‘The Voice’ Fans Slam the New Block Button

The Voice‘s new block button is not being positively received by fans.

Season 14’s blind audition process was shaken up by the introduction of the new tool, which coaches can use to prevent another coach from getting a contestant. The block button can be used once by each coach. When they press it, a singer can not choose a coach’s team no matter how much they want to.

Some were willing to give the twist a chance, but that did not last long. Many lashed out on social media after coach Blake Shelton blocked Adam Levine from grabbing the show’s first singer, Britton Buchanan.

Buchanan confessed that he was a big fan of Levine, so Shelton essentially blocked him from choosing the coach he desired.

Fans quickly blasted the twist as being detrimental for the aspiring young artists.

“This blocked button is bad for the contestants, right?” fan Kelsey Laager‏ wrote. “Why would The Voice want to reduce the options for the contestant?”

Viewer Margaret Adelle added, “Imagine being a singer desperate to get picked by a certain coach and they actually turn for you… and then they get blocked.”

A common argument from fans was that it took power/focus away from the contestants and gave it to the famous coaches. Many think the best part of The Voice is the up-and-coming talent and not the coaches’ antics.

“[The button is] ruining the basic premise of the show,” one fan wrote. “The artist should be the focus, not the coaches and it’s not fun that they could be blocked from picking who they really want to work with. Hope it’s a one-and-done twist thing.”

Another fan added, “The Voice blocked button is bulls—. The show should be about the singers not the coaches.”

The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Photo Credit: NBC / Trae Patton