The country music star Blake Shelton has no fears about Ariana Grande joining “The Voice” next season, as he just sees her as “somebody new to beat.”
“I’m excited about Ariana joining the show because it’s somebody new for me to beat,” Shelton said during a virtual Q&A with his fellow coaches, according to People Magazine. “I’m tired of beating John every season — and Nick.”
Shelton added that coach Nick Jonas “is the easiest coach I have ever beat in 20 seasons of doing this show.”
“The easiest defeat of my career was Nick Jonas,” he said. “So I’m looking for a challenge. I think Ariana could be a challenge. I’m looking forward to beating her though.”
“The Voice” coach John Legend then explained why he is excited for Grande to get started on the show.
“Part of the charm of the show is that we keep things exciting and bring different coaches on that will add a new flavor to the mix,” he said. “Ariana is one of the most gifted artists in our business today. She is a huge, chart-topping artist with amazing vocal skills. I think so many of our fans out there truly love her, and I think she’s going to bring additional fans to the show, a different audience to the show, and I think it’s going to be great for all of us.”
“What we’ve learned is that our audience likes some stability with coaches, but I think it also likes for us to introduce some new flavors to the mix every once in a while,” Legend added. “I think Ariana is going to be a great addition.”
When Jonas was asked if he has any advice for Grande as she prepares to take his spot on the show, he replied by saying, “Ariana clearly doesn’t need my advice.”
“She’s an incredible artist and, I think, our generation’s best vocalist,” he continued. “She’s got such an incredible career to pull from to inspire these artists she’s going to work with. I’m so excited to see her beat Blake. It’s going to be great for me.”
The new season of “The Voice” premieres on Monday night at 8pm EST on NBC.
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