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‘The Voice’ is struggling to keep viewers hooked — and it's not the coaches we should blame

Fans are calling this "the worst season ever," but the issue with ‘The Voice’ runs deeper than just the star-studded coaches

'The Voice' has been a beloved reality singing competition by staying relevant since its premiere in 2011. However, now, after almost 27 seasons, the show seems to be losing its charm among viewers. Even with coaches like Michael Buble, John Legend, Adam Levine, and Kelsea Ballerini, the show hasn't found redemption when it comes to the format. From brutal voting and frustrating schedule shake-ups to the use of unwanted 'Super Saves, fans are calling the show rigged, and "the worst season ever,” per The Sun. As if that weren’t enough, viewers have a new bone to pick, and this time it's about another issue with the format of the show: the recaps.

What caused fans to be furious was when, in April, the show aired recaps of the episode 'Roads to Playoffs' instead of another episode. On Reddit thread, 'Recap Discussion: Road to Playoffs | The Voice (Season 27),' One 'The Voice' viewer said, "Why is tonight another repeat? Last night I watched AI instead of recording it. Why no live show this week?," the second wrote," Why another recap? We don’t need this!"  

Just two weeks ahead of the finale, fans have called out the show for ruining their experience by featuring recaps once again, showing performances that were only an episode old. On the Reddit thread titled,' Who wants or needs these recap episodes?', many viewers expressed their frustration. One Reddit user wrote, "The blind auditions recap is bad enough, but at least that's covering several weeks. But a recap of the previous night's show? I can remember 24 hours back, thank you." Another added, echoing the same sentiment, "Nobody. NBC is just phoning it in this season and may be setting us up to end it, or go to one competition per year before ending due to a drop in ratings they will have caused." 

Pointing out the redundancy of the recaps, another viewer said, "With the advent of TIVO and DVR (which have been around forever now, in home entertainment terms), recap episodes are 99.99% unnecessary. I'm leaving the other .01 for hospitals, where someone may have been in a coma," while concluding, "adding streaming services to the mix, and it's downright baffling why they would exist at all. Just make it a shorter season. It's SO stupid. I truly believe it pisses off more people than it serves. Who, in the last 20 years, watching any show, has once said, "Oh, thank God tonight's episode is a recap.' No one?" One viewer was so fed up that he went on to say, "It's time for this show to be cancelled has become unwatchable."

No doubt, with the finale being aired today, the spotlight has shifted to which of the top 5 finalists, Jayden Cree (Team Buble), Lucia Flores-Wiseman (Team Levine), Jaelen Johnston (Team Bellerini), RENZO (Team Legend) and Adam David (Team Buble) will be crowned the winner, the producers would be wise to take notes if they want to make the next season of 'The Voice' hit the right chord with fans and to continue its legacy for years to come.