The Voice (Indian TV series)

Format

The show is part of the The Voice franchise and is structured in three phases: blind auditions, battle rounds, and live performance shows.

The Blind Auditions The first stage is the Blind Auditions, where artists sing in front of the judges/coaches. In this round, each coach selects 14 singers for their team. Four coaches, all noteworthy recording artists, choose teams of contestants through a blind audition process. Each coach has the length of the auditioner's performance (about 90 seconds) to decide if they want the singer on their team. If one of the coaches is satisfied with the voice of an artist, and wants to mentor them for the next stage, they press the "I WANT YOU" button by their chair. This turns the chair around to face the stage, and allows the coach to see the artist for the first time after they have sung. This avoids any bias on the part of the judge/coach because of an artist's characteristics or personality. If two or more coaches want the same singer, the singer chooses their coach. The artist's journey on the show comes to an end if no coach selects them.

The Battle rounds Each team of singers is then mentored and developed by their coach in the second stage, called the Battle Round. The team coaches help to develop their artists by giving them advice, and sharing the secrets of their success in the music industry. The coaches have two of their team members battle each other by singing the same song. The coach chooses which team member will advance to the next stage. The judges then have to choose from the individual "battles" which artists to take to the Live Round.

The Live Shows The third stage, Live Shows, is where the remaining seven members of each team perform solo and try to entertain the audience and to impress the judges. After Round 1, each of the coaches can save three contestants to progress. After Rounds 2 and 3, each coach can save two contestants to progress. After Round 4, each coach can save one contestant to progress to the semi-final round. The remaining contestants progress, or not, based on a public vote conducted after each round.

Semi Final In the Semi Finals, the final two contestants from each team face off against each other. The judges then split 100 points between the two performers of their team. The winner is decided by the combination of public votes received and points given by their respective judges.

Final In the Finals, the winner is chosen from the final four contestants, one from each team, based on the results of the live public voting.

Production

The Voice India was created by John de Mol in the Netherlands and is based on the original Dutch series. de Mol then began to grow and expand the The Voice competition franchise and on 6 June 2015, the Indian version of the show was launched on &TV. In April 2015, The Hollywood Reporter reported that &TV would broadcast The Voice in June 2015. Zee Entertainment Enterprises had bought the rights of the original version of the series from Talpa and John de Mol to telecast the Indian version of the show on &TV. The channel announced the series' premiere month as June 2015. &TV business head Rajesh Iyer said in a statement: "We are excited to present viewers with The Voice, a show which is already a global sensation, as one of our biggest non-fiction offerings." Talpa Media global managing director Maarten Meijs stated: "We are very pleased to be collaborating with &TV to bring The Voice to India." The show had been seen in 60 local productions in over 180 countries reach 500 million viewers worldwide.

In April 2015, &TV and show producer Endemol India and producer of South Africa's Urban Brew Studios announced leading Bollywood singers Himesh Reshammiya, Mika Singh, Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan as the coaches for the first season and Karan Tacker as the host. In an interview with Mid Day, Shaan said: "It's the most sought after show for any singer-musician. If you want to be on television and on a music show it has to be The Voice India. Endemol India and Urban Brew Studios SA announced that Terence Lewis would be choreographing the opening act for the premiere of the show.

On 30 July 2016, India Today reported that The Voice India would return with the second season. Shaan was again selected as the coach for the second season. Himesh Reshammiya, Mika Singh and Sunidhi Chauhan were replaced by Neeti Mohan, Salim Merchant and Benny Dayal.

Coaches' teams

Series overview

Season 1 (2015)

The coaches of the first season were Himesh Reshammiya, Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan and Mika Singh, while Karan Tacker was the host. The season premiered on 6 June 2015 and concluded on 30 August 2015 (with 26 episodes), with Pawandeep Rajan being crowned as the winner. Deepesh Rahi was runner-up, followed by Parampara Thakur in third place and Rishabh Chaturvedi in fourth place.

Pawandeep received the grand prize money of ₹5 million (US$74,000) from &TV, a Maruti Alto K10 and a deal to record his first single with music label Universal Music Group. Thanking his coach Shaan, he said: “I would like to thank coach Shaan, who thought I was good enough to make the cut and mentored me wholeheartedly."

During the premiere of the show on 6 June 2015, Sunidhi Chauhan wore a dress worth ₹0.3 million (US$4,500). The dress was created specially for her by internationally acclaimed Indian fashion designers Falguni and Shane Peacock. Chauhan wore the dress for a two minute-performance. She said in a statement: "Everything about the evening was just so grand - right from the spectacular production, the choreography, and my look."

Many Bollywood celebrities appeared as special guests on the show, including Gaurav Gera, Riteish Deshmukh and Pulkit Samrat, to promote their film Bangistan, and Daler Mehndi, Usha Uthup and Kapil Sharma and Elli Avram to promote their film Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon.

Season 2 (2016-2017)

In July 2016, it was reported that &TV would launch the second season of The Voice. Shaan was announced as returning coach; Neeti Mohan, Salim Merchant and Benny Dayal joined Shaan. Karan Tacker was replaced by Gunjan Utreja as the host of the season. Sugandha Mishra joined Utreja as the co-host. The season began airing on 10 December 2016 and concluded on 12 March 2017 (28 episodes), with Farhan Sabir being crowned as the winner. Niyam Kanungo was runner-up, followed by Rasika Borkar in third place, Parakhjeet Singh in fourth place, Sharayu Date in fifth place and Sona Vakil in sixth place.

Sabir received the grand prize money of ₹2.5 million (US$37,000) from &TV and a Maruti Alto K10 with Automatic Gear Shift. 4 out of the top 6 finalists received a gift hamper from Alto and handsets from Vivo Camera and Music as well.

The Voice Kids

Due to the huge success of The Voice India, in June 2016, &TV announced plans for a junior version of the show which would feature contestants between the ages of six and fourteen. It was announced that Sugandha Mishra and Jay Bhanushali will host the series, while Neeti Mohan, Shaan and Shekhar Ravjiani were declared as the coaches. The children's has the same format as the original show and began airing in July 2016.

Season 1

The Voice India received a positive reception from critics. Tulika Dubey of The Times of India, said that the judges on the show had brought variety to the panel, in terms of profile and expertise and called the show "delightful". She concluded by saying, "the winner of the finale stands to have a great career ahead." An India Today reviewer enjoyed the premiere episode, saying it had "drama, glitz and glamour", and concluded that "some of the participants on the show displayed fantastic singing." Rajyasree Sen of Firstpost, called it a "'wowtastic' show" and encouraged its readers to watch the show. Appreciating the show, she said that the focus of the show was actually on the talent.

The show earned high ratings for &TV and has become the most watched show on the channel. Raj Baddhan of website Biz Asia said, "The Voice India seems to be working a treat in UK ratings on &TV." The show pulled in 39,000 viewers – peaking at 59,800 viewers on the channel between 9 PM IST – 10 PM.

Season 2

Anvita Singh of India Today liked the premiere episode and said that "the chemistry between the judges is fresh, young, and peppy." She concluded by saying that she can't wait for more to happen in the season. Karthika Raveendran of Bollywood Life gave the season a 3.5 rating out of 5 stars. Liking the new judging panel and contestants, she said that "the show is a must watch".