NBC'due south, 'The Voice' (and America) have a race problem

A blueprint of white finalists beating out finalists of color has emerged in recent years

"The Voice" crowned its 19th winner concluding night — 15-year-sometime Carter Rubin of Squad Gwen. While the night was historic because Rubin became the youngest male to ever win the show, it was likewise predictable. Of the 19 "Voice" champions, Rubin is one of 15 white champions.

This would make sense if in that location were no finalists of color in the running. However, there were two finalists of color — Desz from Team Kelly and John Vacation from Team Legend. These two singers came in fourth and fifth respectively.

Inforgraphic by Emily DiSalvo

One could endeavour to justify this by saying that Rubin was simply more talented. I would take that statement if information technology wasn't the example that in Season 18, both the runner-upward, third and fourth place Black finalists lost to a white singer. I would call both of these instances a fluke if not for the fact that in Season 17, the quaternary place finalist was Black and in Season 15, both the third and fourth finalists were Black.

A person of color has not won "The Vocalisation" since Chris Blue in Flavor 12. And Blue was the showtime person of color to win since Season 5 which aired in 2013.

What is going on?

Showtime, information technology'southward important to note who chooses the finalists. While leading upwardly to the finale, the coaches on the show have a chance to save singers and decide who advances to the finale, ultimately, the viewers vote for the winner of "The Vox." The viewers are able to cast votes on "The Phonation" app and on the website. And then while coaches are regularly picking singers of color to advance to the finale, time and time again, the voters are not sending them to victory.

1 possible reason could be that on "The Voice," in that location has been very rarely more than than one coach of colour at a fourth dimension. For example, in Season nineteen that just wrapped upwards, John Legend was the just coach of colour. The other three were white. This was the same in all of the seasons except for about 5 seasons when combinations of Shakira, Jennifer Hudson, Usher and Pharell Williams lined upwards.

The lack of consequent coaches of color may have deterred some people of color from tuning into the show and voting for more diverse winners.

Another possibility is simply the loyalty of the country music viewers on the show. Blake Shelton, a country vocalist, is the only bus to be on the prove for all 19 seasons, and he has won seven times — more any other double-decker.

The show'due south focus on land music, a genre which has ties to the antebellum south, may also deter Black viewers who yearn to mind to music that is a better representation of them.

Either way, I am securely disappointed by this pattern of Americans electing white people equally the winner of "The Voice." The fact that simply one adult female of colour has won "The Voice" in nineteen seasons is very sad and scary. The fact that this happened in 2013 is even scarier. The concluding 7 winners of the show have been white. This is just unreasonable given the number of people of colour that fabricated the finale.

Last night, I cast my vote for Holiday, the fifth place winner. Holiday is a professionally trained opera vocaliser and voice teacher at a academy, but he is not a textbook singer and doesn't just stick to opera. He sang a breathtaking version of Beyoncé's "Halo" for the finale show that should accept motivated America to vote for him.

On pinnacle of Holiday being a Black human on the one Black coaches' squad, he is openly gay. Did that play a role in why he came in fifth  — last of the finalists? I do non know. What I do know is that the American people that shy away from female presidents and take merely elected 1 Black president despite our population being nearly l% people of color are the same American people electing "The Voice" champion.

What is my recommendation? Since NBC can't singlehandedly cure racism, if "The Voice" wants to diversify viewership and the winners, it needs to bring on a more diverse coaching staff. I love Shelton, but he's been there forever. Permit's bring in Jimmie Allen, a immature Black state singer who is breaking barriers in the genre. How nigh Lizzo? Megan Thee Stallion? There are a multitude of brilliant artists of colour to choose from.

I am writing this article non considering I have all the answers or because I think Rubin doesn't accept a great voice. He does.

I am writing this commodity considering deep downward I feel that the reason singers like Vacation lost has something more than to practice with their skin color than their singing voices. And that's just not OK.