Did Adam Levine And Maroon 5’s Performance Of ‘Animals’ Hurt ‘The Voice’?

It’s playoff time on NBC’s hit TV show The Voice, and Adam Levine is showing the contenders how it’s done! Adam joined his band mates for a full on rendition of their controversial hit song “Animals” on Monday.

On The Voice, the playoffs showcase live performances from each contestants, and the two contestants with the highest number of votes on each team are guaranteed to move on to the next round. Each coach has the opportunity to rescue a third team member, ultimately lowering the number of artists in contention from 20 to 12.

“Performing live may seem like the same old, same old, but it’s much more intense than the pretaped rounds of the show,” Katrina Parker, a former contestant on The Voice mentions in her weekly blog for Entertainment Weekly. “Knowing so many people are tuning in and analyzing every detail of your performance in real time, all while singing to a room packed with people? It feels uncomfortably small and endlessly large at the same time.”

But while the focus should be on the contestants, getting to know their personalities better and learning how they hold up under pressure, ultimately, as Parker sums up, the attention is “totally” on the judges.

Which may explain why The Voice has yet to really have a breakout star unlike it’s main competitor, American Idol. Levine himself, in a candid interview with Rolling Stone, dished on those very problems earlier this year:

“Millions… watch the show every week and fall in love with a singer, then you don’t hear much from them. We haven’t had a breakout success like Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood. [The show is] very successful, but it’s got a ways to go.”

And while Adam was quoted as saying his remarks were taken out of context, according to a report by the Inquisitr, the fact remains that having Maroon 5 up on stage belting out “Animals” is sure to take attention away from the up-and-coming artists onstage struggling to make a name for themselves and win the competition. On top of that, “Animals” in and of itself is bound to draw attention because of the controversial video that accompanied its release.

As reported by the Inquisitr, Maroon 5’s “Animals” came under fire for glorifying stalking by many women’s groups, including RAINN. And while it has received unlikely support from organizations such as PETA, overall the Maroon 5 song is likely to continue to be a lightning rod for controversy.

And in the long run, that only serves to enhance Maroon 5’s buzz and not the The Voice at all.

[Adam Levine photo via The Daily Mail]