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‘The Voice’ Ratings Plummet To Series Low — Downward Spiral Ahead?

By Toni Matthews
Published on: 06:18 PST, May 10, 2016

Trouble ahead for The Voice?

According to TV By The Numbers, last week’s Tuesday night episode marked a series low for the hit NBC singing competition. It was a “soft night” overall, with no broadcast network making it over a 2.0 in ratings. The Voice averaged 8.42 million viewers for the evening, down 20 percent by Deadline’s estimation.

According to both sources, ratings have been shockingly low for the series during Season 10. Why is this happening? Well, there are a few plausible explanations.

First, it could be that the combination of celebrity Voice judges just isn’t as interesting to viewers as in the past. Although Adam Levine and Blake Shelton remain staples of the series, rotating in judges who just aren’t that popular might be hurting The Voice.

Deadline predicts that the addition of new judges Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys could help The Voice step back from the brink. Unfortunately, rumors are circulating that new judge Cyrus isn’t getting along with long-time Voice veteran Levine. A Us Weekly source claims that much of the problem is that their personalities are too similar.

“They find each other annoying. Adam would get agitated when Miley would interrupt him, and she enjoyed getting under his skin.”

It’s possible this might be one of the reasons that Levine is allegedly prepared to move on from The Voice.

A second reason The Voice might be struggling? Overkill.

The series started in 2011, yet is already in the middle of airing its 10th season. A few months after this season wraps up, it will be on to Season 11 — with Season 12 auditions happening within the same window of time.

With audiences being bombarded with season after season in a relatively short amount of time, there was no chance to get to know Voice participants. Unless someone’s been a hardcore fan from the very beginning, there’s a chance they might not even be able to name a single Voice champion. That brings us to the next possible contributing factor to poor ratings.

It may have finally settled into the consciousness of American viewers that The Voice isn’t the talent competition it’s long claimed itself to be.

Despite the fact that many gifted singers have appeared on The Voice, a true musical sensation has yet to emerge. There’s no getting around this fact. American Idol made Kelly Clarkson a household name. Although Idol was canceled this year, it ends after launching some notable careers.

Making things even worse for The Voice, the now defunct American version of the U.K.’s The X-Factor struggled through three seasons, but managed to produce popular girl group Fifth Harmony. Even though ratings dropped and Simon Cowell abandoned the show, the evidence of the show’s success exists in the form of at least one internationally recognized act.

Instead, The Voice was far more focused on promoting the careers of its panel of judges and certain celebrity guest judges.

https://youtu.be/I21S6BdsZog

By comparison, Christina Grimmie, a very talented Season 6 singer, was used to promote clothing for Kohl’s.

The disconnect is rather disturbing. It’s one thing to feature singing contestants in commercials for car products. But what does it mean when a person is asked to sell clothes rather than promote their own musical future?

This blatant lack of legitimacy has severely downgraded the show’s previously star-studded finale. The final episode of Season 10 will have Voice judge Christina Aguilera singing a duet with a hologram of the late Whitney Houston.

What happened to the focus on successful celebrities who aren’t attached to the Voice in any way? What about the spirited competition between multiple deserving Voice finalists?

https://youtu.be/EZtOLIKIaaQ

In addition to low TV ratings, it’s been noted that the overnight views for YouTube videos aren’t as high as they’ve been in seasons past — suggesting this season’s Voice singers just aren’t as popular as those in previous groups.

Could it be the performers are entirely to blame for low ratings? We’ll know for sure during The Voice’s 11th season run when Adam and Blake are joined by Miley and Alicia. Ratings could get a boost thanks to the new judges. Or, the show could continue its downward slide.

Do you think The Voice has peaked? If so, what do you think caused Voice audience members to move on? Share your thoughts and theories below!

[Image via NBC/YouTube screen grab]

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