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'The Voice' Fans Call Out Audience's Racism After Contestants Of Color All End Up In Bottom Four
Season 22 of The Voice just had it's semifinal results show, which determined which five contestants were going to proceed to the season finale next week.
Fans online had a whole lot to say about how things went down.
There was a pretty clear trend in who was voted for as soon as host Carson Daly started announcing the results of the vote.
Three of the singers who advanced were country singers and part of country singer Blake Shelton's team: Bryce Leatherwood, Bodie and Brayden Lape. The fourth was Morgan Myles, part of Camilla Cabello's team.
All 4 who received the most votes were White.
But all 4 of the people of color participating in the competition, including all 3 members of John Legend's team: Kim Cruse, Parijita Bastola and Omar Jose Cardona and Justin Aaron from Gwen Stefani's team, were in the bottom 4 by a number of votes and were left to compete for the last spot in the final.
Omar Jose Cardona was able to advance to the finals with his Instant Save performance of Lady Gaga's "You and I," though the voting percentages for this segment were not shown on the screen like they have been in the past, so it's unknown what percentage of voters opted to support him.
You can view his performance of "You and I" below:
Omar Jose Cardona's Last Chance Performance of Lady Gaga's "Yoü and I" | NBC's The Voice 2022www.youtube.com
There were almost immediate callouts of the voting audience on social media when the voting results were announced.
\u201c@barty017 Every single one. Every. Single. One. Omar and Kim had flawless performances, yet..."America" voted. Smh.\u201d— \ud83c\udd71\ufe0f\ud83d\udcaa\ud83c\udffc\u24c2\ufe0f #TeamTaylor (@\ud83c\udd71\ufe0f\ud83d\udcaa\ud83c\udffc\u24c2\ufe0f #TeamTaylor) 1670376544
\u201c@GaiaPanMa @NBCTheVoice This outcome felt really icky to me, and yes, racist.\u201d— The Voice (@The Voice) 1670374992
\u201cWhat is wrong with the people the strongest 4 singers are all trying for that last spot #TheVoice\u201d— James Allen Shaw (@James Allen Shaw) 1670376806
\u201cThe demographic who watches The Voice is definitely racist and favors the young, white, country male singers. They\u2019re not even the most talented. Let a POC get the spotlight they deserve. #TheVoice\u201d— Casey gray (@Casey gray) 1670376675
\u201c@melbrown00 Whaaaaaaaat?!?!?!? NO WAY! I understand Bodie and Morgan being in the finale but what about the other 2? John's team was fantastic this year as is Justin. They are definitively way better than Brayden and Bryce. This is why I hate contest with people voting\u201d— Mel \u2728 (@Mel \u2728) 1670376552
Some people pointed out that all 4 non-White contestants being left to compete for the last spot in the finals was not a good look.
"Contestants moving on to the next round consisted of White people while the remaining four, all people of colour, are competing for the last spot." —@BuzzingPop
\u201c@melbrown00 I am done with The Voice after this season. Literally NONE of these people deserve to be at the bottom. People aren\u2019t voting for actual talent but because Blake is the coach. And it\u2019s been racist for years. Was hoping things would change. \ud83d\ude12\u201d— Mel \u2728 (@Mel \u2728) 1670376552
\u201c@reneedata @melbrown00 They\u2019re not white. A pattern the voice repeats entirely too often. Makes me sick.\u201d— Mel \u2728 (@Mel \u2728) 1670376552
\u201c@melbrown00 So confused. They were 4 best singers on the show.\u201d— Mel \u2728 (@Mel \u2728) 1670376552
\u201c@melbrown00 Obviously the bottom 4 were the best 4. The Voice is biased with a selection of voters who don\u2019t value the variety in talent. Its bland, pale and has no good flavors. Boring country music artists win. It stinks! \ud83d\ude37\ud83e\udd22\u201d— Mel \u2728 (@Mel \u2728) 1670376552
Others pointed out this isn't the first time the contestants with the lowest votes have all been BIPOC.
\u201c@melbrown00 Don\u2019t forget the pioneers\u201d— Mel \u2728 (@Mel \u2728) 1670376552
Many people also pointed out there has been a pretty strong trend for years of people voting for Blake Shelton's team above others, often skewing the vote strongly toward White, male, country singers—as Shelton tends to choose to coach contestants who sing the same style of music he does.
Shelton is leaving The Voice after the end of this season, so it remains to be seen whether the votes will be so starkly divided in future seasons.