The Voice (American TV series) season 10

Live shows

The Live Shows comprised seven weeks, beginning with the Live Playoffs (episodes 14, 15, and 16). Twenty-four artists performed; the top two per team advanced by public vote, while the bottom four competed for the coaches' save. From weeks two to five, the two artists with the fewest votes faced an Instant Save, with one eliminated each week until the semifinals. iTunes bonus multipliers were awarded to Adam Wakefield and Alisan Porter in various weeks; none reached the top 10 on iTunes in week three.

The Instant Save in week five was the second closest in show history, with Paxton and Nick tied for most of the voting window; Paxton was saved by a difference of nearly 100 votes. In the semifinals, four artists were eliminated: the top three advanced to the finals, the bottom two were eliminated, and the middle three competed in an Instant Save. Duets were performed but not available for purchase. iTunes bonus multipliers went to Wakefield, Porter, Hannah Huston, Mary Sarah, Bryan Bautista, and Laith Al-Saadi.

All four coaches had an artist in the finals for the first time since seasons 1 and 2. Pink served as a mentor for the semifinalists.

Controversy and criticism

The show faced controversy over Katherine Ho, a contestant on Team Adam, who became the second contestant in the show's history to reach the third round while having all her performances—Blind Audition, Battle, and Knockout—montaged (not shown in full). According to Matt Carter, this was frustrating because it eliminated the purpose of the show; Ho's Battle Round performance with Caroline Burns was not really shown, placing her in a similar situation to Rebekah Samarin from season 7. Carter noted that Ho made it far enough that she could not audition again yet received little publicity, and that it was not even known what song she sang in her final performance.

Artists who appeared on previous shows or seasons

Alisan Porter, who won Star Search at age five, is best remembered for playing the title role in the 1991 film Curly Sue. Mary Sarah earned second place in the Teen Category of the 2010 International Songwriting Competition with her original song "New Crush." Támar Davis competed on Star Search both as a member of Girl's Tyme and as a solo performer, and she also tried out for American Idol's fourth season. Bryan Bautista, Caroline Burns, Joe Maye, and Natalie Yacovazzi each auditioned for the ninth season of The Voice without getting any coaches to turn around.

Maddie Poppe, who also failed to turn a chair this season, later won the sixteenth season of American Idol. Jonathan Bach appeared on the eighteenth season of American Idol and was cut during Hollywood Week. Malik Heard reached the Top 26 on the twenty-first season of American Idol, then joined the boyband Soulidified on Building the Band, where they finished in third place. Brianna Mazzola, after not turning a chair this season, became a member of the girl group 3Quency on Building the Band, which went on to win the competition.

Did You Know?

• Miley Cyrus served as an advisor for all teams during the Knockouts and later became a coach the following season.
• The advisors for the Battles were Tori Kelly for Team Adam, Sean 'Diddy' Combs for Team Pharrell, Patti LaBelle for Team Christina, and Gwen Stefani for Team Blake.