Tasha Jessen of the Voice

MONDAYS 8/7c AND TUESDAYS 9/8c ABOUT THE VOICE The four-time Emmy Award-winning musical competition series "The Voice" returns with the strongest vocalists from across the country invited to compete in the show's newest season, which premieres March 6. Grammy Award-winning hip-hop star Chance the Rapper and platinum-selling singer-songwriter Niall Horan claim their red chairs alongside returning coaches Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton as they vie to discover and coach the next singing phenomenon. The competition is tougher than ever as Shelton goes for the win in his final season. The show's innovative format features five stages of competition: Blind Auditions, Battle Rounds, Knockouts, Playoffs and Live Performance Shows. During the Blind Auditions, the decisions from the coaches are based solely on voice and not looks. The coaches hear the artists perform but they don't get to see them, thanks to rotating chairs. If a coach is impressed by the artist's voice, they push a button to select the artist for their team. At this point, the coach's chair will swivel so that they can face the artist they selected. If more than one coach pushes the button, the power then shifts to the artist to choose which coach they want to work with. If no one pushes their button, the artist is eliminated from the competition. The artists' family and friends watch their Blind Auditions from side stage with host Carson Daly, cheering on their loved ones and hoping for a coveted chair turn. Returning this season is the block, which adds another layer of coach competition during the Blind Auditions. The coach chairs each have an extra set of buttons with the other three coaches' names on them, which prevents a coach from adding a new artist to his or her team. The coaches can use their block buttons only on one artist for the entire first round of the competition. The blocked coach only discovers they are blocked if they press their button, and though their chair will still turn, their lane lights up with "BLOCKED." If the coach doesn't press their button, the block is still available for another audition. Once the teams are set, the battle is on. The coaches dedicate themselves to developing their team of artists, giving them advice and sharing the secrets of their success. During the Battle Rounds, the coaches will pit two of their own team members against each other to sing the same song together. The artists are vying for their coach's confidence and decision to take them to the next round. After each vocal battle, the coach must choose which of his or her artists will advance to the next round of competition. This season during Battles, the all-new Playoff Pass is at stake. The Playoff Pass will allow both artists in a battle to advance while the Playoff Pass winner gets a huge advantage by skipping the Knockout Rounds and advancing straight to Playoffs, taking them one step closer to Lives. Each coach will have one Playoff Pass to use as well as one steal in the Battles. With the steals in play, a losing artist is available for the other coaches to save and bring onto their own team. Artists who won their battle or were stolen by another coach will advance to the Knockouts, while the four artists with a Playoff Pass will advance straight to Playoffs. In the Knockouts, the artists will be paired against another teammate, but this time they will perform individually while their direct competitors watch and wait. To prepare for this high-pressure competition, the coaches enlist legendary country music icon Reba McEntire as the Mega Mentor to advise all of the artists competing in the Knockouts. Having served as Battle advisor to Team Blake during the show's inaugural season, it's most fitting Reba returns as Blake coaches his final group of artists and bids farewell to the competition. The coaches will choose the winner of each Knockout, and the artist not selected will be available to be stolen by another coach. The pressure is on as each coach will only have one steal in the Knockouts. The Playoffs are back, further bolstering the competition following the Knockouts. The 20 remaining artists hold nothing back and tough decisions are made when each coach can only advance two artists to the live semifinals. The stakes are even higher for the artists because there are no steals available. Once the Live Performance Shows begin, the top artists will compete against each other during live broadcasts. This time, the television audience will vote to save their favorite artist. The live semifinals will be more dramatic than ever because the Top 8 artists will all perform live for a real-time vote, and results will be revealed at the end of that show. After the real-time votes are counted that night, the five artists with the most votes will be revealed and advance to the following week's finale. Those with the lowest number of votes will be sent home. In the end, one artist will be named "The Voice" and will receive the grand prize of a recording contract. "The Voice" is a presentation of MGM Television, Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon, and ITV Studios The Voice USA, Inc. The series was created by John de Mol, who serves as an executive producer along with Mark Burnett, Audrey Morrissey, Amanda Zucker, Kyra Thompson and Adam H. Sher

TASHA JESSON, 21

Team Blake Hometown: Faisalabad, Pakistan Resident: Colorado Springs, CO Tasha started singing at 3 when her parents, who were both recording artists at their church in Pakistan, handed her a microphone. But then, at 12, Tasha and her family left Pakistan and immigrated to Thailand to escape religious persecution. It was a huge culture shock and forced music into the backseat until they found a church community where Tasha became involved in the worship team. In 2016, Tasha met her now-husband, Maverek, who had been a missionary for nine years. Last year, Tasha moved to Colorado Springs, where she lives with her husband and his parents. She and Maverek sing in church and at home, but she rarely gigs, which is why "The Voice" is such a milestone.

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