The ninth season of The Voice began airing on 24 May 2020.[1] For the first time in the show's history all of the coaches returned: Delta Goodrem for her eighth, Kelly Rowland and Boy George for their fourth and Guy Sebastian for his second. Following the exit of Sonia Kruger, Darren McMullen, who hosted the first four seasons, returns with new co-host, Renee Bargh.
Chris Sebastian from Team Kelly won the competition on 19 July 2020, marking the second All-Star to win, as well as Kelly Rowland's second and final victory as a coach.
Right after the end of the eighth season, the series was renewed for a ninth season and was announced that all coaches would return the new season.[2]Darren McMullen, who exited as host following the conclusion of the fourth season, returns as host, alongside new co-host Renee Bargh, following the exit of Sonia Kruger.[3][4]
In June 2020 the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Marcia Hines and The Veronicas were to fill in as guest mentors for Rowland and Boy George respectively, who will be mentoring their acts remotely from the US and UK because of travel restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
Teams[]
Colour key
Winner
Finalist
Eliminated in the Semifinals
Eliminated in the Showdowns
Eliminated in the Playoffs
Artist was saved in the Battle rounds by their coach or another coach
Note: Italicized names are saved artists (names struck through within former teams). Bolded names are artist chosen as Wildcards.
Due to COVID-19 and international travel restrictions, Caleb Jago-Ward and Ella Monnery could not travel from New Zealand to perform in the Playoffs. Elyse Sene-Lefao and Jimi the Kween were chosen to replace them, respectively.
Blind auditions[]
In the Blind Auditions, each coach had to complete their teams with 12 contestants. New this season, each coach had two Blocks to prevent another of the coaches from getting a contestant.[6]
Season nine blind auditions colour key
✔
Coach hit the "I WANT YOU" button
Artist defaulted to this team
Artist elected to join this team
Coach pressed "I WANT YOU" button, despite the lack of places in his/her team, and artist picked a coach's team
Artist eliminated with no coach pressing "I WANT YOU" button
Artist received a 'Four-Chair Turn'.
Artist is an 'All Star' contestant.
✘
Coach pressed the "I WANT YOU" button, but was blocked by Guy from getting the artist
✘
Coach pressed the "I WANT YOU" button, but was blocked by Delta from getting the artist
✘
Coach pressed the "I WANT YOU" button, but was blocked by Boy George from getting the artist
✘
Coach pressed the "I WANT YOU" button, but was blocked by Kelly from getting the artist
Guy turned his chair for Wolf Winters despite already having a full team. Producers allowed him to keep Wolf as the 13th member of his team with the condition of losing two artists in a three-way battle in the next round.[7]
Battle rounds[]
The Battle rounds started on 21 June. The coaches can save two losing artists from any team, including their own. Contestants who win their battle or are saved will advance to the Playoffs.
Season nine battle rounds colour key
Artist won the Battle and advanced to the Playoffs
Artist lost the Battle but was saved by their coach or another coach, and advanced to the Playoffs
Artist lost the Battle and was originally eliminated, however, received the Coach Comeback, advancing to the Playoffs
Delta could not decide on a winner between Janie and Matt. With approval from the producers, she suggested they become a duo, and both artists agreed. The duo adopted the stage name "Goldi".[8]
Playoffs[]
The Playoffs started on 5 July. In the Playoffs, each coach pairs two of their artists together, with each artist singing an individual song following a theme. After all of their team's playoffs were done, the coaches chose one of their losing artists as a wildcard. The top 20 contestants who win their Playoff or are chosen as a Wildcard move on to the Showdowns. Due to COVID-19 and travel restrictions, Kelly and George mentored their artists remotely, with Marcia Hines and The Veronicas filling in as guest mentors respectively. Artists Caleb Jago-Ward from Team George and Ella Monnery from Team Kelly were unable to continue on the competition also due to travel restrictions, being stuck in New Zealand.[9] Coaches George and Kelly were allowed to bring back an eliminated Battle loser to fill in for Caleb and Ella, George choosing Elyse Sene-Lefao and Kelly chose Jimi the Kween.
Season nine playoffs colour key
Artist won the Playoff and advanced to the Showdowns
Artist lost the Playoff but was chosen as a wildcard and advanced to the Showdowns
Kelly opted to take neither Elishia nor Jimi to the Showdowns, with approval from the producers. To even out her team, Kelly was granted an extra wildcard pick.
The Showdowns were first broadcast on 12 and 13 July 2020. Over the two episodes, all artists of the Top 20 take on a solo performance of a song of their choice. Teams Kelly and Guy performing on the first night, with Teams Delta and George performing on the second night. At the end of each episode, the coaches choose two out of their five artists to advance to the Semifinals.
The Semi-finals episode was first broadcast on 14 July 2020. At the end of the episode, the coaches were allowed to take one artist each through to the Grand Finale, which was an exclusive feature of this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This also marks Guy Sebastian's first season with an artist in the Grand Finale.
The Grand Finale was first broadcast on 19 July 2020. Each artist performed a solo song and a duet with their coach, or a guest singer. This was the only episode of the season where the results were determined by public vote and not by the coaches.
Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, Boy George and Kelly could not perform with their artists, so Boy George had The Veronicas sing with Siala, while Kelly had Daryl Braithwaite sing with Chris.
