‘The Voice’ cuts down to one hour tonight and the real reason is way more surprising than you think

Even as the competition heats up, 'The Voice' is keeping things short tonight, making room for next week’s massive two-night finale event.
A screenshot of Michael Bublé, Reba McEntire, and Niall Horan from 'The Voice' Season 28 (Cover Image Source: YouTube | @nbcthevoice)
A screenshot of Michael Bublé, Reba McEntire, and Niall Horan from 'The Voice' Season 28 (Cover Image Source: YouTube | @nbcthevoice)

With the Playoffs round slated to wrap up on Monday, December 8, the competition on 'The Voice' Season 28 is more intense than ever. The round kicked off on December 1, giving both Team Reba and Team Bublé some tough choices to make. Sticking to the classic format, the upcoming episode will see Team Snoop and Team Niall's artists battling for their chance at the finale. But despite the rising tensions, this week’s episode will only run for one hour, and we know exactly why.

(L-R) Niall Horan, Reba McEntire, Snoop Dogg, and Michael Bublé as judges on 'The Voice' season 28
(L-R) A production still from Niall Horan, Reba McEntire, Snoop Dogg, and Michael Bublé as judges on 'The Voice' season 28  ( Image Source: Instagram | @nbcthevoice)

The newest episode of 'The Voice' will follow the same format as the first Playoffs installment, which explains why it’s limited to just one hour. It airs on NBC at 9/8c, with next-day streaming available on Peacock, according to American Songwriter. While the Monday, December 8 episode is brief, Season 28 will wrap up next week with two extended finale episodes. The Top 6 will perform live on Monday, December 15, with voting open until early Tuesday, December 16.

On Tuesday, December 16, viewers will get three hours of 'The Voice,' including a one-hour recap and a two-hour results show where the Season 28 winner will be announced. The finale will also feature performances by Khalid and XG, with the girl group set to perform their song 'GALA.' Talking about the latest episode, after all four Playoff performances from each team, Coaches Snoop and Niall will each choose one artist for the Finale, just like Reba and Bublé did.

This leaves six artists who won't advance. Fans will then vote for those six, and the artist with the most votes will join the Finale. The winner will complete the Top 6: four coach picks and two fan-voted artists. The competitors for tonight's episode are Yoshihanaa, Kirbi, Mindy Miller, Aiden Ross, Ava Nat, Toni Lorene, DEK of Hearts, and Ralph Edwards.

The two coach-selected finalists will be revealed at the end of the episode, after which voting opens for the remaining six artists. Fans should be logged into The Voice app or NBC.com/VoiceVote to vote, as per NBC. Voting for the final Top 6 spot opens at the end of the Monday, December 8 episode and closes at 7 am ET on Tuesday, December 9. Each registered email can cast one vote for one artist, and voters can change their choice until the deadline.

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