‘The Voice’ 2017: Kelly Clarkson as Key Adviser

Kelly Clarkson has been tapped as ‘Key Adviser’ this season on The Voice. Next season, she’ll officially be a coach.

Speaking to ABC News recently, Clarkson said, “I was excited to be key advisor on The Voice just because I’m doing next season, so I was kinda warming up the chair, I was pressing the button. I’m very excited about it so it’s fun to kinda come and have a little rehearsal for it.”

Clarkson says her own experiences on reality singing competitions will help her be the best coach she can be, and may even serve as inspiration to those competing. “I think I’m a good example to show them of what can happen,” she says. “Like, what can really come to fruition at the end of this road.”

What exactly will she do as Key Adviser? Clarkson will have the pleasure of mentoring all 32 remaining artists from Team Miley, Team Jennifer, Team Adam, and Team Blake. Tonight, the Knockout Rounds will continue at 8pm.

Next season, Clarkson will coach alongside Alicia Keys, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton. In a September interview with ET Online, Clarkson shared, “I’ve been in talks with The Voice about doing stuff for years. It’s a family decision too, for us. Like, my husband [Brandon Blackstock] manages Blake [Shelton] so we’re all in one place and it’s going to be good. And I’m excited, ya’ll.” She adds on that she and Ryan Seacrest,  American Idol host, have no hard feelings towards one another. “I had to interview with Ryan Seacrest recently, it was so weird… We’ve never been on, like, opposing networks and so it was funny. We had a good laugh about it.”

Clarkson admits she’s excited to judge. She also says she thinks she and Jennifer Hudson may have a leg up when it comes to these kinds of shows, considering they were both part of televised singing competitions themselves. “I think there is a difference being one of the contestants previously on a show like this,” she tells ET Online. “I think that does carry weight.”

When she isn’t busy singing and judging, Clarkson is spending time with her family. She began dating talent manager Brandon Blackstock, Clarkson’s manager’s son, in 2012. The couple married on October 20, 2013, and gave birth to their first child, a daughter, on June 12, 2014. They gave birth to their second child, a son, in April 2016. Upon marrying Blackstock, Clarkson also became stepmother to Blackstock’s children from a previous marriage.

Blackstock is the previous tour manager for Rascal Flatts. His stepmother is country singer, Reba McIntyre. Interestingly enough, Blackstock also manages Blake Shelton– that will make for an interesting situation when Kelly and Blake are going head-to-head next season on The Voice.