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Is 'The Voice' rigged? Furious viewers slam NBC over 'staged' and 'underwhelming' Season 25 Blind Audition

Blind Auditions stand out as a distinctive element that has played a crucial role in establishing 'The Voice' as one of the premier talent programs

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'The Voice', one of television's most popular competition series, has had its fair share of criticism throughout the years. Most objections are resolved, and the dust clears, allowing NBC to earn more money each passing season.

However, one rumor persists: that the entire program is manufactured. Following the first leg of 'The Voice' Season 25 auditions, viewers rushed to social media to express their disgust with what they described as a "staged" tryout.

Other talent competitions use big-scale, stadium tryouts to filter down a wide pool to only the most talented or intriguing acts, but 'The Voice' employs a more dependable way to ensure that excellent vocalists are chosen for the blind auditions.

Former competitor Vicci Martinez told Cosmopolitan that they frequently go to great lengths to get artists to audition for the program.

This involves reaching out directly to managers, scouts, and singers and sometimes requires persistent efforts to secure performers for the event. While it offers an alternative for singers averse to waiting in long audition lines, it also ensures that the show has a more curated selection of participants.

After Blind Auditions 3 on March 4, fans took to X to complain about the show, "This season is just not. good. Impromptu performances that are staged, one/two chair turns that make team placement seem pre-ordained. What the hell happened? I loved this show. I about had to turn it off when the father-daughter started dueting. WTF. Worst blinds ever."

Another user chimed in, "Please stop all the extra skits with the coaches... we watch to hear the musical talent and now we are really becoming annoyed waiting to hear someone sing. Tonight it took 11 minutes before we got to hear an actual contestant."

One person commented, "Okay I know she played a lot of gigs after her first audition, but I think *attending one of the best music schools in the nation for four years* before auditioning again was probably the difference maker."

"Most seasons that I've seen had better contestants for the most part. Kinda underwhelming group so far. There's been a total of 2 or 3 auditions from last week and this one that were great but overall it's definitely a below average season," wrote another fan of the show.

On Reddit, angry fans wrote, " I was under the impression that shows like The Voice were to find undiscovered amateur singers. Bryan Oleson has been a member of not one but two very successful Christian bands since 1997–bands that toured widely and sold lots of albums, so definitely not unknown or an amateur."

The fan added, "Not sure if the source was accurate, but his net worth appears to be between $1 - $5 million. Seems a bit unfair that he has essentially taken a spot from an unknown, struggling artist. It pains me to criticize him because he seems like a nice guy and he is definitely talented, but what’s next? Axl Rose coming in to audition?"

One person felt, "I know this is only the 3rd episode but the difference between last season’s contestants and this season’s is…crazy." "So many seem like caricatures- so over the top," wrote another.

One Redditor commented, "I'm so bored😭 no one is exciting me like no singer has really stuck out so far."

Another person added, "Lot of people being done dirty tonight. Rivers got montaged despite having one of the best performances and Summer was better than most people this episode but got no chairs (she's EXACTLY what people who watch this show vote for and she could've gone very far)."  

'The Voice' coaches may already know singers During Blind Auditions

The primary purpose of a Blind Audition is for coaches to decide whether to accept or reject a performer solely based on their sound. However, it's worth noting that this may not always be the case.

A source informed Woman's Day that coaches are frequently given not only the name of the performer but also some background information. According to reports, this is done so that coaches may better choose which questions to ask the contender to elicit the most fascinating response.

Blind Auditions are one of the distinguishing features that have helped make 'The Voice' one of the finest talent programs of all time, so, intriguingly, they might not be as blind as they look.

'The Voice' contestants are prepped in advance for Blind Auditions

The Blind Audition stage of 'The Voice' has a sense of nervous unpredictability, but this is only one of the show's many mysteries. In actuality, the participants have been well-prepared for the occasion, but whether this improves the performers' anxieties is unclear.

Charlie Drew, a competitor on the UK version of the program, told Radio Times that the blind audition is the fourth round of the audition process. Contestants are also allegedly allowed to prepare their performance in the studio a week before their blind audition to become accustomed to the environment.

'The Voice' Blind Auditions can be autotuned

While the prevalence of autotune in today's performances, even on ostensibly live shows, may not come as a surprise, its use during auditions is somewhat contradictory for a show that emphasizes the genuine quality of the singer's voice.

As reported by BuzzFeed, a Redditor who claims to be a past participant claimed that this was already happening over 8 years ago.

According to their description, the music that the spectator hears is an autotuned rendition of the contestant's blind audition, not the original version heard by the coaches.

'The Voice' Season 25 airs on NBC at 8 pm on Mondays and Tuesdays. The episodes will be available on Peacock on demand the next day. The streaming site also includes entire episodes from the show's prior seasons.