“The Voice” Scandal: Backlash Against Star Judge Adam Levine as Teenagers are Allowed to Compete Against Adults — And Win!

I know I may sound naive, but why are teenagers competing against adults on “The Voice”?

Currently the show has four underage girls performing to win on the popular NBC show and one boy. They are Reagan Strange, age 14; Sarah Grace, age 15; Emily Hough., age 16; Mercedes Ferreira-Dias, 17; and Anthony Arya, 16.

The result has been mayhem this week as star judge Adam Levine eliminated an adult male, DeAndre Nico, who is 22, in favor of 14 year old Strange. Strange couldn’t sing live because of a cold or the flu. Nico sung like a star. But Levine decided he had to protect Strange (what a name– we needed her in the 80s), and dismissed Nico.

The social media audience, the live audience, and his other judges (Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson) were very upset. So was Nico. It was quite weird, too, as Nico is poised for a career, and Strange is ready to take tests in 7th grade, at best.

I’m not an expert on “The Voice.” Maybe this happened before. But it does seem as though these children– they are children– are being put in an unnecessary situation. Couldn’t there be a “Voice, Junior”? Isn’t this the equivalent of a beauty pageant, a la Jon Benet Ramsey?

Plus, the teens’ voices are certainly not as developed the singers in their 20s or 30s, nor do they have the emotional heft.

Levine, who hasn’t won a “Voice” competition in 6 seasons with one of his team players, ironically lost big time. After he threw out Nico, the audience voted out Strange. Now Levine, who is held as the star judge, has no players in “The Voice” finale.

Nico, meantime, needs a manager and a record label contract ASAP.