The Voice hit by voting scandal... as live elimination round narrows the field down to final 12 singers

PUBLISHED: 01:48 EST, 9 May 2013 | UPDATED: 02:37 EST, 9 May 2013

The live elimination round of The Voice got off to a rocky start on Wednesday as host Carson Daly announced a voting scandal.

The hit NBC singing competition experienced inconsistencies in this week's texting and online voting, Daly told a nationwide audience.

Jason George, the British CEO of vote-tallying firm Telescope, stood next to Daly as viewers were told that text and online voting were not included in the voting results.

Voting scandal: The Voice host Carson Daly opened the live elimination round on Wednesday night by announcing online and text votes had been tossed out due to irregularities

'Here's the good news. Telescope certifies that removing those votes did not effect the outcome,' Daly said.

Los Angeles-based Telescope also has provided vote-counting services for Fox's American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance and X Factor.

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'We quickly identified the problem and were able to take steps to make sure it doesn't reoccur,' George said.

Team Shakira: Garret Gardner, far left, Karina Iglesias and Kris Thomas, awaited their fate after learning Sasha Allen had been voted in by fans

Divine inspiration: Shakira said she sought help from a higher power to make her decision

The show moved ahead despite the voting scandal with the four judges of Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Usher and Shakira winnowing the field from 16 to 12.

Each team had two singers saved by the fan votes that were counted and each judge picked one of their remaining two team members to advance.

Team Shakira saw Sasha Allen and Kris Thomas saved by voters. Team Blake: Fans voted in Holly Tucker and left Danielle Bradbury, far left, Justin Rivers and The Swon Brothers to sweat it out

Team Blake: Fans voted in Holly Tucker and left Danielle Bradbury, far left, Justin Rivers and The Swon Brothers to sweat it out

Shakira grappled over whether to save Garrett Gardner or Karina Iglesias and based her decision on who she could help the most.

'Garrett, I think I can make you improve a lot more so I'm going to save you,' Shakira said.

Blake saw Holly Tucker and Danielle Bradbury saved by voters and had to decide between Justin Rivers and The Swon Brothers. Swan song?: The Swon Brothers found themselves facing elimination from coach Blake Shelton

Swan song?: The Swon Brothers found themselves facing elimination from coach Blake Shelton

Tough decision: Blake wrestled over his decision on which talent to save

He chose the The Swon Brothers to keep 'things as different and diverse as I can for my team.'

Michelle Chamuel and Vedo were saved by the fans on Team Usher and he had to choose between 19-year-old Latina singer Cathia and Josiah Hawley.

He ended up going with Josiah.

Team Usher: Cathia, far left, Josiah Hawley, Michelle Chamuel and Vedo, ar right, were on the team at the start of the night

Surprising finalists: Usher said he wasn't expecting to choose between Cathia and Josiah

Adam saw power singer Judith Hill and Amber Carrington saved and had to pick between Sarah Simmons and Caroline Glaser.

'This is killing me right now,' Adam said as Daly reminded him that time was running out.

'Sara. I have to save Sarah,' he finally blurted out.

The show featured performances by former host Cee Lo Green and rock legend Rod Stewart.

Special guest: Former host Cee Lo Green returned and performed

Rock legend: Rod Stewart appeared on the show and sang two songs

Team Adam: Amber Carrington, far left, Caroline Glaser, Judith Hill and Sarah Simmons hold hands as they wait for the voting results

Running out of time: Adam nearly ran out of time trying to make his decision

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So no one thought to have a picture of this Sasha girl that did get through then DM??? Guess the photographer had to run of to get a shot of Kim Kardashian leaving an airport, you know the one shot they never seem to be able to get aye!

- LloydCode5 , Maida Vale, United Kingdom, 10/5/2013 02:32

Click to rate Rating 4

identify if a story is a USA based story. - crashcris , london ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Let's see, it's under the US Showbiz heading. In my humble opinion, that's a means of identifying the article. Which part of US Showbiz being a USA based story do you not understand?

- LyndaB , Naugatuck USA, 09/5/2013 18:02

Click to rate Rating 2

DM ceelo was a coach not a host

- makesomedoe , Belfast, United Kingdom, 09/5/2013 17:45

Click to rate Rating 6

iNXS I watch all the VOICEs - UK USA and Aus - and I like them all for different reasons. One doesn't 'knock spots' off the others. They are all entertaining shows with diverse talent and engaging judges.

- ladyjbritish , NC, 09/5/2013 16:58

Click to rate Rating 2

It's time for DM to produce a UK version of this website and identify if a story is a USA based story. - crashcris , london, 09/5/2013 10:45 My page shows this story on the tab "US Showbiz". If you stick to "UK News: and "UK Showbiz" tabs you may be safe from information from the US. I wonder why you would select to read an article you are not interested in and then go on to take the time to comment on it. Better use of time would be to read the first few lines if you clicked on it by accident and then move on.......or are you just needing to be grumpy?

- metoo , Here, United States, 09/5/2013 16:47

Click to rate Rating 6

Yawn

- Sable , Here, United Kingdom, 09/5/2013 14:47

Click to rate Rating 8

This show runs in France too & whilst I enjoy it & respect all the judges I still feel as though the judging is manipulated, be that public votes or who the judges save.

- DD , Kindle Ville, France, 09/5/2013 14:37

Click to rate Rating 5

I agree. Why should we care about this DM? It has nothing to do with us...If its a slow news day and you need to fill your site then there are many a Zlister out there who are prepared to have open heart surgery 'On camera' just to get a mention in your paper

- Jon , glasgow, 09/5/2013 12:39

Click to rate Rating 7

The Voice USA knocks spots of the UK Version. Seriously.... Watch it and you will be a convert.

- iNXS , The land downunder, Australia, 09/5/2013 12:31

Click to rate Rating 36

I guess it's too much of an effort to glance up and see which section this article is published under. If you had, you might have noticed it is in the 'U.S. Showbiz' section and saved yourself some grief.

- Jim , Gilbert, 09/5/2013 11:46

Click to rate Rating 49

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