Premiering on , on NBC, the show arrived as a breath of fresh air in a reality TV landscape dominated by American Idol . The premise was simple but revolutionary: judge contestants based solely on their voice during a blind audition.

That’s debatable. But it was certainly the most experimental. If you go back and watch the 2011 episodes today, you’ll see how raw, nervous, and genuine the whole production felt compared to the polished machine it is now.

Here is everything you need to know about the season that started it all.

Before the spinning chairs became iconic, before the "Block" button existed, and before the coaches had their own branded teams, there was .

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