‘The Voice’ Has Become Way Too Predictable — & It’s Because Of The iTunes Vote

I love 'The Voice,' but the last few seasons have just been SO predictable...and I blame the iTunes vote. The best part of a results show is the air of mystery surrounding who will go home, but since iTunes downloads have become such a big part of the voting process, I'm rarely anxious or surprised during elimination episodes. It's great that The Voice encourages people to support their favorite singers by buying their songs on iTunes, but having these downloads make such an impact on the voting process is really taking away from the suspense of the weekly eliminations. The show has become way too predictable -- and it's starting to get to me!

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Reading Time: 3 minutes
May 18, 2016 10:06AM EDT
The Voice Results
Image Credit: Image Courtesy of NBC

The iTunes voting system changed back in Season 3, making it so that any artist whose song lands in the Top 10 on iTunes gets their votes multiplied by ten for that week. So, basically it’s a guarantee that if an artist is in the Top 10 on iTunes, they’re making it through that elimination episode.

It just takes a few clicks of a mouse to check the top iTunes charts, so it’s incredibly easy to see where all the artists fall each week. Since I’m so invested in the show, I love seeing how my favorite contestants are faring, but by doing so, I’m pretty much finding out won’t be going home. Multiple singers usually land in the Top 10, or at least somewhere high, on the charts, so that only leaves a handful toward the bottom of the pack, and it’s never a big shock or mystery when one of them goes home.

Look, I think it’s amazing that the show wants to get people to buy music rather than download it illegally or never listen to it again at all, but having an hour-long results episode each week without a mysterious ending is a major waste of time.

[jwplatform KEDLUpUB]

Oh and I forgot to mention this: The final vote of the season includes a cumulative iTunes vote total, meaning that all the downloads of the singers’ performances from the Top 12 on will count toward their finale tally. So, when contestants like Jordan Smith (Season 9) or Sawyer Fredericks (Season 8), who made the Top 10 on iTunes every single week, win their seasons, it comes as absolutely no surprise.

I get it: I’m probably in the minority by being someone who looks up the iTunes results each week, but it really does take out some of the fun of watching this show! This season, I was basically able to predict who would be in the Bottom 2 of every live episode, and based on how iTunes voting has gone so far, it looks like the win will go to Alisan Porter or Adam Wakefield.

I’m not sure what the best solution here is, but I definitely think it’s time that the iTunes vote has less power over the final results. Who’s with me!?

Do you agree that The Voice has become too predictable, HollywoodLifers?