Image Credit: Glenn Harris/PR PhotosLet the inevitable comparisons to American Idol begin! NBC announced today that it is developing a singing competition dubbed The Voice of America for spring 2011. The show, from uber-reality producers John de Mol (Big Brother) and Mark Burnett (Survivor) is based on De Mol’s successful Dutch format The Voice of Holland that just launched in September. Viewers will have a say in determining finalists, who will compete for a recording contract. Four celebrity artists will head up teams of singers and provide coaching and mentoring throughout the competition.
Participants are eliminated until each celeb has only one team member left who will compete in the finals, when a winner will be named “The Voice of America.” To guarantee that participants are judged on their talent only, the celebs will have their backs turned during the initial auditions. In all, the show features three stages of competition – the blind audition, the battle phase, and the live performance shows.
There have been numerous attempts by competing networks over the years to steal some of Idol’s thunder. (Remember The One, Nashville Star, Rock Star and Duets?) But no competition show has managed to last as long as the Fox juggernaut. Still, NBC is bullish about its new show because of the success of all music-based programs – not just Idol. “There seems to be a real demand for music, between Glee, The Sing Off and Idol,” Paul Telegdy, NBC’s executive VP, alternative programming, tells EW. “People are consuming more music than ever before. There is room for all the shows.”
And Telegdy insists that Voice is a far different format from Idol or even The X-Factor. Unlike those two shows that go out on the road to find good, bad and – yes, even ugly – talent, Voice will recruit budding singers from talent schools, clubs, colleges – you name it. As for the mentors, Telegdy said “household name” recording artists are used in Holland, and that American audiences will be “pleasantly surprised” by who NBC selects to serve. The gig will require a huge time commitment, given the amount of mentoring that’s required for the show.
Its official…. we are living in Hell. Next we will hear about more copycats of The Bachelor
ummm isn’t this X-Factor? What a complete rip off. Nevermind Americal Idol is already taking some elements from X (i.e. a coach on hand to help the contestants, etc). We really don’t need another singing show.
Exactly – sounds like the same format as X-Factor, more or less, with the mentor,
One question…..WHY?
The blindfold thing sounds cool. That’s about it.
Sounds completely unnecessary, but it may turn out cool – who knows? It’s not like Fox asks your permission for doing the show, hah
I meant NBC xD
I hope this doesn’t ruin ratings for America’s Got Talent.
Bye-bye “Chuck”! The press release doesn’t say how many hours of programming this new show will consume, but you have to figure it means bad things for bubble shows like “Chuck”…
It requires the same amount of time as Idol and The X Factor. In The Netherlands it’s a 2-hour Audition/Battle/Live show each Friday and during the live shows an 50-minutes Live Results Show.
I live in The Netherlands so I saw this show already. There are only 4 live shows remaining. And while it’s a good show, it may need a couple of tweeks before it’s ready to go on the air in the US.
But during the Blind Auditions the judging panel aren’t blindfolded. They sit on rotating chairs. And when the audition begins their backs are facing the contestant. And they have to press a button to say they want to be this contestant’s coach, and then the chair will rotate so the potential coach can see the contestant as well. If more than 1 of the coaches press their button, the contestant gets to choose who will be their coach.
Here’s a youtube link of one the current favorites:
In The Netherlands Idol hasn’t been on the air for 3 years now, and The X Factor isn’t as huge as American Idol in the US and The X Factor in the UK, so it was easier to launch a new format. But NBC will have a tough time making this a hit, if Idol is still running this spring on FOX.
This is actually a really cool show. Like it says in the article, the coaches will have their backs turned during the first auditions, and when they decide they like the voice, they can press a button that turns around their seat, so they will be able to see the singer. They can’t back out naymore after that, because by pressing the button, they’ve automatically commited to working with this singer, which means even not good looking talents finally get a fair chance.
I Would Love Tah Try Out For This””’… We All Need A Big Break””… This Is Not A Copy Of Any Other Shows”’… Its Just A Blessing For Those Who Didnt Get To Try Out For The Other Shows So Hey””… I Want This To Happen””..
i think this show would be great. just like Dominique said already, instead of it becoming a popularity show because of looks they can finily hear other vioices and give others a chance. there are alot of great singers out there that may not be so good looking. to me that is what a sining contest is supposed to be about “singing not looks”!!!! they also need to make a show that older people can try out for all of this age limit stuff sucks , i have heard alot of older people that can sing to and never got the chance to try out for anthing like this because in there time there weren’t any shows like this!!! that type of show may get some were too!!
A.O.A sir me lahore se hu or mujy singing ka boht shok hy kya ap mujy ak moka de sakty hy singing k liye p.z mare awaz atif se boht milti hy p.z ap mujy ak moka de p.z sir me 12th ka studt hu me apky reply ka wait kro ga or agr apne muj moka de to kasam se me dil se gao ga song mera num 03234959716
what language you speak japanease
nojjjx
hey im a great singer and i want to know if theres any close singing comps close to knoxville,tennessee
why dont you create a singing contest for kids….that’ more interesting…