‘The Voice’ returns with new coaches and new aspiring superstars
The peacock network is coming off a trio of unscripted hits with its summer staple, “America’s Got Talent,” the sophomore “World of Dance” and newcomer “Making It.” Looking to extend that streak, “The Voice” returns to NBC on Monday, Sept. 24, with a new, exciting mix of coaches for its 15th season.
Since its debut in 2011, the longrunning competition series has focused on finding the best unsigned talent. Be it a solo or duet performance, the best singer determined by public voting receives $100,000 and a record deal with Universal Music Group.The aspiring singers must be 13 and older and are selected from a series of public auditions held throughout the country.
Brynn Cartelli, the series’ most recent victor, became the youngest person to win the competition in the show’s history. At only 15, the Massachusetts native won over America with powerful renditions of Adele’s Bond classic, “Skyfall,” Sia’s “Unstoppable” and Coldplay’s “Fix You.” Will there be another first this season? Only time will tell.
Maroon 5 main man Adam Levine and country superstar Blake Shelton return once again to the red chairs this season, making them the only artists to appear as coaches for the entirety of the series.The returning Kelly Clarkson rounds out the panel, along with Jennifer Hudson. Hudson, who sat out last season, returns to replace Alicia Keys, who is sitting out this one.As always, the coaches will guide and critique the artists’ performances. Clarkson and Hudson will no doubt make for an entertaining addition to the Levine/Shelton dynamic.
Over the years, the series has seen a veritable who’s who of talented and popular artists try their hand at coaching, including Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Pharrell Williams, Shakira, Usher, Miley Cyrus and Gwen Stefani. Each one approached the task differently, but all had the same goal in mind: to discover great, unsigned talent.
Discussing the upcoming season of “The Voice” with TheWrap, NBC’s head of reality programming, Paul Telegdy, proclaimed his excitement with this season’s crop of coaches and what they will bring to the table. “We are so excited to welcome back Kelly and Jennifer, two dynamic forces who bring undeniable soul, passion and inspiration as coaches,” he said.
Telegdy continued by emphasizing how Clarkson and Hudson have a unique understanding of what it’s like to be on the other side of the chair. Both coaches got their start on the Fox/ABC juggernaut “American Idol,” with Clarkson becoming the show’s first-ever winner in 2002 and Hudson placing seventh in the show’s third season.
The coaches’ advisers for the season are CeeLo Green for Team Adam,Thomas Rhett for Team Kelly, Halsey for Team Jennifer, and Keith Urban for Team Blake.They join past advisers Ed Sheeran, Michael Bublé, Stevie Nicks, DJ Khaled, Sammy Hagar and many more greats in lending a hand to the coaches during the battle round.
The format will stay virtually the same for the new season, with NBC sticking with its winning formula. However, there will be one game changer that will surely shake things up. In order to freshen up the nearly decade-old singing competition, a new twist was successfully implemented last season in the form of the block feature.This allows one coach to block another from securing a contestant for his or her team. It’s back in play this fall, along with a new digital series called “The Comeback Stage.”The companion series will allow a handful of previously unsuccessful artists a chance to take it all in the live singoffs.
The digital fifth chair will determine who gets a chance at redemption.This isn’t the first time that previously eliminated contestants have been eligible to come back to the series. Starting with the seventh season, coaches were permitted to bring back an eliminated artist, but the Comeback Stage is poised to have a much more pronounced effect.
The redeemed will rejoin the rest of the crew in the live episodes, but it will be a tough road for the digital challengers. Joining the rest of the artists in the live episodes is an incredible opportunity but also particularly a challenging situation.They will have to take on contestants that home audiences have come to know very well throughout the season, while their own artistic abilities have been viewed by a smaller online audience.They will have to rely on truly exceptional singing abilities to propel them over familiar faces.
On Monday, Sept. 24, the ultimate signing competition returns for a bigger and better 15th season. Join superstar coaches Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson and witness the best unsigned talent the music world has to offer. Find out who comes out on top, and how the Comeback Stage impacts the competition, when “The Voice” returns to NBC.