Vocea României (season 1)

Overview

The series consists of three phases: a blind audition (audiție pe nevăzute), a battle phase (confruntări) and live performance shows (spectacole live). Four coaches, all famous musicians, choose teams of contestants through a blind audition process. Each coach has the length of the auditioner's performance (about two minutes) to decide if they want that singer on their team; if two or more coaches want the same singer, then the singer gets to choose their coach.

Contestant auditions were held on June 26 and 27, 2011, at Hotel Crown Plaza Bucharest. Contestants were also allowed to submit online applications.

Teams

Blind auditions

Episode 1 (September 27)

The first of five pre-recorded audition episodes aired on Tuesday, September 27, 2011. The show started with the four coaches singing Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now".

Episode 2 (October 4)

The second episode aired on October 4, 2011.

Episode 3 (October 11)

The third episode aired on October 11, 2011.

Episode 4 (October 18)

The fourth episode aired on October 18, 2011.

Episode 5 (October 25)

The fifth and last blind audition episode was aired on October 25, 2011.

The battles (November 1 – 15)

After the blind auditions, each coach had twelve contestants for the battle rounds that aired from November 1 to November 15, 2011. Coaches began narrowing down the playing field by training the contestants with the help of "trusted advisors". Each episode featured seven or eight battles consisting of pairings from within each team, and each battle concluding with the respective coach eliminating one of the two contestants.

The trusted advisors for these episodes are: Monica Anghel working with Horia Brenciu, Dana Dorian working with Loredana Groza, Alex Velea working with Smiley and Randi working with Marius Moga

Episode 6 (1 November)

The sixth episode aired on November 1, 2011.

Episode 7 (8 November)

The seventh episode aired on November 8, 2011.

Episode 8 (15 November)

The eighth episode aired on November 15, 2011.

* Lavinia Vâlcan withdrew from the contest (see #Controversies); as a result, Anthony Icuagu, Gabriel Tran and Marcel Lovin formed a trio for the battle rounds.

The sing-off (November 15)

At the end of the battle rounds, each coach advanced four contestants from their team to the live shows, leaving the other two to duel for the fifth and last spot, in an extra round called "the sing-off" (cântecul decisiv). The contestants sang their blind audition songs again and the coaches chose one contestant each. Color key:

Live shows

Week 1 (November 22)

Team Brenciu and Team Smiley competed in the first live show, which aired on November 22. From each team, viewers could save two contestants, while the coach could save one of the remaining three. The other two went on to the sing-off (cântecul decisiv), where they performed their songs for the night once again, after which one was eliminated by their coach.

Week 2 (November 29)

Team Loredana and Team Moga competed in the second live show, which aired on November 29. Public voting (by phone calls and text messages) commenced at this point. From each team, viewers could save two contestants, while the coach could save one of the remaining three. The other two went on to the sing-off (cântecul decisiv), where they performed their songs for the night once again, after which one was eliminated by their coach.

Week 3, Part 1 (December 6)

Team Brenciu and Team Smiley competed in the third live show, which aired on Tuesday, December 6. Voting proceeded as before, except the public vote could only save one contestant from each team.

Week 3, Part 2 (December 9)

Team Loredana and Team Moga competed in the fourth live show, which aired on Friday, December 9. Voting proceeded as before, except the public vote could only save one contestant from each team.

Week 4, Part 1 (December 13)

All remaining contestants performed in the December 13 episode. Voting proceeded as before, except the third-placed contestant in each team was automatically eliminated, without going through the sing-off round.

Week 4, Part 2: Semi-final (December 16)

All eight remaining contestants performed in the semi-final on Friday, December 16, 2011. Within each team, the coach and the viewers each had a 50/50 say; the contestant with the highest combined score went on to the final.

Week 5: Final (December 26)

The top 4 contestants performed in the grand final on Monday, December 26, 2011. This week, the four finalists performed a solo song, a duet with a famous singer and a duet with their coach. The public vote determined the winner, and that resulted in a victory for Ștefan Stan, Smiley's first victory as a coach.

Elimination chart

Controversies

Lavinia Vâlcan, a contestant in Team Smiley, withdrew from the contest before the battle round, as she considered that the show didn't allow her to express herself as an artist. Vâlcan claimed that, for the battle round, she had been forced to choose between two songs that did not suit her. The artist stated that the producers were uninterested in receiving a third proposal from her.

Ratings