NBC’s ‘The Voice’ preview: Will Miley Cyrus – Alicia Keys bring ratings bump?

This summer, NBC had a revelation with “America’s Got Talent.” Maybe it was Simon Cowell, or maybe it was a specific marketing campaign. Either way, the finale week drew some of the show’s best ratings in several years.

Can that momentum extend this summer with “The Voice“? There are some reasons to be excited, but also reasons to be concerned that another drop could be on the way.

Let’s start off with what may be a controversial statement to some out there: Change can be good. While Gwen Stefani and Pharrell were very good on the show last fall and have been consistently solid, this is a show that needed a mix-up to energize the public once more. Cowell’s addition helped “America’s Got Talent,” and that is no slight to Howard Stern. Having Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys on the show could produce similar results. Both in particular have a lot of fans, and seeing how they progress over the course of this season could prove to be a rather interesting phenomenon.

Yet, here’s the risk: Not everyone loves Miley. As a matter of fact, many conservative viewers look at her as a dangerous role model and they don’t want their kids watching her. (Note: We’re not sharing our opinion here — this is just one we’ve gotten from several parents on social media since the start of the show.) You can counter this idea by saying that Miley will be family-friendly on this show, and that is true. Yet, young viewers could still Google her or watch music videos after the fact. Miley’s going to face more scrutiny than Alicia, just because of her past and how she courts controversy wherever she goes.

Personally, we do think that the ratings will be solid, and we’re excited to see what both Miley and Alicia bring to the season. We’re just not prepared for an “America’s Got Talent” style bump in the ratings.

Do you think “The Voice” will have higher or lower ratings this season? Vote in the poll below, and head over here to get a preview for Monday’s episode. Also, sign up over here to get some other TV news on everything we cover via our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: NBC.)