NBC, Levine Respond to ‘Voice’ Vote Backlash

NBC, Levine Respond to ‘Voice’ Vote Backlash
By Jonathan Welsh

is responding to viewer backlash after the elimination of contestants Judith Hill and Sarah Simmons from “The Voice.”

Adam Levine, one of the show’s coaches, added to the controversy when he said “I hate this country” during the last night’s vote as it turned against his team members, who had been among the favorites. Today he attributed the comment to “frustration” with how the voting turned out.

“I obviously love my country very much and my comments last night were made purely out of frustration. Being a part of “The Voice,” I am passionately invested in my team and want to see my artists succeed,” Levine said in a statement released through from NBC Universal Television.

“Last night’s elimination of Judith and Sarah was confusing and downright emotional for me and my comments were made based on my personal dissatisfaction with the results. I am very connected to my artists and know they have long careers ahead, regardless of their outcome on the show,” Levine said.

NBC spokeswoman Nikki Lichterman said there was nothing unusual about the voting process for last night’s show, which she said essentially works the same way as with other musical competition shows, with Telescope, a tracker of audience-participation data, providing the results.

“Our viewers vote via phone, texting, online (nbc.com, Facebook), and iTunes. Each vote is one vote per method. If an artist is in the top 10 on iTunes at 10 a.m. EST Tuesday morning, then he or she gets a bonus,” Lichterman said in an email message. Results arrive from Telescope in the early afternoon and are reported on that night’s show.

With Hill and Simmons gone, there are just six remaining acts: Michelle Chamuel, Danielle Bradbery, Sasha Allen, The Swon Brothers, Amber Carrington and Holly Tucker.

A person familiar with the show who didn’t wish to be identified said the reaction is similar to what happened when Amanda Brown was ousted during season 3. It is natural that as the field of contestants wanes, the audience tends to be more heavily invested in each performer and the reactions to eliminations are stronger. It means the show picked good people, this person said.


Being voted off the show isn’t the end of the line for Hill, though. The former backup singer for Michael Jackson is featured in a coming documentary film called “Twenty Feet from Stardom,” which looks at the stories of backup singers “behind some of the greatest musical legends of the 21st century.”