The Voice (American season 18)
The eighteenth season of the American reality television series The Voice ran from February 24 to May 19, 2020, on NBC. Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend returned as coaches for their eighteenth, fifth and third season, respectively. Nick Jonas joined the panel as a new coach, replacing Gwen Stefani. Meanwhile, Carson Daly returned for his eighteenth season as host.
This is the third season in The Voice since seasons one and three where the team sizes was not 12, as it was reduced to ten. This is also the first season to have five artists compete in the finale, and the first time each coach would guarantee to have at least one artist representing in the finale since season 2. For the first time since season two, artists are not awarded any multiplier bonuses for streams or iTunes downloads due to the performances being recorded away from the studios as a measure against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Todd Tilghman was announced as the season's winner, marking Blake Shelton's seventh win as a coach and the oldest winner to date in the show's history – following Josh Kaufman for sixth season. For the first time, the first artist in the Blind Auditions went on to win the entire season.
During the finale, Daly forego the announcement of third place but instead proceeding to announce Tilghman winning the season, without revealing the final placements for Thunderstorm Artis or Toneisha Harris. However, through The Voice Twitter page, Harris was revealed to finish as runner-up, making her currently the highest-placed African American female singer in Voice history.
Coaches and hosts
In October 2019, it was announced that Nick Jonas would join the show as a coach for this season replacing Gwen Stefani who left the panel due to her Just a Girl Las Vegas Residency. This is his second appearance, as he was the Battle Advisor for the eighth season for Team Christina. Blake Shelton returned for his eighteenth season as a coach, John Legend for his third, and Kelly Clarkson for her fifth.This season's advisors for the Battles are: Dua Lipa for Team Kelly, Joe and Kevin Jonas for Team Nick, Ella Mai for Team Legend, and Bebe Rexha for Team Blake.
James Taylor served as a mega-mentor for all teams during The Knockouts.
Teams
Color keyBlind Auditions
;Color key| ' | Coach pressed "I WANT YOU" button |
| Artist defaulted to a coach's team | |
| Artist elected a coach's team | |
| Artist was eliminated with no coach pressing their button | |
| ' | Coach pressed the "I WANT YOU" button, but was blocked by Kelly from getting the artist |
| ' | Coach pressed the "I WANT YOU" button, but was blocked by Nick from getting the artist |
| ' | Coach pressed the "I WANT YOU" button, but was blocked by John from getting the artist |
| Coach pressed the "I WANT YOU" button, but was blocked by Blake from getting the artist |
Episode 1 (Feb. 24)
Episode 2 (Feb. 25)
Episode 3 (March 2)
Episode 4 (March 9)
Episode 5 (March 16)
The Coaches performed "Jealous" at the start of the show.The Battles
The advisors for this round are Dua Lipa for Team Kelly, Joe and Kevin Jonas for Team Nick, Ella Mai for Team Legend, and Bebe Rexha for Team Blake. The coaches can steal one losing artist from other coaches and save one losing artist on their team. However, the team coach may only hit their button to save an artist after it is clear that no other coach is going to steal the artist. New this season, the saved artists from the Battle Rounds will appear in a Four-Way Knockout, the winner appearing in the Live Shows. Artists who win their battle or are stolen by another coach advance to the Knockout Rounds.Color key:
| Artist won the Battle and advanced to the Knockouts | |
| Artist lost the Battle but was stolen by another coach and advanced to the Knockouts | |
| Artist lost the Battle but was saved by their coach and advanced to the Four-Way Knockout | |
| Artist lost the Battle and was eliminated |
The Knockouts
In the Knockout Rounds, each coach can steal one losing artist from another team. Artists who win their knockout or are stolen by another coach advance to the Live Playoffs. James Taylor will be serving as a mega mentor for all teams in this round.New this season, each saved artist from the Battle Rounds will go head-to-head in the first-ever Four-Way Knockout. Results for the Four-Way Knockoutare decided by a public vote, with the winner announced during in the first week of Live Shows.
Color key:
| Artist won the Knockout and advanced to the Live Playoffs | |
| Artist lost the Knockout but was stolen by another coach and advanced to the Live Playoffs | |
| Artist lost the Knockout and was eliminated |
Live Remote Shows
This season, the number of weeks of live shows was reduced to three, comprising of the Live Playoffs, the Semifinals, and the Finale.As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, the live shows were changed to remote shows with performances aired pre-recorded performances at the contestants' and coaches' homes. The Instant Save is done via The Voice Official App in the playoffs and semifinals, continuing the shift from Twitter to the Official App that took place in Season 17.
Additionally, the artists did not have available studio versions of their covers released on iTunes or Apple Music, meaning that for the first time since the introduction in season three, there were no streaming votes or bonuses awarded. However, the finalists did have studio versions of their original song and coach duet from the Finale released, although they did not contribute to the artists' vote tally.
Color key:
| Artist was saved by the Public's votes | |
| Artist was saved by his/her coach or was placed in the bottom five | |
| Artist was selected to compete in the Wild Card or won the Wild Card | |
| Artist was saved by the Instant Save | |
| Artist was eliminated |
Week 1: Live Playoffs (May 4 & 5)
The Live Playoff round constituted episodes 12 and 13. For the first time there will be a Top 17. On Monday, James Taylor opened the show with a performance with the remaining Knockouts artists, followed by the announcement of the 4-Way Knockout Winner. The winner joined the Top 17, who all performed live from their homes using a production kit sent to them. Coaches mentored and gave feedback from their homes: Kelly from Montana, Blake from Oklahoma, and both John and Nick from Los Angeles.On Tuesday’s live episode, one artist from each team advanced based on America's vote, and each coach got to save one of their own artists. The remaining artists from each team with the highest votes will have a chance to compete for the Wild Card as seen on season 17. These nine artists advanced to the Semifinals.
| Order | Performers | Song |
| 12.1 | James Taylor and the Top 20 | "Shower the People" |
Week 2: Semifinals (May 11 & 12)
The Semifinals comprised episodes 14 and 15. On Monday, the Top 9 artists performed to the theme of “Dedication Week” with the public vote results being announced on Tuesday. Four artists are eliminated in a new elimination format: one artist from a team with a higher vote will immediately advance to the Top 5, leaving the remaining five artists to compete for the final spot in the finals via Instant Save.With the advancement of Thunderstorm Artis to the finale, Nick Jonas became the fifth new coach to successfully coach an artist on his team to the finale on his first attempt as a coach, after Usher, Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, and John Legend.
| Order | Performers | Song |
| 14.1 | Top 9 with coaches | "Everyday People" |
| 14.2 | Kane Brown | "Cool Again" |
| 14.3 | Doja Cat | "Say So" |
| 14.4 | James Taylor and Henry Taylor | "Moon River" |
Week 3: Finale (May 18 & 19)
The final 5 performed on Monday, May 18, 2020, with the final results following on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. In the first episode of the Finale, each artist performed an original song and a cover. In the second episode, each artist performed a duet with their respective coach. For the first time this season, artists had studio versions of their performances released on iTunes and Apple Music, with each artist's original song and coach duet being released; However, unlike in previous seasons, a purchase or stream of these performances did not factor into voting.Todd Tilghman from Team Blake became the first and the only vocalist of the season to reach top 10 on iTunes. His original song's studio recording hit #1 on iTunes Overall Chart and iTunes Country Chart. With both Tilghman and Harris finishing in top two, this marked Shelton his second victory which two of the artists finished in the top two since season three.
| Coach | Artist | Order | Solo Song | Order | Original Song | Order | Duet Song | Result |
| John Legend | CammWess | 1 | "Purple Rain" | 7 | "Save It For Tomorrow" | 13 | "Rocket Man" | Fourth place |
| Blake Shelton | Todd Tilghman | 2 | "I Can Only Imagine" | 6 | "Long Way Home" | 11 | "Authority Song" | Winner |
| Kelly Clarkson | Micah Iverson | 8 | "Chasing Cars" | 3 | "Butterflies" | 15 | "I Run to You" | Fifth place |
| Nick Jonas | Thunderstorm Artis | 10 | "What a Wonderful World" | 4 | "Sedona" | 12 | "You'll Be in My Heart" | Third place |
| Blake Shelton | Toneisha Harris | 5 | "Faithfully" | 9 | "My Superhero" | 14 | "Don't Stop" | Runner-up |
| Order | Performers | Song |
| 16.1 | Top 5 Finalists | "Shine" |
| 18.1 | CeeLo Green, Shakira, Bebe Rexha, Coaches, and Top 9 | "Let My Love Open the Door" |
| 18.2 | Jonas Brothers ft. Karol G | "X" |
| 18.3 | John Legend | "Conversations in the Dark" / "All of Me" |
| 18.4 | Lady Antebellum | "Champagne Night" |
| 18.5 | Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani | "Nobody but You" |
| 18.6 | Kelly Clarkson | "I Dare You" |
| 18.7 | Kevin Farris, Lauren Duski, Jacob Maxwell, Alexa Cappelli, Jake Hoot, Mike Jerel, Ricky Duran, Britton Buchanan | "What the World Needs Now Is Love" |
| 18.8 | Nick Jonas | "Until We Meet Again" |
| 18.9 | Bon Jovi | "Limitless" |
Elimination chart
Overall
;Color key;Artist's info
;Result details
Teams
;Color key;Artist's info
;Results details
Artists who appeared on other shows or in previous seasons
- Emily Bass auditioned for season seventeen, but did not get a chair turn. She is the fourth contestant, after Sonia Rao, Odiseas Georgiadis, and Luna Searles to be rejected twice, the third to be rejected twice in different seasons, and the first to be rejected in back-to-back seasons.
- Zach Day auditioned for season thirteen of American Idol but was cut in the Hollywood Rounds.
- Brittney Allen appeared on season ten of America's Got Talent but was eliminated in the Judge Cuts Round.
Ratings