NBC
The banter between the coaches on NBC’s The Voice has been taken to a new level for season 20 of the show, and Blake Shelton doesn’t hold back when he wants an artist on his team.
During one of the Blind Auditions for the new season, Shelton hit out at Kelly Clarkson’s singing competition past. It’s no secret that Clarkson often mentions that she won American Idol to contestants to try to sway them her way, but Shelton found a way to combat that.
When Shelton said Clarkson was having a hard time filling out her team, the host of the show stepped up.
“She’s won a show just like this,” host Carson Daly told coaches Blake Shelton, Nick Jonas, John Legend about Kelly Clarkson. “Arguably, she knows more than any of you.”
Shelton, however, wasn’t impressed.
Shelton Said ‘American Idol’ Was Canceled
After Daly mentioned that Clarkson won American Idol, Blake Shelton said that he didn’t think it was all that impressive because “that show is canceled!”
American Idol was canceled by Fox, though it was revived by ABC in 2018 and is currently airing season four with judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. Ryan Seacrest is the only original cast member, having been on the show on both Fox and ABC.
Shelton also said that Clarkson “can’t complete her team” and isn’t a very good coach on The Voice, anyhow.
Clarkson Used Her ‘American Idol’ Win to Win Contestants Over
During the fourth episode of blind auditions on The Voice, Clarkson used her past on American Idol as a way to get contestants to join her team. It was only successful once, however, as not everyone was swayed her way.
Clarkson was able to get 17-year-old contestant Gihanna Zoe onto her team over Team Nick after Zoe sang “She Used to Be Mine” by Sara Bareilles.
“I’ve obviously navigated a singing competition myself before as well, so I do think there’s some strategy to it,” she told the contestant. “I feel like we would be a good fit together. That’s why I turned around. I was really impressed by you.”
Later on, contestant Deion Warren got Clarkson, Jonas and Legend to all turn around for him, and she tried the same type of pitch.
“Pick, I don’t know, someone who has won a vocal competition,” she told the contestant.
Jonas interrupted to say Warren might pick “someone who hasn’t and has a lot to prove.”
That pitch proved effective to keep the contestant away from Team Kelly, as Warren went with Team Legend and ended up hearing an original song for him that included the lyrics “I don’t know a rhyme with Carolina that I can say on TV.”
Shelton and the other coaches have been relentlessly teasing one another throughout all of the blind audition with hopes of getting contestants to choose them over the other coaches, and one strategy has not proven more effective than others.
The Voice airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. and Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
The last episode of Blind Audition airs on Monday, March 16, 2021, and the next round of the competition starts the following night.
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