TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. How M-Net's The Voice SA director Darren Hayward once again pushed further in the 3rd season to create true TV pearl spectaculars - an appreciation.

Like strings of impossibly hovering white pearls they suddenly appeared. Dazzling white orbs of light moving through a pitch black, rigging-flanked sky.

The very best magicians are the ones capable of pulling off such masterful and seamlessly artful illusions, that you forget that you're being tricked and completely come to believe in the immersively conjured-up world of make-believe they create.

South African TV has that in Darren Hayward, the director of The Voice South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) whose découpage live television spectacle brims with glitter, truetone surround-sound and such powerfully choreographed walk-and-talk singing voices that it successfully transports even the most jaded non-believer to a world of must-believe magic.

If there's a 4th season of The Voice SA on M-Net - and there should and must be - M-Net would do well to commission an additional separate episode as a sort of loose standing documentary, to slot in around the end of the season for broadcast.

It should just follows Darren Hayward, fly-on-the-wall style as a behind-the-scenes, making-of special entitled something like The Voice SA - The Director's Cut.

DStv subscribers deserve to see how this TV maestro makes the magic.

Similar to documentaries and series like the ones peeking behind-the-scenes of HBO's Game of Thrones, Oprah's final season and Netflix's Formula 1: Drive to Survive looking behind the veil of Formula One, a camera following Darren Hayward to show the ups and downs, crises and triumphs, stress and drama, and the challenges and beauty of putting episodes of The Voice South Africa together, is really a must.

It would be highly enjoyable to see.

Did you see the pyrotechnics? The moving balls in the sky? Did you notice how everything from bands and their instruments, grand pianos, backup dancers, and even pop-up light fixtures glide across the stage for musical numbers in perfectly (and intricately) choreographed musical numbers - only to seamlessly disappear the next?

It looks like sheer magic - and that's the successful aim - but it's part of insane prep work beforehand and a dazzling number of in-production moves by many people, executed in literally seconds, similar to the tyre changes that mark Formula 1 pit stop perfection.

The man behind this all is director Darren Hayward, who not only sells you a TV dream but makes you believe it.

To step into Darren Hayward's dazzling creations for the weekly episodes of The Voice during the third season on M-Net was once again like being Mickey Mouse entering Disney's 1940-Fantasia: living video art for the ages.

While The Voice SA is a TV show primarily for DStv subscribers and their home viewing consumption, Darren Hayward manages to achieve the near-impossible: a live TV show that is as utterly mesmerizing and great to watch in person as one of the seated audience members, as what it is to watch it on a flat TV screen.

Very rarely - simply due to logistics and technical specifications - can a show be done in an excellent way on-stage as a theatre production and simultaneously translate to be great as a 16:9 two-dimensional home theatre experience.

The Voice SA on M-Net is that rarity.

Pearl divers are special.

With just one breath, fearlessly, they're willing to dive far deeper than the rest of us, grabbing what they can, and bringing mulluscs to the surface. They open up the spectacular bits of beauty that they find, for all the world to see.

Darren Hayward once again dove deeper than ever before to find and properly showcase the beauty contained within the third season of The Voice SA on M-Net - beauty that's only attainable when you're able to hold your breath, dive deeper and stretch even further in the ever-onward search for TV pearl perfection.

ALSO READ: Tasché Burger from Brackenfell in Cape Town wins the 3rd season of The Voice South Africa on M-Net.
ALSO READ: 6 things we've learned about The Voice SA from M-Net's press conference after the third season finalé.

IN IMAGES. 18 photos of the new stage for the live shows of the 3rd season of The Voice South Africa on M-Net.

On Thursday night M-Net (DStv 101) and The Voice South Africa revealed to a select group of media, the new stage, it's latest audio-visual set-up, as well as a brand-new state-of-the-art sound system installed inside the auditorium for the live performances and live broadcast part of the third season.

The show once again upgraded the look and sound of its stage set-up for the third season of The Voice SA - produced by BlackSwanMedia and based on the international Talpa format with director-producer Darren Hayward.

The studio audience now attending the live shows of The Voice SA will experience the spectacular and revolutionary L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology from L-Acoustics.

L-ISA is an immersive sound art system that creates a panoramic, multidimensional sound experience that delivers incredible, clear, natural audio through localised sound sources, speaker set-up and object-based sound mixing.

DStv subscribers will see the new stage of The Voice South Africa at the Mosaiek Teatro in Fairlands, Johannesburg, for the first time on Sunday 19 May with the start of the first live broadcast and first live performances in The Voice SA.

Sixteen singers will now be competing over the course of the next few weeks for viewers' votes.

On Sunday, doing battle against each other in the first Live Show will be talent who have been "rescued" by fans - Carmen Basson (20) from Kroonstad, Katlego Makgotlwe (23) from Vosloorus, Soné Joubert (27) from Gordon’s Bay, and Ashur Petersen (26) from Cape Town.

The other contestants who have already made it through are Krista Jonas (29) from Cape Town, Yahto Kraft (18) from Alberton, Sbu Dludlu (34) from Duduza, and The PJ Twins (20) from Bonteheuwel who are all in Lira's team.

Amy Tjasnik (26) from Cape Town, Durban sound engineer Ross Charles (26), the Pretoria duo Aura, and the 28-year-old Bitcoin entrepreneur and musician from Port Elizabeth, Eon Claude le Roux are in Riky's team.

Lelo Ramasimong (33) from Johannesburg, 26-year-old industrial designer Elisha James from Pretoria, Pretoria singer and actor Francois Viljoen (30), and Siki Jo-An Qwazi (25) from Port Elizabeth are in Riana's team.

Daniel Jay (23) from Port Elizabeth, the singing waitress Tasché Burger (18) from Brackenfell, Cape Town payroll officer Anslin Gysman (22) from Filipi, and the 39-year-old pub singer Chezelle Shahadat from Johannesburg are in Francois van Coke's team.

SNEAK PEEK. Number 1 most favourite thing I love as a TV critic is doing set visits & seeing the art,creative work & effort people put into their shows. @MNet (@DStv 101) just allowed me to roam the new stage of @VoiceSA where the live #TheVoiceSA performances will start Sunday. pic.twitter.com/lfwIXBJUYq

— TVwithThinus (@TVwithThinus) May 16, 2019

ALSO READ: The Voice South Africa on M-Net upgrades live shows for the 3rd season with the spectacular L-ISA immersive sound system bringing an immersive sound art experience to the audience.

The third season of The Voice South Africa on M-Net moves to the Battle Rounds from Sunday as the 4 teams add local music legend mentors.

The third season of The Voice South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) moves to the Battle Rounds from Sunday, 28 April, as the 4 teams from coaches Riky Rick, Riana Nel, Lira and Francois van Coke add music legend mentors.

For the Battle Rounds, The Voice SA teams will get help from Majozi, Jo Black, Khaya Mthetwa and Ross Learmoth from Prime Circle. 

Following the KnockOut Rounds where the coached had to cut down their teams dramatically, the remaining talent now have to battle it out for a chance to make it to The Voice SA’s live shows. 

For the next 3 weeks from 28 April, the coaches will pair the singers in their teams to show off their skills with the same song.

It's not a duet, however but a vocal showdown. At the end of each Battle round, the coach who mentored the talent will be forced to pick a winner and say goodbye to their opponent. Raising the stakes, there are no Saves and no Steals.

Coach Riky Rick will get help from the singer-songwriter and TV presenter Khaya Mthetwa who won the 8th season of Idols.

The Afrikaans singer and former construction worker Jo Black, will be mentoring Riana Nel's team.

Lira's team is getting help from Ross Learmoth, the frontman of Prime Circle.

Francois van Coke's team is getting Majozi as a mentor.

The Voice SA is produced by Blackswanmedia.

Third season of The Voice: SA on M-Net sees a change in the line-up of coaches with Riana Nel, Riky Rick and Francois van Coke joining Lira in the red swivel chairs.

M-Net (DStv 101) has announced that singers Riana Nel, Rikhado Makhado (stage name: Riky Rick), Lira and Francois Badenhorst (stage name: Francois van Coke) will be the 4 new coaches for the upcoming 3rd season of The Voice South Africa that will broadcast from Sunday, 3 February 2019 at 17:30.

The pre-recorded Blind Auditions episodes will be filmed from 21 November at the new Urban Brew Studios in front of a live audience, with The Voice SA that has switched production to BlackSwanMedia who are using the expertise of several independent service providers.

Lira is the only remaining coach from the previous seasons of The Voice SA, with the Afrikaans gospel and country singer Riana Nel, the flamboyant male rapper Riky Rick and the Afrikaans rock singer Francois van Coke replacing Karen Zoid, Bobby van Jaarsveld and Kahn Morbee in the red swivel chairs.

"Our new coaches are all movers and shakers in their own spheres, and the mix of unique personalities will bring a whole new chemistry to the show," says Lani Lombard, M-Net's head of publicity.

"At the same time, they're building on the legacy of the superb season 1 and 2 coaches."