for his twenty-first season as host.

Girl Named Tom Girl Named Tom is an American pop sibling trio from Pettisville, Ohio composed of Bekah Grace Liechty (born August 2000), Joshua Liechty (born 1998), and Caleb Liechty (born 1995). They are the winners of season 21 of the American talent compet ...

, consisting of siblings Bekah, Caleb, and Joshua Liechty, was named the winner of the season, marking Kelly Clarkson's fourth and final win as a coach; the first instance of a group act winning the show; and the second time that the first (aired) act to audition would go on to win the entire season, following

Todd Tilghman Todd Tilghman (born January 3, 1978) is an American pastor singer. He is the winner of season 18 of American talent competition ''The Voice''. At the age of 42, he became the oldest winner in the series history, a record previously held by Josh ...

's win in season 18. Additionally, with Wendy Moten being named the runner-up, she is the oldest in the show's run, and along with Toneisha Harris (also from season 18), they are the highest-placing African-American female singers in the show's history. The 21st season was also notable when Sasha Allen of Jim & Sasha Allen not only became the American version’s third openly transgender artist (after season 14's Angel Bonilla and season 17's Dane Mautone of Dane & Stephanie) and second transgender male to turn a chair on the show, but also became the American version's first transgender artist to have progressed to the Live shows.

Panelists

Coaches and host

In March 2021, NBC announced there would be a change in the coaches for this season. Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, and John Legend all returned for their twenty-first, eighth, and sixth seasons, respectively, with

making her first appearance as a coach in this season.

returned for his twenty-first season as the host.

Advisors

In August 2021, the advisors for the Battles were revealed, who were:

Jason Aldean Jason Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams; February 28, 1977) is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group, Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 ...

for Team Kelly, Camila Cabello for Team Legend, Kristin Chenoweth for Team Ariana and Dierks Bentley for Team Blake.

Mega mentor

Ed Sheeran serves as the mega mentor for this season during the Knockouts. He was previously a Battle advisor for Team Christina in season 5.

Teams

Blind auditions

The blind auditions began airing on September 20, 2021. In each audition, an artist sings their piece in front of the coaches whose chairs are facing the audience. If a coach is interested to work with the artist, they will 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, with only one block permitted to be used per blind audition. Each coach ends up with 12 artists by the end of the blind auditions, creating a total of 48 artists advancing to the battles. The coaches performed a mash-up of " Hold On, I'm Comin'" (John Legend & Blake Shelton) and "

Respect Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...

" (Kelly Clarkson & Ariana Grande) at the start of the show. This is the first instance that a debuting coach (Ariana Grande) does not have any four-chair turns on their team, as Shakira, Usher, Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams, Miley Cyrus, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, and Nick Jonas have at least one four-chair turners on their teams on their respective debut season.

Episode 1 (Sept. 20)

Episode 2 (Sept. 21)

Among the contestants in this episode was Hailey Green, who previously auditioned unsuccessfully in season 19.

Episode 3 (Sept. 27)

Among this episode's auditionees were Jeremy Rosado and Raquel Trinidad, who previously competed on the eleventh and seventeenth seasons of '' American Idol'', respectively, Carson Peters, who previously appeared on season 1 of '' Little Big Shots'', and Samara Brown, the sister of ''The Voice'' season 3 contestant Amanda Brown.

Episode 4 (Sept. 28)

Episode 5 (Oct. 4)

Episode 6 (Oct. 5)

Battles

The battles began airing on October 11, 2021. The advisors for this round were

for Team Kelly, Camila Cabello for Team Legend, Kristin Chenoweth for Team Ariana, and Dierks Bentley for Team Blake. In this round, the coaches pit two of their artists in a singing match and then select one of them to advance to the next round. Losing artists may be "stolen" by another coach, becoming new members of their team, or can be saved by their coach, remaining a part of their original team. Multiple coaches can attempt to steal an artist, resulting in a competition for the artist, who will ultimately decide which team they will go to. Additionally, their original coach can compete for their artist if they attempt to save them. There will be no four-way knockout in this season meaning that the artists saved by their coach will go to the regular Knockouts. At the end of this round, eight artists will remain on each team; six will be battle winners, and one from a steal and a save, respectively. In total, 32 artists advance to the knockouts. It was revealed that for the Live Playoffs Wildcard, one previously eliminated artist from each team has the chance to be voted via Twitter to earn a place in the Top 13 ( see ''Voice Comeback'').

Knockouts

The Knockouts began airing on October 25, 2021. Ed Sheeran served as the mega mentor for this season's knockouts. In this round, each coach pairs two of their artists in a singing match. The artists themselves will select the song they will sing in the round. The coach will then select one of the artists to advance to the Live Playoffs. Each coach can steal one losing artist from another team but the coaches do not have the ability to save their artists during the Knockouts. At the end of this round, four artists will remain on each team whilst four artists will be stolen, creating a total of twenty artists advancing to the Live Playoffs. It was revealed that for the Live Playoffs Wildcard, one previously eliminated artist from each team has the chance to be voted via Twitter to earn a place in the Top 13 ( see ''Voice Comeback'').

Voice Comeback

Following the conclusion of the Knockouts, it was revealed that one previously eliminated artist from each team has the chance to return to the competition. Each artist will be put up in a poll via Twitter where viewers may vote by tweeting or retweeting. The winner participates in the Live Playoffs Wildcard, having the chance to earn a place in the Top 13. To participate in this poll, Ariana and Kelly selected Vaughn Mugol and Aaron Hines, respectively, who were eliminated in the Battles, while Blake and John selected Hailey Green and Samara Brown, respectively, who were eliminated in the Knockouts.

Live shows

Week 1: Top 20 – Playoffs (Nov. 8–9)

The Live Playoffs comprised episodes 15 and 16. On Monday, the Top 20 artists performed live for their chance at a spot in the Top 13. On Tuesday, in the live results show, two artists from each team advanced based on the public's vote, and each coach got to save one of their own artists. The remaining artists from each team with the highest overnight vote then competed for the Wild card. In addition, Vaughn Mugol, via ''The Voice Comeback'', competed in the Wild card as well. Hailey Mia won the Wildcard and advanced to the Top 13. This is the third time, following the fifteenth and seventeenth seasons, that Kelly Clarkson has entered the Top 13 with four artists on her team.

Week 2: Top 13 (Nov. 15–16)

This week's theme was “Dedications”. The three artists who received the fewest votes competed for the Instant Save on the results show. There was only one artist in the bottom three receiving the instant save, eliminating two artists from the competition. Also, this season restored the previous elimination format last used in season 17, which does not guarantee a coach will have an artist in the finale. As the studio performances start to be released, the trio

becomes the first contestant this season to crack the Top 10 on iTunes Songs Chart. Their cover of "Dust in the Wind" hit #10 at the close of the voting window.

Week 3: Top 11 (Nov. 22–23)

This week was "Fan Week" wherein the viewers selected the songs the remaining artists would perform. At the results show, the two artists with the fewest public votes competed for the sole instant save for that week, eliminating one artist. Once again,

reached Top 10 on iTunes Songs Chart at #9. They are also the only contestant placing in the top 100 (for the second consecutive week).

Week 4: Top 10 (Nov. 29–30)

Week four is "Challenge Week", wherein the remaining artists sang songs "outside of their genre." The three artists who receive the fewest votes will compete for the Instant Save on the results show. One will instantly be saved eliminating two artists from the competition. No performance reached the top 10 on iTunes this week. However, for the first time this season, there are four contestants who cracked the top 100, with their highest charting being

at #12, Jim & Sasha Allen at #33, Wendy Moten at #45, and Paris Winningham at #53. The three artists who landed in the bottom three – Holly Forbes, Jeremy Rosado, and Jershika Maple – were all originally from Team Kelly.

Week 5: Top 8 – Semifinals (Dec. 6–7)

The Top 8 performed on Monday, with the results following on Tuesday. The four artists with the most votes automatically moved on to the finale with the remaining four artists, competing in the Instant Save for the fifth and final spot in the finale. In addition to their solo song, each artist performed a 90s duet with another act. The duets were not available to purchase on iTunes. This week,

's cover of "River" marked the first The Voice studio performance to hit #1 on iTunes Overall Chart since the eighteenth season. Additionally, four other contestants reached the top 100: Wendy Moten at #17, Hailey Mia at #56, Joshua Vacanti at #90, and Paris Winningham at #96. Jim & Sasha Allen and Jershika Maple just missed out on the top 100 at #104 and #106, respectively. With the advancements of

and Hailey Mia, this is the first time that a female coach (Kelly Clarkson) has had two artists on her team advance to the finale, and with Girl Named Tom's advancement, in particular, the first time that a trio has advanced to the finale, as well. Also, this is the first season that not only one but two coaches have multiple artists represented in the finale (Kelly and Blake with 2 each). In addition, Hailey Mia became the first Wild card Instant Save winner to make it to the finale. Additionally, with the elimination of Jim & Sasha Allen, Ariana Grande no longer has any artists left on her team, marking the first instance of a coach not being represented in the finale since the sixteenth season, as well as the first time since the thirteenth season that a debuting coach was not represented in the finale.

Week 6: Finale (Dec. 13–14)

The Top 5 finalists performed two songs on Monday, as well as a duet with their coach on Tuesday. This is the second consecutive season in which contestants aren't allowed to perform original songs on the finale.

was the only contestant that managed to get both finale songs reach Top 10 on iTunes at #1 and #7 (along with their Top 13 and Top 8 songs at #3 and #8). This is the second time a contestant have 4 songs in the top 10 all at the same time (after Jake Hoot in season 17). All their other songs also got back on the Top 100 overall. In addition, Wendy Moten charted within the Top 10 on iTunes at #10 and #70 (with her Top 8 song at #85), Paris Winningham hit #25, and Hailey Mia reached #33. Coach duets were not released to purchase this season.

was announced as the winner, making them the first-ever trio to win ''The Voice''. Also, Kelly Clarkson got her fourth win, surpassing

Adam Levine Adam Noah Levine (; born March 18, 1979) is an American singer and songwriter. He serves as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, of which ...

's three wins and becoming the second most winningest coach. She also has a winning percentage of 50%, winning 4 of her 8 seasons. This is tied with

Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** Fiel ...

for the best winning percentage of any coach. Clarkson is also the first female coach to win four times. This season is the second time that three stolen artists advanced to the finale, with the eighth season being the first time. Jershika Maple is originally from Team Kelly, Hailey Mia from Ariana's team, and Paris Winningham formerly from John's team.

Elimination chart

Overall

Per team

Ratings

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Voice (American season 21) 2021 American television seasons

Season 21 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...