The Voice UK has another winner after Anthonia Edwards won the final on Saturday night, as viewers called for ITV to change the format of the show so they could vote.
After starting life as a BBC show back in 2012, The Voice has been a constant presence on TV screens for a decade now, with ITV securing a deal to take it on 2015. Airing in a primetime Saturday night slot, the programme is a favourite for many families across the country and on Saturday night, eventual champion Anthonia battled it out against rivals David, Naomi and Mark for the 2022 title.
Each of the finalists had a chance to perform a solo number, before the sections many fans were looking forward to - the coaches duets. The collaborations round saw Mark and Anne-Marie sing Spice Girls' number 1 Viva Forever together; Olly Murs sing Elton John and George Michael classic Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me with David; Naomi and Will.I.Am team up on Beyonce's Crazy in Love, before winner Anthonia and her mentor Sir Tom Jones duetting on It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World.
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Once the duets ended, the competition was halved from four to two, with the studio audience and a virtual audience deciding the outcome. After making it into the final two, David and Anthonia both performed what would be their winner's single, with David covering Rihanna's Diamonds, before Anthonia rounded out proceedings with Anyone.
The audiences then voted again, before host Emma Willis announced that Anthonia had triumphed, with her song being made available to download after the show finished. While plenty of people flocked to Twitter to congratulate Anthonia and declare her a deserved winner, many viewers wanted to know why they weren't allowed to vote.
One quipped: "There's a pattern going on in the UK at the moment where the public don't get to vote. Didn't get to vote for our Prime Minister or the Winner of the Voice," with another reacting: "It’s good to see that #TheVoice is keeping up with current affairs by voting a winner of a contest internally in which the public don’t get a say in hmmm strangely familiar."
A third tweeted: "What is the point of The Voice UK now? The public don't vote, the whole thing is over in 9 weeks, nobody remembers last year's winner. At least the US version lasts longer and gives more singers a chance. It seems to exist purely for the chair turns and nothing else." And, another threw a suggestion in ITV's direction, commenting: " @itv The Voice will never reach the heights of X Factor as long as you record the whole series over a few days in the spring/summer. You need to have live shows and a public vote. Who cares otherwise??!!"
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