The twenty-third season of the American reality television series The Voice premiered on March 6, 2023, on NBC. The season is presented by Carson Daly, who returned for his twenty-third season as host. The panel of coaches for the season consists of Blake Shelton, who returned for his twenty-third and final season as a coach; returning coach Kelly Clarkson, who returned for her ninth season after a one-season hiatus; and debuting coaches Chance the Rapper and Niall Horan.
Gina Miles was named the winner of the season, with the closest margin to-date, marking Niall Horan's first win as a coach, with Horan becoming the third new coach, after Kelly Clarkson and John Legend, to win on his debut season, as well as the youngest coach to win a season.
Overview Development On October 11, 2022, NBC announced that the show would be returning for a twenty-third season to be aired in spring 2023. Previously, it was announced that, beginning with the 2021–22 United States network television schedule, only one season would be produced per cyclical year, though it was reported that this decision was reversed upon the announcement of the season. Later, it was announced that the season would air on March 6.
Coaches and host
Out of the four coaches that appeared in the previous season, only Blake Shelton returned, which marks his twenty-third season as a coach. It was also announced that Shelton would be departing from the show at the end of the season after having been a coach since its inaugural season, though he has not ruled out a return as a guest mentor. This is the first season in which only one coach from the previous season returns.
Kelly Clarkson returns to the coaching panel for her ninth season, following her absence in the previous season. The season introduces two debuting coaches for the first time since season 11; the new coaches are rapper and singer-songwriter Chance the Rapper, and singer-songwriter and former One Direction member Niall Horan. The three judges replaced John Legend, Gwen Stefani, and Camila Cabello, all of whom had exited the panel for this season.
Carson Daly returned for his twenty-third season as the host.
Mega mentor On February 22, 2023, it was announced that Reba McEntire would appear as the season's mega mentor for the Knockouts. McEntire previously appeared in the show as the battle advisor for Team Blake on the show's inaugural season and as an advisor for all teams during the Top 12 live shows on season 8. In the battles, there were no guest battle advisors, which meant the artists were mentored for the battles solely by their coaches for the first time in the show's history.
Additions and changes The season introduced the "Playoff Pass" in the battles round. A replacement to the "save" from seasons 14 to 22, the "pass" allows each coach to advance further both artists of a battle; while one will still advance to the knockouts, the recipient of the "pass" will bypass the knockouts and go directly to the playoffs, creating a total of twenty contestants advancing to the playoffs. In the playoffs, only two members per team will advance to the Live Top 8 Semi-finals, as chosen by their respective coaches. The round will be prerecorded for the third time since season 6.
Promotion NBC released its first advert for the season on December 13, 2022. On March 2, 2023, the show, via its online platforms, released the coaches' cover of Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." To bolster interest in the show, the show premiered the blind audition of Noivas ahead of the season premiere. The auditions of Sheer Element (Jej Vinson, Tabon Ward, Izzy Kaye), Ryley Tate Wilson, Mary Kate Connor, Cait Martin, and NariYella were also released online ahead of the episodes in which their auditions were aired.
Teams + Teams color key Winner Eliminated in the Playoffs Runner-up Stolen in the Knockouts Third place Eliminated in the Knockouts Fourth place Stolen in the Battles Fifth place Eliminated in the Battles Eliminated in Live Semi-final Contestant withdrew
+ Coaches' teams Coach Top 40 Artists Kelly Clarkson D.Smooth Holly Brand Ali Cait Martin Neil Salsich Kala Banham Rachel Christine Marcos Covos Katie Beth Forakis Allie Keck Sheer Element JB Somers Chance the Rapper Sorelle Ray Uriel Kala Banham Jamar Langley Manasseh Samone Tiana Goss Magnus NariYella Noivas Chloe Abbott Mariah Kalia Alyssa Lazar Niall Horan Gina Miles Ryley Tate Wilson Michael B. Ross Clayton Tasha Jessen Kate Cosentino Jerome Godwin III EJ Michels Kala Banham Tiana Goss Laura Littleton Talia Smith Blake Shelton Grace West Noivas Rachel Christine Mary Kate Connor Kylee Dayne Tasha Jessen Neil Salsich Walker Wilson EJ Michels Kason Lester Carlos Rising Alex Whalen
Blind auditions The show began with the blind auditions that began airing on March 6, and aired through March 21, 2023, comprising episodes one to six. In each audition, an artist sings their piece in front of the coaches whose chairs are facing the audience. If a coach is interested to work with the artist, they will press their button to face the artist. If a singular coach presses the button, the artist automatically becomes part of their team. If multiple coaches turn, they will compete for the artist, who will decide which team they will join.
Each coach has one "block" to prevent another coach from getting an artist. At the end of the round, each coach formed a team of ten artists, creating a total of 40 artists advancing to the battles. Among the 40 contestants, two are trios.
+ Blind auditions color key Coach hit his/her "I WANT YOU" button Artist defaulted to this coach's team Artist selected to join this coach's team Artist was eliminated with no coach pressing their button ✘ Coach pressed "I WANT YOU" button, but was blocked by another coach from getting the artist Blocked by Kelly Blocked by Chance Blocked by Niall Blocked by Blake
Episode 1 (March 6) Among the auditionees this episode was Miss Mississippi 2021 Holly Brand, and former two-time American Idol contestant Savion Wright, who auditioned in this season as Noivas (stylized in all caps). + First blind auditions results Order Artist Age Hometown Song Coach's and artist's choices Kelly Chance Niall Blake 1 Neil Salsich 34 St. Louis, Missouri "Honky Tonk Blues" ✘ 2 Sorelle 15–21 Lexington, Ohio "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" – – 3 Holly Brand 22 Meridian, Mississippi "Mississippi Girl" – 4 Tasha Jessen 20 Colorado Springs, Colorado "River" – 5 Star Martin 34 St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands "No Woman, No Cry" – – – – 6 Ross Clayton 33 McLoud, Oklahoma "Blue Ain't Your Color" 7 Michael B. 29 Tulsa, Oklahoma "Save Your Tears" – – – 8 D.Smooth 25 Birmingham, Alabama "Perfect" – – 9 Emily Rhyne 22 Ada, Oklahoma "The First Cut Is the Deepest" – – – – 10 Alex Whalen 43 Indian Rocks Beach, Florida "Help Me Make It Through the Night" – – 11 Noivas 30 Jasper, Texas "A Change Is Gonna Come" ✘
Episode 2 (March 7) Among the auditionees this episode was Sheer Element, which included season 16 contestant Jej Vinson, who competed as part of Team Kelly until his elimination in the fourth week of that season's live shows. Vinson's reappearance as part of the trio marked the first time that a former contestant, who advanced to the battles, returned to compete in a later season. At the end of the five blind auditions, Jimmy Fallon made a guest appearance singing "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)".
+ Second blind auditions results Order Artist Age Hometown Song Coach's and artist's choices Kelly Chance Niall Blake 1 Sheer Element 24–26 Los Angeles, California "Leave the Door Open" – 2 Carlos Rising 28 Wilmington, North Carolina "Change the World" – – 3 Alex Graham 24 Belmont, North Carolina "She Had Me at Heads Carolina" – – – – 4 Magnus 25 Virginia Beach, Virginia "Sara Smile" – – – 5 Kala Banham 24 Windermere, Florida "Both Sides, Now" ✘ –
Episode 3 (March 13) Among the auditionees this episode was Manasseh Samone, who previously auditioned unsuccessfully in season 22.
+ Third blind auditions results Order Artist Age Hometown Song Coach's and artist's choices Kelly Chance Niall Blake 1 Ryley Tate Wilson 15 Montgomery, Alabama "Dancing on My Own" 2 Jamar Langley 36 Andrews, South Carolina "Try Me" – – 3 Allie Keck 28 Neoga, Illinois "Paris (Ooh La La)" – – 4 Jayda Klink 23 Cincinnati, Ohio "No Air" – – – – 5 Walker Wilson 24 Alcoa, Tennessee "Hurricane" – – – 6 Ali 24 Walnut, California "Killing Me Softly with His Song" – – 7 Manasseh Samone 22 Dallas, Texas "Rise Up" – – – 8 Jerome Godwin III 20 Ashford, Alabama "pov" – – 9 EJ Michels 31 Draper, Utah "Easy on Me" – – 10 Sophia Hoffman 18 Chula Vista, California "Amor Eterno" – – – – 11 Laura Littleton 26 Dickson, Tennessee "Sign of the Times" – ✘
Episode 4 (March 14) Among the auditionees this episode was Tiana Goss, who previously auditioned unsuccessfully in season 22.
+ Fourth blind auditions results Order Artist Age Hometown Song Coach's and artist's choices Kelly Chance Niall Blake 1 Kate Cosentino 23 Kansas City, Missouri "I Say a Little Prayer" – 2 Al Boogie 37 Gonzales, Louisiana "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" – – – – 3 Chloe Abbott 24 Detroit, Michigan "How Deep Is Your Love" – – – 4 Marcos Covos 30 Odessa, Texas "Tú, sólo tú" – – 5 Tiana Goss 29 Los Angeles, California "Emotion" – – – 6 Mary Kate Connor 17 Ashburn, Virginia "Stars" – –
Episode 5 (March 20) Among the auditionees this episode was Kason Lester, who previously competed on the seventeenth season of American Idol. + Fifth blind auditions results Order Artist Age Hometown Song Coach's and artist's choices Kelly Chance Niall Blake 1 Mariah Kalia 17 Jacksonville, Florida "Idontwannabeyouanymore" – – 2 Kylee Dayne 19 Carrollton, Texas "Fallingwater" – 3 Joe with the Flow 26 Atlanta, Georgia "Mystery of Love" – – – – 4 Gina Miles 18 Paxton, Illinois "The One That Got Away" – – 5 Kason Lester 33 Lebanon, Tennessee "It's Not Over" – – – 6 JB Somers 31 Montgomery, Alabama "A Case of You" – – 7 Alison Bailey 17 Winchester, California "Rescue" – – – – 8 Ray Uriel 24 Gary, Indiana "Glimpse of Us" – – – 9 Alyssa Lazar 24 Scranton, Pennsylvania "Maybe I'm Amazed" – – – 10 Rachel Christine 22 Delavan, Wisconsin "Uninvited" – – 11 Domenica Coka 23 Miami, Florida "When I Look at You" – – – – 12 Cait Martin 32 Atlanta, Georgia "As It Was"
Episode 6 (March 21) Among the auditionees this episode was Dasha, who previously competed in the seventh season of The Voice Russia under her real name, Daria Grossman. + Sixth blind auditions results Order Artist Age Hometown Song Coach's and artist's choices Kelly Chance Niall Blake 1 NariYella 20 Elkins Park, Pennsylvania "One Night Only" 2 Grace West 19 Canton, Michigan "Maybe It Was Memphis" – Team full 3 Michael Landingham 29 Cherry Valley, California "Wish I Knew You" – – Team full 4 Katie Beth Forakis 25 Savannah, Tennessee "Ghost" 5 21 Los Angeles, California "I Can't Stand the Rain" Team full – 6 Talia Smith 29 Queens, New York "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing"
Battles The second stage of the show, the Battles, aired from March 27 through April 4, 2023, comprising episodes seven through ten. In this round, the coaches pitted two of their artists in a singing match and then select one of them to advance to the next round. For the first time in the show's history, there were no guest advisors for the battles, which meant the artists were mentored solely by their coaches.