NBC welcomed back the singing competition show “The Voice” for its 12th season with a three-night premiere, which began Feb. 27.
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As the blind auditions began, judges Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani and Alicia Keys were ready to do whatever necessary to persuade certain contestants to join their teams.
While none of these coaches are new to “The Voice,” Stefani returned after taking a year off for her new album and tour, “This is What the Truth Feels Like.” Stefani and Shelton also began dating during her hiatus from the show.
This is the first season the two have appeared on screen as a couple, so viewers were particularly interested in how things would play out.
The show made an obvious choice to address the elephant in the room — literally — as the introduction featured host Carson Daly talking to Stefani and Shelton about their relationship with someone dressed in an elephant suit in the background. Producers clearly wanted to use this new dynamic to their advantage.
The judges continuously brought up the relationship over the course of all three nights. Stefani even attempted to use her relationship with Shelton to help secure contestants on her team.
“If we make it to the finale, I’ve got the hookup,” Stefani told contestant Ashley Levin as she pointed to Shelton.
Shelton’s response was quick. “That’s so inappropriate to talk about us hooking up on TV,” he joked.
The premiere was full of the usual emotional stories, humorous banter between judges and the classic judge-sings-with-contestant maneuver that fans enjoy.
What makes music so powerful is its ability to convey emotions and tell stories, and this premiere did just that.
Contestant Johnny Hayes told the story of falling in love with his wife for the first time: they each picked a song to play for the other on the jukebox and it turned out to be the same song, Otis Redding’s “Try A Little Tenderness.” Viewers heard his passion and love for her as he sang that very song for the judges.
Some of the stories took on a more somber note, like Levin’s father’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease and the pain in her voice when she sang the Dixie Chicks’ “Let Him Fly.”
The premiere did not feature any significant changes to the competition structure, apart from lowering the age requirement from 15 to 13.
Viewers were reminded of what they love most about the show — the passion and respect between the judges and contestants — separating it from the countless other reality singing competitions, several of which have been cancelled over the past few years.