Chromatica 7,031 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Hey Queers, I'm gonna go ahead and preface this post with the knowledge that before I wrote it I was debating whether I should post it or not because it may be a little controversial. You could definitely make a case for this being a racist observation, but it's just something I've noticed for a while. I don't know if we've ever had a thread about this before, but I just wanted to see if anyone else saw this weird little pattern with the people who have been chosen to judge the United States version of The Voice. So, the original cast was Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Christina Aguileria, and Cee Lo Green. Soon after this show started to pick out, the latter two were swapped out for Usher and Shakira. Obviously, some people noticed that they replaced a blonde woman and a black man with another blonde woman and black man. When asked about this, the creators of this show said it was purely conincidental. Whatever, I'll reluctantly overlook this for the sake of my next point. Just when people were beginning to get over this suspicious casting decision, they swapped out the judges again for Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams...ANOTHER blonde woman and black man. Keep in mind, that Blake Shelton and Adam Levine have remained as vocal coaches since the show began. It's only these two spots that have changed and it's kind of uncomfortable to see how interchangeable the producers are making these people seem based on their appearance. ANYWAYS, today they announced that the spots of Pharrell and Gwen have been swapped again for Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys, a blonde white woman and this time a black woman instead. What are you thoughts on this? Do you think it's a coincidence? Do you think they're intentionally tying to keep a successful formula by casting people in the same likeness? Would you consider the most recent change a continuation of that? Sorry if the use of pictures to show you what these people look like was a little obnoxious considering we probably all know these people, but I needed to break up all that text with something. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edonis 28,915 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Well Shakira isn't exactly white as in Caucasian. But I do see your point. At first glance it looks like they're just interchanging an "R&B and female pop" vocal coach each season but then I do start to wonder about the typecasting that they do. But I also think they do that to make the show "diverse" and whatnot. Mysterious. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chromatica 7,031 Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 9 minutes ago, Edonis said: Well Shakira isn't exactly white as in Caucasian. But I do see your point. At first glance it looks like they're just interchanging an "R&B and female pop" vocal coach each season but then I do start to wonder about the typecasting that they do. But I also think they do that to make the show "diverse" and whatnot. Mysterious. THIS JUST GAVE ME AN IDEA What if they were just doing it because it's this type of person who best personifies the respective genres of music? What does that say about pop music? R&B? Nah, you know they just cast the pop girl for men Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoHeaven23 35,007 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 They need to reach their demographics. I don't think it's a secret If the formula ain't broke, don't fix it. One thing i did notice in looking at the ratings is that the show has done best with the Adam, Blake, Gwen and Pharell combo from season 6 onward. When Gwen comes ratings go up and when she leaves, ratings go down. Though this current season is doing well in the ratings with Xtina. Also, Blake and Adam are my least favorite of all the judges except Cee Lo. I wish they would rotate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodka 4,478 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Don't really keep up with the show, but this is kind of interesting to follow. Maybe they're trying to influence or pave the contestants' future inflection of music? To be soulful and/or have a popular star-quality type of voice maybe? I'm pretty sure they're representative of something, theories validated or not. Nice observation. Spoiler This might be stretch, besides a lack of changes with this kind of formula, what do you especially find lacking? Honestly curious Yes, I also do love partying in moving houses as seen in that one Bacardi tv ad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorothy Gale 7,575 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 It seems that a black man and a blonde haired woman, who times out of three is Latina is the tried and true formula for this show. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sizzily 14,543 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 I see it as just promo for the judges and whoever is big in a genre. Blake and Adam have stayed because they are relevant and are some of the bigger names in their genre. Rap/Hip-hop and Pop change faster than "Rock" and Country. Christina and Cee Lo haven't done much since the first season of the voice, and the show just moves onto the next popular thing. Like with Gwen, it was setting her up with more promo for her new album era. And jesus christ, Happy was the most popular thing from 2014 going into 2015. I don't see it as racist/sexist issue (at least not a major one). Their genres just allow for interchangeability. Tears in the rain Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AIex 3,102 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 1 hour ago, Temple said: Hey Queers, I'm gonna go ahead and preface this post with the knowledge that before I wrote it I was debating whether I should post it or not because it may be a little controversial. You could definitely make a case for this being a racist observation, but it's just something I've noticed for a while. I don't know if we've ever had a thread about this before, but I just wanted to see if anyone else saw this weird little pattern with the people who have been chosen to judge the United States version of The Voice. So, the original cast was Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Christina Aguileria, and Cee Lo Green. Aka guy who supported Melanie Martinez, guy who supported Melanie Martinez, girl who skipped Melanie Martinez and continued to drag her for singing/stanning Britney Spears, and guy who supported Melanie Martinez What? This show isn't actually important besides Melanie She's more popular than anyone on the show, and she was eliminated midway Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderson123 36,632 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Pretty much what everyone has said already. The coaches they pick are based on what's being popular at the moment or will be popular, and also because they need diverse genres, as well as diverse PEOPLE. I don't think the show would be as interesting as it was if it had always been the same 4 coaches since Season 1. And I guess it's fine. Mark my words, if a black person wasn't a coach one year, people would be all over Twitter talking about #WhiteVoice or some dumb stuff like the Oscars this year. It's a way to keep viewers, fans, contestants and the labels happy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadOfAbyss 597 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Maybe they just want diversity, that way they can reach for different audiences and by doing so more views. Every coach is different from each other thus allowing a much more interesting form of competition. For example Adam has a much more different way in presenting himself on stage and how he sings as in comparison to xtina; so each individual competitor's performance has a greater chance of not only learning from their assigned coach but also from other group performances. Its a smart move on both The Voice for views and for the learning of the competitors in my opinion. I am as vain as I allow Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whispering 18,865 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 The want to present diversity. Christina could stay on every season, if she wanted to, but she has taken time off for pregnancy and children. She was also the highest paid judge. Gwen got on the show because Shakira didn't want to keep her children away from her partner for an extended period of time. Cee Lo was accused of rape, so they dropped him permanently. Pharrell probably wants a break. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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