The Voice (American TV series)
The Voice is an American singing competition television series broadcast on NBC. It premiered during the spring television cycle on April 26, 2011. Based on the original The Voice of Holland, and part of The Voice franchise it has aired eighteen seasons and aims to find currently unsigned singing talent contested by aspiring singers, age 13 or over, drawn from public auditions.
The winner is determined by television viewers voting by telephone, internet, SMS text, and iTunes Store purchases of the audio-recorded artists' vocal performances. They receive US$100,000 and a record deal with Universal Music Group for winning the competition. The winners of the eighteen seasons have been: Javier Colon, Jermaine Paul, Cassadee Pope, Danielle Bradbery, Tessanne Chin, Josh Kaufman, Craig Wayne Boyd, Sawyer Fredericks, Jordan Smith, Alisan Porter, Sundance Head, Chris Blue, Chloe Kohanski, Brynn Cartelli, Chevel Shepherd, Maelyn Jarmon, Jake Hoot, and Todd Tilghman.
The series employs a panel of four coaches who critique the artists' performances and guide their teams of selected artists through the remainder of the season. They also compete to ensure that their act wins the competition, thus making them the winning coach. The original panel featured Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton; the panel for the upcoming nineteenth season features Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, and John Legend. Other coaches from previous seasons include Shakira, Usher, Pharrell Williams, Miley Cyrus, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, and Nick Jonas. In the fifteenth season, Kelsea Ballerini was featured as an off-screen fifth coach for "Comeback Stage" contestants. Bebe Rexha took over as the "Comeback Stage" coach for the sixteenth season. In June 2020, it was announced that the series would continue into its nineteenth season.
Conception
An adaptation of the Dutch show The Voice of Holland, NBC announced the show under the name The Voice of America in December 2010; its name was soon shortened to The Voice. In each season, the winner receives $100,000 and a record deal with Universal Republic Records or later Universal Music Group.Selection process and format
Each season begins with the "Blind Auditions," where coaches form their team of artists, 3 and 18 ) whom they mentor through the remainder of the season. The coaches' chairs are faced towards the audience during artists' performances; those interested in an artist press their button, which turns their chair towards the artist and illuminates the bottom of the chair to read "I want you." At the conclusion of the performance, an artist either defaults to the only coach who turned around, or selects his or her coach if more than one coach expresses interest. In the 14th season, a new twist called "Block" is featured, which allows one coach to block another coach from getting a contestant.In the "Battle Rounds," each coach pairs two of his or her team members to perform together, then chooses one to advance in the competition. In each season, coaches are assisted by celebrity advisors that are different each season. In the first season, coaches sit alongside their respective advisors in the battle stage. However, starting with the second season, the advisors no longer join the coaches in the battle stage. A new element was added in season three; coaches were given two "steals", allowing each coach to select two individuals who were eliminated during a battle round by another coach.
The Knockout Rounds were also introduced in season three and introduced in almost all seasons except seasons six and sixteen. A pair of artists within a team are selected to sing individual performances in succession. They are not told until a few minutes prior to their performances who their partner is. The artists get to choose their own songs in this round, although they continue to get help and advice from their respective coaches. At the conclusion of the performances, coaches would decide which one of each pair gets to advance to the next round. Similar to the battle rounds, the coaches can steal one eliminated artist from another coach starting with season five. Starting in the season 14, coaches can save one eliminated artist from his own team. In season 18, the artists who were saved faced a Four-Way Knockout, with the winner decided through a public vote.
The "Battles, Round 2" were introduced to replace the Knockout Rounds in season six. Similar to the Knockout Rounds, each singer is paired randomly within their team. One celebrity key adviser also assists all four of the coaches and their teams in preparation of these rounds. Coaches give each Battle pairing a list of songs and each pair must agree on which song to sing. Each coach can still decide which of their singers in each pair will advance to the next round. The coaches are also allowed one steal..
In the sixteenth season, the knockouts were replaced by The Live Cross Battles, a format identical to the Cross Battles from the Chinese version of The Voice. Each coach selects an artist to perform with another coach's artist together. The artist that receives the public vote will move on to the Playoffs, while the losing artist gets eliminated or receives a chance to be in the comeback stage. The Live Cross Battles did not return in season seventeen due to poor response from the audience.
Previously eliminated artists can also advance to compete in the live shows; between seasons nine and thirteen, each coach saved one artist to put through to the Live playoffs. For seasons fifteen and sixteen, selected singers are put through to the "Comeback Stage" and competed in a series of duels for a place in the live shows, with the winner earning a right to join a team of their choice.
In the final live performance phase of the competition, artists perform in weekly shows, where public voting narrows to a final group of artists and eventually declares a winner. The coaches have the power to save one artist that had not received the public's vote that week. As of season two, these artists would give a last chance performance to win their coach's save. However, in deciding who moves on to the final four phase, the television audience and the coaches have equal say. With one team member remaining for each coach, the contestants compete against each other in the finale, where the outcome is decided solely by public vote. In the first two seasons, one contestant from each team would advance to the final four. Due to the possibility of having multiple potential winners on the same team, eliminations were adjusted in season three to eliminate contestants who earned the lowest number of votes, thus not guaranteeing a coach and a contestant in the finals. The number of finalists were three on the start, but increased to four starting in season seven, and five in season eighteen, making season 18 the first season with a guarantee of having at least one artist representing for the coach in the finale.
Voting system
In a first for a music competition series, NBC and Universal Republic Records offered fans of the show the ability to vote for their favorite artists by purchasing the studio versions of the songs that they perform on the live show each week via the iTunes Store. Alternative methods of voting can be done through toll-free phone calls, text messaging, "The Voice Official App on NBC" app, and through online votes via NBC.com and Facebook. Each method is limited to ten votes per user, and voting lasts until noon EST the next day.From the top 12 results show of season 3 to the end of season 17, a rule regarding voting was enacted with regards to iTunes singles purchases. In the first two seasons, voting via iTunes purchases of contestant performances counted singly during the official voting window and only accredited to the live show in concern. When a competitor's performance charts within the Top 10 of the iTunes "Top 200 Singles Chart" during this window, it was given an iTunes bonus that multiplies iTunes votes made by ten. In season 5, the iTunes bonus multiplier was reduced to five for the studio versions of the songs performed by the competitors. The finale's vote count included a 'Cumulative iTunes Vote Total' of all singles purchased during and outside of the various voting windows, with iTunes bonuses previously earned. From season 15, the bonus multiplier was revised to include streams counting as a vote, and the only artist with the most streams at the time of the closing of voting window would receive the bonus. The iTunes bonus multiplier was discontinued beginning with the live shows of the eighteenth season, as the performances are now recorded away from the studios and could not be recorded to iTunes or Spotify; this measure was initially enacted for safety reasons as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Only the studio recording of the contestants' performances, not the live performance, were available on iTunes. In the first season, the battle rounds were recorded in the studio with both artists in the pairing. However, from season 2 to season 18, only the winner's version of the song from the battle round was released. Season 7 reverted to the old style of both artists. With the introduction of the Knockout Rounds in season three, where each contestant sang a separate song, only the winner's single was released.
The "Instant Save" was introduced in season five. During the live elimination episodes, viewers are given a five-minute window to vote for the contestants in danger of elimination by using their Twitter account to decide which contestant will move on to the next show, starting with the Top 12. Home viewers can only vote once per account for one contestant of their choice. Since season six, the Instant Save now function as a Last Chance Performance where artists perform an additional song to rally votes.
Coaches and hosts
Coaches
CeeLo Green of Gnarls Barkley and Adam Levine of Maroon 5 became the first confirmed coaches in February 2011, followed by Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton in March. Aguilera and Green did not return for season four and were replaced by Shakira and Usher. Aguilera and Green then returned for season five, while Shakira and Usher returned for season six. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres in February 2014, Green revealed that he would not be returning to The Voice. On March 31, 2014, it was announced that Pharrell Williams would become Green's replacement. On April 19, 2014, it was announced that No Doubt's Gwen Stefani would replace Aguilera in season seven due to her pregnancy. On May 20, 2014, Shakira and Usher confirmed that after season six, they would focus on their music. On March 25, 2016, Miley Cyrus confirmed that following her role as key advisor during the tenth season that she would be joining the series once again in its eleventh season as a coach, replacing Christina Aguilera. That same day, Alicia Keys was also announced to be joining the series as a coach for the eleventh season. On October 18, 2016, it was announced that Stefani would re-join the coaches' panel for the series' twelfth season, alongside returning coaches Keys, Levine and Shelton; it was also confirmed that Cyrus would return for the thirteenth season.On April 27, 2017, in an interview published by TV Insider, Keys confirmed that the twelfth season would be her last. She stated, "Who knows what the future holds, but I know this one is my final season." On May 10, 2017, NBC announced that Jennifer Hudson would join the coaches lineup for the series' thirteenth season alongside Cyrus, Levine and Shelton. On May 11, 2017, it was announced that Kelly Clarkson would be a coach in season fourteen in 2018. On October 18, 2017, NBC announced that Alicia Keys would return to the series for the 14th season. On May 10, 2018, it was announced that Hudson would return for the series' fifteenth season after a one-season hiatus joining Clarkson, Levine and Shelton. Kelsea Ballerini also joined season fifteen as the fifth coach for the Comeback Stage of the competition. On September 13, 2018, John Legend was announced as a coach for the show's sixteenth season, alongside returning coaches Clarkson, Levine and Shelton.
On February 25, 2019 it was announced that Bebe Rexha will be the fifth coach for season 16 Comeback Stage. In May 2019, it was announced that all four coaches from the sixteenth season would return for the series' seventeenth season. Later that month, it was announced that Levine would exit the series; Stefani was announced to be returning to the coaching panel as his successor. In October 2019, it was announced that Nick Jonas would join the show as a coach for its eighteenth season, alongside returning coaches Shelton, Clarkson and Legend. In June 2020, it was announced that Stefani would to be returning to the coaching panel, replacing Jonas, for the nineteenth season, alongside returning coaches Shelton, Clarkson and Legend.
Timeline of coaches
LegendHosts
Carson Daly has hosted the series since the inaugural season. Alison Haislip served as the original "backstage, online and social media correspondent" and was replaced by Christina Milian. Milian did not return for season five, at which point Daly assumed the duties as the social media correspondent.Coaches' advisors
Battle round advisors are listed first; additional advisors and their roles are denoted by superscripts.| Season | Team Adam | Team CeeLo | Team Christina | Team Blake | All Coaches |
| 1 | Adam Blackstone | Monica | Sia | Reba McEntire | rowspan="7" |
| 2 | Alanis Morissette Robin Thicke | Babyface Ne-Yo | Jewel Lionel Richie | Kelly Clarkson Miranda Lambert | - |
| 3 | Mary J. Blige | Rob Thomas Jennifer Hudson Bill Withers Pat Monahan | Billie Joe Armstrong Ron Fair | Michael Bublé Scott Hendricks | - |
| 4 | Team Adam | Team Shakira | Team Usher | Team Blake | - |
| 4 | Hillary Scott | Joel Madden CeeLo Green | Pharrell Williams Aakomon Jones Taylor Swift | Sheryl Crow | - |
| 5 | Team Adam | Team CeeLo | Team Christina | Team Blake | - |
| 5 | Ryan Tedder | Miguel | Ed Sheeran | Cher | - |
| 6 | Team Adam | Team Shakira | Team Usher | Team Blake | All Coaches |
| 6 | Aloe Blacc Graham Nash James Valentine | Miranda Lambert busbee | Jill Scott Natural | The Band Perry Scott Hendricks Gwen Sebastian | Chris Martin |
| 7 | Team Adam | Team Gwen | Team Pharrell | Team Blake | All Coaches |
| 7 | Stevie Nicks Patrick Stump | Gavin Rossdale Christina Aguilera | Alicia Keys Diana Ross | Little Big Town Colbie Caillat | Taylor Swift |
| 8 | Team Adam | Team Pharrell | Team Christina | Team Blake | All Coaches |
| 8 | Ellie Goulding Dave Stewart Usher | Lionel Richie Ryan Tedder Gwen Stefani | Nick Jonas Mark Ronson Gwen Stefani | Meghan Trainor Scott Hendricks CeeLo Green | Nate Ruess Reba McEntire |
| 9 | Team Adam | Team Gwen | Team Pharrell | Team Blake | All Coaches |
| 9 | John Fogerty | Selena Gomez | Missy Elliott | Brad Paisley | Rihanna Dolly Parton |
| 10 | Team Adam | Team Pharrell | Team Christina | Team Blake | All Coaches |
| 10 | Tori Kelly | Diddy | Patti LaBelle | Gwen Stefani | Miley Cyrus Pink |
| 11 | Team Adam | Team Miley | Team Alicia | Team Blake | All Coaches |
| 11 | Sammy Hagar | Joan Jett | Charlie Puth | Bette Midler | Tim McGraw Faith Hill Garth Brooks |
| 12 | Team Adam | Team Gwen | Team Alicia | Team Blake | All Coaches |
| 12 | John Legend | Celine Dion | DJ Khaled | Luke Bryan | Shania Twain |
| 13 | Team Adam | Team Miley | Team Jennifer | Team Blake | All Coaches |
| 13 | Joe Jonas | Billy Ray Cyrus | Kelly Rowland | Rascal Flatts | Kelly Clarkson |
| 14 | Team Adam | Team Alicia | Team Kelly | Team Blake | All Coaches |
| 14 | Julia Michaels Jordan Smith | Shawn Mendes Chris Blue | Hailee Steinfeld Cassadee Pope | Trace Adkins Chloe Kohanski | |
| 15 | Team Adam | Team Kelly | Team Jennifer | Team Blake | All Coaches |
| 15 | CeeLo Green | Thomas Rhett Brynn Cartelli | Halsey | Keith Urban | Mariah Carey |
| 16 | Team Adam | Team Legend | Team Kelly | Team Blake | All coaches |
| 16 | Charlie Puth | Khalid | Kelsea Ballerini | Brooks & Dunn | |
| 17 | Team Kelly | Team Gwen | Team Legend | Team Blake | All coaches |
| 17 | Normani | will.i.am | Usher | Darius Rucker | Taylor Swift |
| 18 | Team Kelly | Team Nick | Team Legend | Team Blake | All coaches |
| 18 | Dua Lipa | Jonas Brothers | Ella Mai | Bebe Rexha | James Taylor |
Coaches' teams
| Season | Team Adam | Team CeeLo | Team Christina | Team Blake |
| 1 | Javier Colon Casey Weston Devon Barley Jeff Jenkins | Vicci Martinez Nakia Curtis Grimes The Thompson Sisters | Beverly McClellan † Frenchie Davis Raquel Castro Lily Elise | Dia Frampton Xenia Jared Blake Patrick Thomas |
| 2 | Tony Lucca Katrina Parker Mathai Pip Karla Davis Kim Yarbrough | Juliet Simms Jamar Rogers Cheesa James Massone Erin Martin Tony Vincent | Chris Mann Lindsey Pavao Ashley de La Rosa Jesse Campbell Moses Stone Sera Hill | Jermaine Paul Erin Willett RaeLynn Jordis Unga Charlotte Sometimes Naia Kete |
| 3 | Amanda Brown Melanie Martinez Bryan Keith Loren Allred Joselyn Rivera | Nicholas David Trevin Hunte Cody Belew MacKenzie Bourg Diego Val | Dez Duron Sylvia Yacoub Adriana Louise De'Borah Devyn DeLoera | Cassadee Pope Terry McDermott Michaela Paige Julio Cesar Castillo Liz Davis |
| 4 | Team Adam | Team Shakira | Team Usher | Team Blake |
| 4 | Amber Carrington Judith Hill Sarah Simmons Caroline Glaser | Sasha Allen Kris Thomas Garrett Gardner Karina Iglesias | Michelle Chamuel Josiah Hawley VEDO Cáthia | Danielle Bradbery The Swon Brothers Holly Tucker Justin Rivers |
| 5 | Team Adam | Team CeeLo | Team Christina | Team Blake |
| 5 | Tessanne Chin Will Champlin James Wolpert Grey Preston Pohl | Caroline Pennell Kat Robichaud Jonny Gray Tamara Chauniece Amber Nicole | Jacquie Lee Matthew Schuler Josh Logan Olivia Henken Stephanie Anne Johnson | Cole Vosbury Ray Boundreaux Austin Jenckes Nic Hawk Shelbie Z |
| 6 | Team Adam | Team Shakira | Team Usher | Team Blake |
| 6 | Christina Grimmie † Kat Perkins Delvin Choice Jake Barker Morgan Wallen | Kristen Merlin Tess Boyer Dani Moz Deja Hall Patrick Thomson | Josh Kaufman Bria Kelly T.J. Wilkins Melissa Jiménez Stevie Jo | Jake Worthington Sisaundra Lewis Audra McLaughlin Ryan Whyte Maloney Madilyn Paige |
| 7 | Team Adam | Team Gwen | Team Pharrell | Team Blake |
| 7 | Matt McAndrew Chris Jamison Damien Mia Pfirrman Taylor Phelan | Taylor John Williams Ryan Sill Anita Antoinette Ricky Manning Bryana Salaz | DaNica Shirey Luke Wade Sugar Joans Jean Kelley Elyjuh René | Craig Wayne Boyd Reagan James Jessie Pitts Taylor Brashears James David Carter |
| 8 | Team Adam | Team Pharrell | Team Christina | Team Blake |
| 8 | Joshua Davis Deanna Johnson Brian Johnson Tonya Boyd-Cannon Nathan Hermida | Sawyer Fredericks Koryn Hawthorne Mia Z Caitlin Caporale Lowell Oakley | India Carney Kimberly Nichole Rob Taylor Lexi Dávila Sonic | Meghan Linsey Hannah Kirby Corey Kent White Brooke Adee Sarah Potenza |
| 9 | Team Adam | Team Gwen | Team Pharrell | Team Blake |
| 9 | Jordan Smith Shelby Brown Amy Vachal Blaine Mitchell Chance Peña Keith Semple | Jeffery Austin Braiden Sunshine Korin Bukowski Viktor Király Ellie Lawrence Regina Love | Madi Davis Evan McKeel Mark Hood Celeste Betton Riley Biederer Darius Scott | Emily Ann Roberts Barrett Baber Zach Seabaugh Ivonne Acero Morgan Frazier Nadjah Nicole |
| 10 | Team Adam | Team Pharrell | Team Christina | Team Blake |
| 10 | Laith Al-Saadi Shalyah Fearing Owen Danoff Caroline Burns Nate Butler Brian Nhira | Hannah Huston Daniel Passino Emily Keener Lacy Mandigo Moushumi Caity Peters | Alisan Porter Bryan Bautista Nick Hagelin Tamar Davis Kata Hay Ryan Quinn | Adam Wakefield Mary Sarah Paxton Ingram Katie Basden Joe Maye Justin Whisnant |
| 11 | Team Adam | Team Miley | Team Alicia | Team Blake |
| 11 | Billy Gilman Josh Gallagher Brendan Fletcher Riley Elmore Simone Gundy | Ali Caldwell Aaron Gibson Darby Walker Sophia Urista Belle Jewel | Wé McDonald Christian Cuevas Sa'Rayah Kylie Rothfield Josh Halverson | Sundance Head Austin Allsup Courtney Harrell Dana Harper Jason Warrior |
| 12 | Team Adam | Team Gwen | Team Alicia | Team Blake |
| 12 | Jesse Larson Lilli Passero Mark Isaiah Hanna Eyre Johnny Hayes Josh West | Brennley Brown Hunter Plake Troy Ramey Johnny Gates JChosen Quizz Swanigan | Chris Blue Vanessa Ferguson Stephanie Rice Jack Cassidy Ashley Levin Anatalia Villaranda | Lauren Duski Aliyah Moulden TSoul Casi Joy Aaliyah Rose Felicia Temple |
| 13 | Team Adam | Team Miley | Team Jennifer | Team Blake |
| 13 | Addison Agen Adam Cunningham Jon Mero Anthony Alexander Whitney Fenimore Emily Luther | Brooke Simpson Ashland Craft Janice Freeman † Moriah Formica Adam Pearce Karli Webster | Noah Mac Davon Fleming Shi'Ann Jones Lucas Holliday Hannah Mrozak Chris Weaver | Chloe Kohanski Red Marlow Keisha Renee Mitchell Lee Natalie Stovall Esera Tuaolo |
| 14 | Team Adam | Team Alicia | Team Kelly | Team Blake |
| 14 | Rayshun LaMarr Jackie Verna Sharane Calister Mia Boostrom Drew Cole Reid Umstattd | Britton Buchanan Jackie Foster Christiana Danielle Johnny Bliss Terrence Cunningham Kelsea Johnson | Brynn Cartelli Kaleb Lee D.R. King Alexa Cappelli Dylan Hartigan Tish Haynes Keys | Kyla Jade Spensha Baker Pryor Baird Gary Edwards Austin Giorgio WILKES |
| 15 | Team Adam | Team Kelly | Team Jennifer | Team Blake |
| 15 | Reagan Strange DeAndre Nico Tyke James Kameron Marlowe Steve Memmolo RADHA | Chevel Shepherd Sarah Grace Kymberli Joye Lynnea Moorer Abby Cates Keith Paluso Zaxai | Kennedy Holmes MaKenzie Thomas SandyRedd Patrique Fortson Colton Smith Franc West | Chris Kroeze Kirk Jay Dave Fenley Funsho Natasia GreyCloud Michael Lee |
| 16 | Team Adam | Team Legend | Team Kelly | Team Blake |
| 16 | LB Crew Mari Betsy Ade Domenic Haynes Kalvin Jarvis | Maelyn Jarmon Shawn Sounds Celia Babini Jacob Maxwell Jimmy Mowery Lisa Ramey | Rod Stokes Jej Vinson Rebecca Howell Matthew Johnson Abby Kasch Presley Tennant | Gyth Rigdon Dexter Roberts Andrew Sevener Kim Cherry Carter Lloyd Horne Oliv Blu Kendra Checketts Selkii |
| 17 | Team Kelly | Team Gwen | Team Legend | Team Blake |
| 17 | Jake Hoot Hello Sunday Shane Q Max Boyle Damali | Rose Short Joana Martinez Myracle Holloway Jake HaldenVang Kyndal Inskeep | Katie Kadan Will Breman Marybeth Byrd Alex Guthrie Khalea Lynee | Ricky Duran Kat Hammock Cali Wilson Gracee Shriver Ricky Braddy |
| 18 | Team Kelly | Team Nick | Team Legend | Team Blake |
| 18 | Micah Iverson Megan Danielle Cedrice Mandi Thomas | Thunderstorm Artis Allegra Miles Roderick Chambers Arei Moon Michael Williams | CammWess Zan Fiskum Mandi Castillo Mike Jerel | Todd Tilghman Toneisha Harris Joanna Serenko Joei Fulco |
Series overview
Reception
In 2016, a New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that The Voice "is most popular in North Dakota and least popular in New York. It was behind only Duck Dynasty and Fast N' Loud in its correlation with Trump voters".Awards and nominations
Ratings
The first season premiered strong at 11.78 million viewers, and actually grew upon that audience through its first season. In the 18–49 demographic, the show constantly found itself in the top 5. For its average season rating, the show landed itself as No. 20 with total viewers at nearly 12 million viewers. In the 18–49 rankings, the show was No. 4 at a 5.4 ranking.The second season premiered on Super Bowl Sunday, February 5, 2012, and for a while managed to keep a 6.0 in the adults 18–49 demographic and 17 million viewers. Partnering The Voice with Smash helped NBC win the Monday night ratings. However, by Monday, April 9, the ratings had fallen to a 4.0 rating in the adult 18–49 demographic.
The third season premiered on Monday, September 10, 2012 to 12.28 million viewers and a 4.2 rating in the 18–49 demographic and has since then grown to a season high 4.8 rating in the 18–49 demographic on October 8, October 15 and 29, 2012 and a 4.9 rating in the finale. The Voice, along with NBC's new drama, Revolution has once again led NBC to win every Monday night of the season so far, just like it did last season. On Tuesdays, comedies Go On and The New Normal have been successful thanks to The Voice, leading NBC to be the only network of the Big 5 to grow in ratings from last season.
The fourth season premiered on Monday, March 25, 2013 to a 13.64 million viewer audience, scoring a 4.8 in the 18–49 demographic but fell back to a 12.41 million viewer audience. In the 18–49 demographic, this first episode had a 4.1 score.
The fifth season premiered on Monday, September 23, 2013 scoring 14.98 million viewers and a 5.1 in the 18–49 demographic.
The sixth season premiered on February 24, 2014 and was watched by 15.74 million viewers with a 4.7 rating in the 18–49 demographic. It was up from last season's premiere by.76 million viewers.
The seventh season premiered on September 22, 2014 and was watched by 12.95 million viewers with a 3.9 rating in the 18–49 demographic. It was down from last season's premiere by 2.91 million viewers.
The eighth season premiered on February 23, 2015, and was watched by 13.97 million viewers with a 4.1 rating in the 18–49 demographic. It was up from last season's premiere by 1.02 million viewers.
The ninth season premiered on September 21, 2015, and was watched by 12.37 million viewers with a 3.5 rating in the 18–49 demographic. It was down from last falls premiere by.48 million viewers.
The tenth season premiered on February 29, 2016, and was watched by 13.33 million viewers with a 3.4 rating in the 18–49 demographic. It was up from last season's premiere by.96 million viewers.
The eleventh season premiered on September 19, 2016, and was watched by 12.10 million viewers with a 3.3 rating in the 18–49 demographic. It is down from last season's premiere by 1.23 million viewers.
The twelfth season premiered on February 27, 2017, and was watched by 13.03 million viewers with a 3.1 in the 18–49 demographic. It was up from last season's premiere by.93 million viewers.
The thirteenth season premiered on September 25, 2017, and was watched by 10.57 million viewers with a 2.6 in the 18-49 demographic. It is down from last season's premiere by 2.46 million viewers.
The fourteenth season premiered on February 26, 2018, and was watched by 12.31 million viewers with a 2.8 in the 18-49 demographic. It is up from last season's premiere by 1.74 million viewers.
The fifteenth season premiered on September 24, 2018, and was watched by 9.66 million viewers with a 2.0 in the 18-49 demographic. This is the second lowest rated season premiere to date.
The sixteenth season premiered on February 25, 2019, and was watched by 10.77 million viewers with a 2.1 in the 18-49 demographic. This was up from the previous season by 1.11 million viewers.
The seventeenth season premiered on September 23, 2019, and was watched by 8.93 million viewers with a 1.7 in the 18-49 demographic marking the lowest season premiere to date.
The eighteenth season premiered on February 24, 2020 with 8.99 million viewers with a 1.5 in the 18-49 demographic marking a new low for a season premiere.
† Including an episode that aired after a live broadcast of the Super Bowl:
- 10:19–10:30 = 46.786 million viewers
- 10:30–10:45 = 39.494 million viewers
- 10:45–11:00 = 36.310 million viewers
- 11:00–11:15 = 32.630 million viewers
- 11:15–11:21 = 31.792 million viewers
Video game