As the second week of Blind Auditions on season 26 of NBC’s “The Voice” begin, it may seem like the contestants all have a fair shot at getting one or more celebrity coaches to turn their chairs. But according to a new study, some contestants have a leg up on the competition simply based on the songs they choose and artists they cover.
An analysis of Blind Auditions across all 25 seasons of “The Voice” conducted by ActionNetwork.com and provided to Heavy shows that when hopefuls on the first round of the show sing certain songs, they’re more likely to get at least one chair turn — and with it, a spot on one of the coaches’ teams, ensuring they’ll continue to the next round.
The resulting data could be used as a cheat sheet for future contestants as they select which songs and artists to tap into for their own Blind Auditions.
Analysts Studied Over 1,500 Blind Auditions to Realize Trends in Coaches’ Picks
Though they may not even realize it, the coaches on “The Voice” have some definite preferences when it comes to song choice, Action Network said. To see which songs and artists were their favorites over the years, the outlet analyzed over 1,500+ Blind Auditions featuring performances of more than 1,100 songs, made popular by at least 700 artists. If a coach was blocked by another coach, it still counted as a chair turn.
The site, which typically analyzes and reports on sports betting, found that John Mayer’s 2006 hit “Gravity” has received 13 chair turns throughout the course of the series, which is more than any other song.
When Mac Royals auditioned with it on season 24, as seen above, all four coaches turned their chairs. The same thing happened on season 7 for Chris Jamison and on season 4 for Ryan Innes. Andrew Marshall also auditioned with “Gravity” in season 20 and got one chair turn, from coach Nick Jonas, and went on to reach the quarterfinals.
The second most popular song among “Voice” coaches during the Blind Auditions has been John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery,” which has received 12 chair turns over the years, the Action Network reported.
But there’s a tie among five songs for third place, the site reported, all of which have received 10 chair turns. Those songs are “All I Want” by Kodaline, “Dream A Little Dream Of Me,” Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” “Lay Me Down” by Sam Smith, and Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.”
‘Voice’ Coaches Also Have Favorite Artists for Contestants to Cover
Since contestants on “The Voice” are required to cover other artists’ popular tunes rather than perform originals, the Action Network has also been able to assess which artists illicit the most interest from the coaches during the Blind Auditions.
Interestingly, the artist whose songs get coaches on “The Voice” to turn their chairs most frequently is Bruno Mars, whose various songs have inspired coaches to turn around 39 times in 25 seasons. Coming in second place is Bob Dylan with 37 turns, and third place goes to Adele with 36 chair turns.
According to the Action Network, here are the top 15 artists for contestants to cover if they want to up their chances of getting picked, along with the number of chair turns their tunes have received over the last 25 seasons.
Bruno Mars — 39
Bob Dylan — 37
Adele — 36
Fleetwood Mac — 33
Sam Smith — 33
Ed Sheeran — 28
Elton John — 27
The Beatles — 27
Aretha Franklin — 26
Stevie Wonder — 26
Taylor Swift — 26
Kelly Clarkson — 25
Ariana Grande — 23
John Mayer — 23
Billie Eillish — 22
Notably, only two “Voice” coaches across the span of 25 seasons made the list of the most successful artists to be covered by contestants, Kelly Clarkson and Ariana Grande.
The second night of season 26 Blind Auditions air on September 30 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The season 26 coaching panel features returning coaches Reba McEntire and Gwen Stefani with first-time coaches Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé.
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