A new batch of starry-eyed singers pray the judges will spin their chairs

The Voice ★★★

The business of making a TV talent show in the 21st century is one of reinventing the wheel. When first Popstars and then the Idol franchise conquered the world 20-odd years ago, it seemed like a sparkly new age dawning, but of course what had really happened was that a format as old as time had been dressed up, pumped up and shot full of adrenalin.

Here in 2023, The Voice – with original Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian on deck as a judge – is likewise tasked with finding a way to seem fresh. We’ve kind of all seen it before, haven’t we? But the counterpoint to that is that the very fact the show is still here, in its 12th season, means that seeing it all before is not necessarily a great impediment to success when you’re dealing with talented people with big dreams – the attraction at the heart of any talent show.

Still, every show needs a point of difference, and The Voice’s is obviously the nature of the “blind auditions” at the start of the series, when the judges first listen to the auditioners with their back turned, hitting the button to spin their chairs only when the voice they’re hearing impresses them enough to convince them they’d like to hear more. It’s a gimmick, but it’s a powerful one, because the moment of hitting that button generates a brilliant visual to base the show’s brand on, while also bringing tension and drama to each audition: will they turn or won’t they?

The judges on this season of The Voice are Sebastian, fellow ex-Idoler Jessica Mauboy, English singer Rita Ora and American star Jason Derulo. The imports are clearly what the show considers its star attractions, particularly Derulo, whose status as a global megastar is heavily hyped at the start of the series. And fair enough too: if you’ve got a star, you have to talk it up. None of the four are has-beens, although there’s no doubt that Ora and Derulo are bringing more rockstar glamour than the wholesome duo of Sebastian and Mauboy.

When it comes to making their pitch to contestants, they play the game well: Derulo brings brash swagger and Ora smooth confidence while the Aussie pair are, in line with their national character, far more understated. There’s a definite feeling that Sebastian and Mauboy, having gone through the reality wringer themselves, approach their task with more earnest dedication to duty than Derulo and Ora, who know they’ve been brought in to make sparks fly and duly do so. The Aussies are the caring careers teachers: the Yank and the Brit are the motivational speakers who come to school once a year.

There are times when it’s easy to giggle at how the judges, who are there to do a job and – let’s be honest – in it for the money, overblow their role and the artificial “rivalries” between them. But these are overshadowed by moments of sincerity, when the heart of the show is revealed. That’s why The Voice is at its best at the start of the series, when there’s been no coaching, no grooming, no strategising: the judges are simply encountering people at the very start of their journey, probably seeing a little of themselves once upon a time.