La Voz (Spanish TV series)

Format

The show consists of three phases: a blind audition, a battle phase, and the live performance shows. Four judges also known as coaches, all noteworthy recording artists from Spain, choose teams of contestants through a blind audition process. Each judge has the length of the auditioner's performance (about one minute) to decide if he or she wants that performer on his or her team; if two or more judges want the same performer (as happens frequently), the performer has the final choice of which coach's team to join.

After the coaches fill each respective slots in their team the batch of singers in the team is mentored and developed by its respective coach. In the second stage, called the battle phase, coaches have two of their team members battle against each other directly by singing the same song together in a stage that look like a battle ring, with the coach choosing which team member to advance from each of individual "battles" into the first live round.

Within that first live round, the surviving four acts from each team again compete head-to-head, with public votes determining one of two acts from each team that will advance to the final eight, while the coach chooses which of the remaining three acts comprises the other performer remaining on the team.

In the final phase, the remaining contestants compete against each other in live broadcasts. The television audience and the coaches have equal say 50/50 in deciding who moves on to the final 4 phase. With one team member remaining for each coach, the (final 4) contestants compete against each other in the finale with the outcome decided solely by public vote.

Development, production and marketing

Mediaset Spain acquired the rights of the franchise back in 2011 after the success of the US counterpart. Initially it was expected to air on Cuatro, but in November 2011 Mediaset confirmed the show would premiere on the group’s main channel instead in spring 2012. Later, in February 2012 the air date was moved to fall 2012 and Jesús Vázquez, who had previous experience presenting talent shows like Popstars and Operación Triunfo, was confirmed as host. The names of the four coaches were confirmed by February 2012: David Bisbal, Malú, Rosario Flores and Melendi. Filming for the blind auditions stage of the competition began on 21 August 2012. On 29 August 2012 it was made known that Tania Llasera would serve as the social networking correspondent. The premiere, scheduled for 19 September 2012, was preceded two days before by a preview that aired simultaneously on all channels of the Mediaset Spain group.

Season 1: 2012

Season 1 premiered on Telecinco on 19 September 2012. The first episode kicked-off with 4.591 viewers (30.6% market share), becoming an instant success. The final, on 19 December 2012, was watched by 5.453 million viewers, a market share of 37.3%. The winner of the first season was Rafa Blas.

Each coach was allowed to advance six top to the live shows:

Season 2: 2013

One week before the successful Season 1 was over, on 13 December 2012, Telecinco announced that they had renewed the show for a second season in 2013. On 22 January 2013, Melendi announced that he would not continue as a coach on the second season. On 5 June 2013, it was confirmed that Melendi would be replaced by Antonio Orozco, whereas Bisbal, Flores and Malú continued. Filming for the second season began on 15 July 2013. The second season premiered on 16 September 2013, garnering 3.438 million viewers (23.3% market share) in the official ratings.

Each coach was allowed to advance six top to the live shows:

Season 3: 2015

Filming for the third season began in January 2015. David Bisbal and Rosario Flores were replaced by Alejandro Sanz and Laura Pausini, while Malú and Antonio Orozco continued as coaches. The third season premiered on 23 March 2015 garnering 4.591 million viewers (28.1% market share) in the official ratings.

Each coach was allowed to advance six top to the live shows:

Season 4: 2016

Filming for the fourth season will begin in June 2016. Antonio Orozco and Laura Pausini will be replaced by Melendi, who had been absent since the original season, and Manuel Carrasco, while Malú and Alejandro Sanz will continue as coaches.

Each coach was allowed to advance six top to the live shows:

La Voz Kids

After the ratings success of the first season of La Voz, Telecinco announced that they would produce La Voz Kids, where 8-14 year olds compete against each other. Filming began on 31 July 2013. The presenters are the same as in the "adult" version and the coaches are three instead of four: David Bisbal, Rosario Flores and Malú. La Voz Kids premiered on 6 February 2014. For the second season, Malú was replaced by Manuel Carrasco. For the third season, Manuel Carrasco will be replaced by Antonio Orozco.

Coaches and Finalists

     – Winning coach/contestant. Winners are in bold, eliminated contestants in small font.     – Runner-Up Coach/Contestant. Final contestant first listed.     – 2nd Runner-Up Coach/Contestant. Final contestant first listed.