'The Voice' Continues With Historic Live Rounds, Quarantine Style

TV singing competition junkies have gotten a taste of how the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic-directed "new normal" will be recently, watching how American Idol handled socially distanced performances from its contestants. The Voice had a good deal of its rounds pre-taped, thus dodging any needed adjustments for a bit longer than Idol, but for Monday (May 4)'s broadcast, showrunners moved from traditional live rounds to a quarantine-approved format.

The Voice isn't doing anything all that different than AI is in filming performers at their respective residences.

"This is how it's going to work tonight," explained host Carson Daly from his own pad. "The Top 17 have created their performances at home; we recorded them earlier to make sure everybody's got a fair shot, and you're going to get to see them sing, and you will vote overnight for your favorites."

So, it's business as usual, with a few twists. Coach Blake Shelton beamed in from his house in Oklahoma, noting that he had girlfriend and former The Voice coach Gwen Stefani ("the most expensive" hair and makeup pro, he called her) tending to his look.

"I don't hate this part of what's happening," he admitted. "To be able to work from home? I've never been able to do that."

Meanwhile, fellow coaches Nick Jonas and John Legend checked in from Los Angeles, Calif., while coach Kelly Clarkson was holding down the fort in Montana. "Being a working parent with three children running around has been challenging," she confessed.

If American Idol went through a learning curve with its at-home shows, those lessons translated nicely to The Voice's production efforts. As with Idol, the contestants were shown in split-screen, Zoom-style windows while talking to their coaches and singing with backing vocalists.

Standout performances from Monday night included Team Kelly's Mandi Thomas letting it go on Lee Ann Womack's signature "I Hope You Dance," a daring Team Blake cover of Clarkson's "Stronger" by Toneisha Harris, and fan fave Todd Tilghman taking on the '80s classic "Glory of Love" by Peter Cetera

The ranks will be cut down to nine on Tuesday's (May 5) results show. The Voice airs at 8PM ET on NBC.

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