The semifinals of NBC’s reality singing competition The Voice are rapidly approaching, with top eight contestants Gina Miles, Ryley Tate, Grace West, Noivas, Ray Uriel, Sorelle, D. Smooth, and Holly Brand each vying for the season 23 crown. Notably, the currently airing season of The Voice will mark Blake Shelton’s final outing as a judge, departing a panel that this year includes Kelly Clarkson, Chance the Rapper and Niall Horan.
The semi-finals
For his part, Shelton has guided current contestants Grace West and Noivas, who respectively sung the tracks Love is Alive and Come Together to earn their place in the top eight. Elsewhere, four-chair turner Ryley Tate Wilson and singer Gina Miles comprise Horan’s batch of semi-finalists, while Clarkson touts hopefuls D. Smooth and Holly Brand. Chance The Rapper’s team of Sorelle and Ray Uriel rounds out The Voice’s top eight.
The semi-finals of The Voice aired on Monday, and marked a power shift in the competition as contenders for the finals were selected by the audience for the first time this season. According to Gold Derby, the semi-finals episode was marked by multiple standing ovations, and kicked off with Wilson’s performance of Vienna by Billy Joel. Uriel then covered Can You Stand the Rain by New Edition, followed by Brand’s rendition of Reba McEntire’s Rumor Has It.
The Voice stage then welcomed Noivas, Miles, Sorelle and D. Smooth, who performed Skyfall, All I Want, Fallin and Thinking Out Loud, respectively. West finalised the performances with Tammy Wynette’s ‘Til I Can Make It on My Own, before the audience began casting their votes for the finals. This year, audience members are permitted only one vote per email address for any of the semi-finalists, with the winners announced at the end of the episode.
Semi-finals voting
Votes can be cast via The Voice’s official website or its app. The voting window is only five minutes, with voters in the East Coast and Central time zones learning in real time when the voting window opens. Those in the West Coast and Mountain time zones will have to rely on social media to let them know when to start voting. As the real-time voting window closed on the semi-finals, The Voice host Carson Daly announced which five contestants will be proceeding to the finals.
How to vote for The Voice grand finals
Grace West and Noivas from Team Blake, D.Smooth from Team Kelly, Gina Miles from Team Niall, Sorelle from Team Chance were named as the top-five finalists moving forward to next week’s finale, with Ryley Tate Wilson, Ray Uriel and Holly Brand exiting the competition. Voting for next week’s decider (May 22) will be a little different, as the overnight voting window opens at the end of the show.
Audiences can cast their votes within that window until the ballot closes at exactly 4 a.m. PT/ 7 a.m. ET on May 23, after which the winner will be announced during a two-hour final episode on May 23. Votes during this period can again be cast via The Voice’s official website or its app. The season 23 finale will air live on NBC on Tuesday, May 23, or is available to stream the next day on Peacock.