The Voice / YouTube Kelly Clarkson & Blake Shelton
Blake Shelton’s final season as a coach on “The Voice” is right around the corner. Season 23 premieres on Monday, March 6, 2023, at 8 pm Eastern. Joining Shelton is returning coach Kelly Clarkson and first-time coaches Chance the Rapper and Niall Horan.
In a February 22 preview of the season posted to “The Voice” YouTube channel, Kelly opened up about coming back to be with her friend Blake for his last chance at “The Voice” victory.
“I had a little bit of a hint that it might be Blake’s last season, and I was like ‘No way. I have to be there,'” Clarkson said of her choice to return to the show, “This will be 23 seasons now, that’s a lot of seasons, but he’s so great at it. Don’t tell him this but he is kind of the king of ‘The Voice’. So I had to come back and be here for that. But the queen is back, as well.”
New Coaches Chance the Rapper & Niall Horan Also Honor Blake Shelton’s Last Season
Blake and Kelly’s newest fellow coaches Chance the Rapper and Niall Horan also had something to say about Blake as they prepare to face off against him in their first season on “The Voice”.
“I can see exactly why the people of America have fallen in love with this man. He makes every room that he walks into light up. He’s got such a kind heart. He’s a great guy and he’s got an amazing legacy around here. I’m glad that I’m here for his 23rd and final season,” Niall said, before practicing his own version of Blake’s famous finger point.
“It’s so cool to be working with Blake on this season. He’s kind of built this thing here and stayed with it for the whole ride. It’s really cool to see the respect that he has from the crowd and even from the people that work here. He’s a very venerated, old-guard kind of dude. It’s dope,” Chance said, going on to say he wanted to send Blake off with a loss by stealing as many country artists from Team Blake as possible this season.
Reba McEntire Returns to ‘The Voice’ as Season 23 Mega Mentor
Reba McEntire was announced as a Mega Mentor for season 23 of “The Voice”, coming in to help all four teams ahead of this season’s Knockouts round. Reba appeared as a mentor for season eight’s live shows, but her first appearance on the show was when she served as Team Blake’s Battle advisor in the first season of the show in 2011.
Reba confirmed in a November 2020 appearance on “What What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” that she was originally asked to be a coach on “The Voice” season one, and after she declined (which she said is because she didn’t think she would be able to be overly critical to the contestants), her spot as a coach went to Blake, though she still made an appearance that season.
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