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'The Voice' Season 26 finale faces backlash over alleged coach influence

'The Voice' Season 26 has faced accusations of 'rigged' results with social media buzzing over claims of an unfair voting process

'The Voice' Season 26 has come under fire as fans accuse the show of prioritizing coaches over contestants. Social media has been abuzz with claims that the voting process is unfair, with many suggesting that outcomes are influenced more by coach popularity than talent. Viewers have expressed frustration, calling the voting structure a "complete joke" and alleging favoritism. Some have proposed changes, such as allowing America to vote for a Top 20, with coaches using public feedback to select a Top 12, before letting the audience take control of the remainder of the competition.

Allegations of favoritism have further fueled the controversy, with some viewers believing that contestants are being advanced based on coach preferences rather than their abilities. These concerns have now been raised with NBC, with calls for the network to change the format and implement a fairer voting system in future seasons.  Incorporating public feedback in the early stages of the competition, with less influence from the coaches, would shift the focus more toward the talent competition aspect.

On X, one fan wrote, "Dear NBC the voice show I wanna suggest an idea we need a top 20 of America voting and with the coaches seeing how America is liking the top 20 before selecting the top 12 and put the top 12 in America hands for the remainder of the voice show." Another fan wrote, "TheVoice is a complete joke, votes are clearly based on the coaches.. nobody is voting based on talent." One fan said, "I like this new playoffs format too the voice show and there should be some public voting on the contestants u decide for the playoffs and the coaches should look at the public feedback and discuss our opinions on the contestants choose and go from there." 

Was ‘The Voice’ semi-final voting rigged? 

'The Voice' Season 26 was perceived as 'rigged' because viewers didn't agree with the judges' live semifinal decisions. Many were upset that strong contestants like Austyn and Aliyah Khaylyn were eliminated, while less popular singers like Christina and Jeremy advanced. This left very few standout performers for the public to vote on, as the judges were expected to select only the best talent.

This, on top of the fact that some viewers felt the judges were overly generous with standing ovations for nearly every performance, gave the impression that they weren't making tough, talent-based judgments.

How does Instant Save work on 'The Voice’ Season 26?

Instant Save on 'The Voice' Season 26 allows the audience to save one contestant from elimination in the live shows. After the nation votes, the bottom four contestants with the least votes get to perform again for a spot to remain in the competition. Viewers vote in real-time for their favorite among the bottom four, and the contestant with the most votes is instantly saved and goes into the next round.