Is it an issue that two of the three acts in “The Voice” finals are country artists? Or that the finale, once again, seems to favor coach Blake Shelton?
Some fans of the singing competition have complained about the current season of the show for skewing so heavily toward country music. Country superstar Shelton built a strong team of county contenders from the start, had three of those artists reach the top six, and now can claim two of the three finalists. That lack of musical diversity has led some to refer to season three of “The Voice” as “The Voice of Country.”
Adding to the genre debate is that it’s the second straight season where Shelton has had two of the show’s three finalists, and if he should claim the title next Tuesday, it will be the third time in four seasons that he’s ended up the winning coach.
But host and producer Carson Daly says there’s no concern behind the scenes.
“We don't care at all,” he told TODAY.com on Tuesday, after the three finalists -- Team Blake’s Danielle Bradbery and The Swon Brothers, and Team Usher’s Michelle Chamuel -- were revealed. “In season one, we thought it'd be a good idea for every coach to have somebody representing. But America's going to complain about something no matter what you do. No one's ever going to be happy with a competition, because favorites are leaving.
“So as producers, we can never worry about that. The most important thing to us was to let America have the show. Because when we took the reins of control and said, ‘There has to be somebody representing from every team,’ they didn't think that was fair and you know what? They're right. It's their show.
“If it had been all three (finalists) from one coach, so be it. We think bringing the best singers to the finale is the most important thing.”
Daly added that so far, there’s no talk about going back to four finalists, which was the number used in “The Voice’s” first and second seasons.
“I think we’ll look at three this year,” he continued. “Three to us just feels right. It just feels like anyone can win. Four felt right at one point, but now we’ve decided (on) three and we’re sticking with it. We think it’s the right way to go.”
“The Voice” will reveal its season-four champion next Tuesday, June 18.