Does ‘The Voice’ season 11 have itself a ballad problem?

We don’t want to sound overly harsh, but in a way that some coaches on “The Voice” are not, we’ve got to be honest here: We are coming off of what may very well be the worst performance show on the series in a rather long time. Almost every single solo performance was a slow ballad, and while these can be great from time to time, having a whole two hours full of either these or mid-tempo duets can be incredibly boring.

Is there a way to fix that? It’s a worthy question, and it does make us wonder whether there should actually be more producer interference here when it comes to balance. It’s not something that we often are an advocate for, especially when it comes to singing shows, but it was fairly clear that this was a problem on this show, and it’s been a lesser problem for this particular series in the past.

If we were to try and diagnose what the source of the problem is primary, it is the sentiment that, for whatever reason, everyone needs to give these enormous performances every week and that voters are picking songs based on who hits the highest notes. There are obviously times in which this is true, but remember, the show refers to the performers as “artists” and not just “singers.” We feel like what viewers want to see more than anything else is innovation. Think about flipping around an upbeat song in a way that is really exciting and interesting. Rather than doing a cover of a track, you can have your own definitive version that other people will try and emulate.

Also, remember that iTunes is a big source of the voting process for the show. There will be plenty of purchases of many of these songs, and we’re going to be looking at even more of them come tomorrow. Yet, at the same time we’re not sure we would say that there are any more because they are ballads. We know that for us, we probably have a little less proclivity for songs that cover a wide spectrum of emotions.

We anticipate some more ballads coming with the final next week, but this is something we actively encourage everyone from coaches to singers to producers to look at. Performing slower songs does not necessarily equate to performing better.

For some further news right now when it comes to “The Voice,” be sure to head over to the link here! (Photo: NBC.)