Gwen Stefani Wows Critics On ‘The Voice’ Season Seven Premiere
The Voice made its seventh season premiere on Monday night and many viewers already have a new favorite judge: Gwen Stefani.
Reviews from the show are nearly all glowing, with the Washington Post calling Gwen and co-host Pharrell Williams “welcome shots of crackling energy” to the series.
As reported in the Inquisitr, news broke in April that Gwen was replacing Christina Aguilera as a judge. Gwen joined judges Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, who have been on the show since season one.
Gwen leveraged her newbie status to appeal to The Voice‘s contestants.
“[Adam and Blake are] kind of calling it in at this point. They’ve been doing it so long… I am so pumped up. I’ve never done anything like this before. I’m all fresh and excited so I could really give you a lot of focus.”
While new to the show, Gwen is no stranger to the music industry: she joined No Doubt at the tender age of 17.
On Monday’s episode, Gwen told 16-year-old contestant Bryana Salaz, “I think I might have the longest career.”
To which judge Adam Levine responded with an ageist joke, “She’s had an incredibly long career. When I was your age, [Bryana], I started listening to her records…And they’re fantastic.”
Gwen earned some fans at TV Guide for her reaction to this exchange.
“Getting older is notoriously taboo in Hollywood, but Gwen embraced her age to illustrate her many years in the business… Even when Adam tried to throw some subtle shade Gwen’s way… Gwen just accepted his compliment and went back to trying to make her best sell.”
The Washington Post also commends Gwen’s approach to The Voice.
“[Gwen] had a sense of humor about herself, even bantering with the contestant James David Carter when he told her, ‘Thank you for teaching me how to spell ‘bananas.” (In re: the most famous line from ‘Hollaback Girl’ that goes “This [expletive] is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S.”) She seemed pleased by that.
Well, if I can’t coach him, at least I know I taught him something… #bananas
— Gwen Stefani (@gwenstefani) September 23, 2014
Gwen has already gushed about her experience on The Voice. She told MTV News.
“It really reignited so much music in me because wearing the hat of a coach and being around so much music and being around the other coaches and just seeing people perform, there’s no way for that not to be inspiring and effect me in a way I didn’t even really know that it was going to do that,” Gwen said. “I wasn’t even thinking that deep about it, so it’s been great. It taught me a lot.”
Catch Gwen Stefani on The Voice on Monday and Tuesday nights; airing on NBC at 8 p.m. EST.
[Photo source: NBC]
