'The Voice' Coaches Drop a Mind-Boggling Change Ahead of the Season 22 Knockouts

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After 22 seasons of The Voice, fans have become accustomed to the NBC show's elimination formula ahead of the live shows. But it looks like viewers are about to get a shakeup, surprising coaches Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Camila Cabello and John Legend as well.

Ahead of tonight's episode, The Voice dropped major news about what to expect from this season's knockout rounds. Instead of having two contestants go head-to-head for a chance to make it to the live episodes, the series announced three contenders would be singing during each performance to narrow the competition down further than ever before.

"It's the first yes FIRSTTTT ever 3way KNOCKOUTS!!!!!!!!" the show's official Instagram wrote on Twitter. "We're so scared lol you have to see them MONDAY."

When The Voice announced the big twist on Instagram, it was clear everyone was shocked by the turn of events as well. Even Blake (a.k.a. the show's resident prankster) couldn't believe what was happening. "Terrible, this is terrible," he told host Carson Daly on the show. "It is the hardest decisions that I've ever had to make."

The Voice fans were equally startled by the change and shared their reactions all over social media. "Why this format, to shorten the season? 😮," a viewer inquired on Instagram. "I can’t wait for this ❤️ this is going be so sad and hard ❤️," another person wrote. "Well this looks like it's gonna be a good shake up, looking forward to it," a different follower added on Twitter.

Now, you may be wondering how the knockout rounds will work with a third person added to the mix. TV Insider reported that the next set of battles will be formatted similarly to previous years. Each Voice hopeful will sing a song chosen by their respective coach, with the option of being stolen by another team after their performance. The only difference is the more contestants with each round, the more difficult the decision to move someone forward will be.

Curious to see how the newly-formatted knockout rounds will play out? Luckily NBC shared a sneak peek from Team Blake ahead of tonight, featuring Bodie, Kevin Hawkins and The Dryes contending for a sought after spot during the live shows:

So who will stay or who will go? We'll be on the edge of our seats to find out soon!

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