Why ‘The Voice’ Viewers Can’t Vote From Home During Season 29—And Who’s Determining the Winner Instead

The Voice is doing things a little differently this time around. For Season 29, the NBC competition series made a number of changes to shake things up.

Videos by American Songwriter

Dubbed The Battle of Champions, the show tapped past winners Adam Levine, John Legend, and Kelly Clarkson to serve as the season’s coaches. While that’s one less coach than in seasons past, there was no less talent or star power in the chairs.

The Blind Auditions proceeded as usual, with one big change. The coach who won the most three-chair turns was named the victor of the Triple Chair Challenge. In doin so, they secured a Super Steal for the next round. Clarkson managed to come out on top in that respect.

After the Battle Round and the Knockouts, a new In-Season All-Star Competition took place. For the special segment, each coach brought back two of their past artists to compete. The artists faced off in head-to-head performances in an effort to secure an extra contestant in the finale for their coach. Once again, Clarkson came out victorious, earning herself two finalists in the process.

The Voting Change on The Voice

Perhaps the biggest change came in the Semi-Finals and Finals. Viewers at home are used to being in control during this phase of the competition, casting their votes for their favorite artists. That won’t be the case this season, though.

Instead, the show curated a live studio audience made up of both super fans and past Voice competitors. That audience has a huge responsibility. They’ll be tasked with choosing the show’s four finalists, and, ultimately, determining the winner of season 29.

On the April 13 episode of the show, the audience will watch the Top 9 perform. Afterwards, they’ll vote through one person on Teams Adam and Legend and two people on Team Kelly to the finale, which will take place the following evening.

Then, during the Finale, the audience will vote to determine the winner of season 29 of The Voice.

The coaches are fans of the new setup, with Clarkson telling the cameras, “I’m pretty stoked because, for the first time, it’s all about the actual studio audience to vote.”

“I’m happy that it’s out of my hands and it’s in the hands of the audience, who are going to see this happen in real time,” Levine agreed. “It’s really cool.”

Photo by Trae Patton/NBC