Why ‘The Voice’ Is The Best Reality Competition Show

Americans, from millennials to housewives to kids, love reality competition shows. The thrill is in getting to vote for your favorite contestants, discover new talents, and feel like you had a hand in someone’s career. While many of the shows are entertaining, most lose their charm after the first couple of seasons (probably because they weren’t that great to begin with).

Top Chef was good for a bit, but then they added an All-Star show and a Just Desserts spin-off and quickly made people grow tired of the franchise. Dancing With The Stars makes its ratings every week by pairing quasi-stars of yesteryear with professional dancers, but it’s the same formula year in and year out. Project Runway went downhill when it moved the operation from New York to LA and its network from Bravo to Lifetime. America’s Got Talent winners get their money and chance to perform in Vegas and then are nowhere to be seen. In all the clutter out there, The Voice is the only reality competition show that gets it right.

The Voice has been known to get comparisons to American Idol and at first glance that makes sense; they are, after all, two singing competition shows. But, with a further look, it is clear that singing is the only common thread the two shows hold and even that thread is a thin one.

The Voice certainly has its own standard format, but it’s a good formula that feels different each season. The shtick of the show is that the first televised auditions are blind, meaning that the coaches must judge a contestant solely on their voice and can only see them once they agree to fight to have them on their team.

This is the  main part of the show that sets it apart from all other shows of the kind for three main reasons. First, it really is a show about singing, not about looks, or personality, or sob stories. It’s about a voice, or rather, the voice. Second, because, unlike on Idol and other shows of the kind, the coaches must prove their worth to the contestant, not the other way around. This allows for the contestants to be mentored throughout the entirety of the show rather than criticized or judged without any actual advice on how to improve. And third, the team element of the show creates a sense of camaraderie between contestants on the same squad. This makes for better performances and a more interesting dynamic between contestants that supersedes the urge to beat each other. The show then continues onto the Battle Round, the Knockout Round, and finally the live shows where the winner is ultimately picked by the American viewing audience.

While the original Idol judges are certainly still working and have had huge moments of fame, the coaches on The Voice are currently at the height of their careers. Adam Levine, the devastatingly handsome front man of Maroon 5, and country singer Blake Shelton have been on the show since the start. The other coaches have rotated between Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams, Usher, CeeLo Green, and Shakira. These artists range from Grammy winning, to producing legends, to child stars, to current pop sensations. There are no two judges in that lot who perform the same type of music, in the same way, or for the same audience. This allows the contestants to pick a coach who fits their specific genre or needs, but still gain advice from experts all across the industry. Also, the star power of the coaches just makes for excellent television.

Of course what people see as the main flaw with The Voice is that it hasn’t produced a Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson kind of commercial success, which American Idol has. (While this is true, American Idol also produced Taylor Hicks, so there’s that.) Though chart-topping singles haven’t been in the cards for many Voice winners, that’s not to say that they fell off the face of the planet after competing on the show.

Danielle Bradbery, the young country singer who won season four, has gone on to record new music. Her 2015 music video for the song “Friend Zone” has over two million views and she has upwards of 350,000 followers on Twitter. Jordan Smith, last season’s winner, recently debuted his album at #1 on the iTunes charts.

But, what’s more important than the commercial success of some winners, is that the show is actually fun to watch; it’s simply great entertainment. This comes from the fact that the show focuses on the coaches dynamic. Seriously, this show gave us the Adam Levine/Blake Shelton bromance and we couldn’t be more grateful. Who would’ve thought that Pharrell can get any contestant on his team with just a smile? Or that Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton would have the same taste in contestants? Or that Adam Levine pouting the loss of a contestant is simultaneously one of the saddest and most heartwarming things ever?

This show is just really good. It’s a simple concept with a near flawless execution. Sure it has its cheesy staged moments, but it is also laugh out loud funny, inspiring, and allows a more insightful look into the personality of four of the biggest names in music. And, with the recent announcement that Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys will join The Voice for its eleventh season (replacing Pharrell Williams and Christina Aguilera and joining Adam Levine and Blake Shelton), The Voice‘s momentum is not slowing down anytime soon.

[You can stream The Voice on on NBC.com or Hulu]

Photos: NBC