Blake Shelton: Is He Starting Off On The Wrong Foot With Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams On ‘The Voice’?
Blake Shelton has let it be known several times over the past few years that he loves being a coach on The Voice. Blake has been present on the show since it began in 2011, and he has seen a few coaches come and go throughout six seasons. In fact, Adam Levine has been the only coach other than Shelton that has remained constant since the beginning.
Now The Voice is returning for its seventh season, and Blake Shelton has returned to his big red chair. However, two new coaches will be stepping up to their own big red chairs, and these two celebrities are almost completely unknown to Blake.
CMT reports that singer-songwriters Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams have met Blake Shelton, but they are almost complete strangers to Shelton.
Blake said, “As far as Gwen and Pharrell — I always want to call him ‘For Real’ — I’ve met them, but I can honestly say that outside of a handshake and a ‘What’s up,’ I don’t know these people that well.”
Apparently Blake Shelton is gearing up for some potential competitive threats from Stefani and Williams. He has said that he is prepared to take the job seriously and that he may not exactly be “polite” about it.
“You’re not gonna see Adam or I be polite about it. Because we have a job to do there, and the gloves come off, mostly in the blind auditions. If we hear an artist up there we think could win this thing, there’s no telling what we’re gonna say or do,” Shelton explained.
Blake went on to say that he hoped Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams were prepared for battle. “And hopefully, they’ve studied up enough on the show and know that’s what’s gonna happen, and they’ll come in swinging, too.”
Before he had ever met the two artists, Blake Shelton mentioned in an interview that he looked forward to the new competition. Entertainment Weekly reported that Blake was ready to battle anyone new who joined the show.
Shelton explained that while he hadn’t met Stefani yet, he was ready to battle her. “I know some of [No Doubt’s] music — I’m not too familiar, but I look forward to beating anybody on this show, honestly!”
Blake obviously believes in the process and consistency of The Voice and is perhaps reluctant to meet more coaches who may leave the show again later on. He has said that he does not plan on leaving the show, and anything else is considered “a step down” to him.
“I’m not ever gonna be somebody who does a season of The Voice and then takes one off and then comes back again. I love working there. I wanna always do it. There’s nowhere to go in television that wouldn’t be a step down,” Shelton said.
Whether Blake will accept Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams on The Voice as anything more than new competition remains to be seen, but viewers can be sure that Blake Shelton is there to stay.
