Does This Confirm Alicia Keys Is Replacing Jennifer Hudson On ‘The Voice’ For Season 14?
It looks like Alicia Keys has been confirmed as Jennifer Hudson’s replacement on The Voice for Season 14.
Amid a whole lot of speculation over who will be joining the show alongside the already confirmed coaches of Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, and Kelly Clarkson when it returns to NBC in early 2018, it may just have been confirmed that Alicia will be heading back to the show for what will be her third stint as a coach.
1iota, which offers free tickets to the taping of the blind audition stages, appeared to confirm that Keys will be back again next year when offering up tickets to Season 14, which will be taking place from October 16 to October 21 with more audition rounds scheduled for November and December.
The ticketing site appeared to let slip that Alicia will be back after featuring a photo of the star alongside snaps of the current judging panel, Blake, Adam, Jennifer Hudson, and Miley Cyrus, on their page while advertising tickets to attend the upcoming blind audition rounds.
Kelly’s picture was also featured on the page for Season 14 blind audition tickets, which had fans speculating that their involvement could mean Alicia and Kelly will be the two females sitting alongside Blake and Adam next season.
Fans were quick to notice what may have been a confirmation of Alicia’s return, including @lisa_sanne who tweeted in response on October 15, “Alicia Keys will return to The Voice? What good news!”
The apparent new confirmation comes just weeks after Clarkson herself appeared to confirm the news after letting slip that Keys will be returning to the show during a September appearance on The Today Show.
When asked by host Hoda Kotb who the other coach will be, Clarkson replied, “Alicia” and explained that the singer and Stevie Wonder gave her her first Grammy Award in 2006.
Keys last appeared on the show earlier this year during Season 12. She joined the series for the first time in 2016 when she appeared on Season 11.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnUkCBsOFnQ
NBC hasn’t yet commented on all the speculation and seeming confirmations about the coaching panel for the first round of shows for 2018, though Miley confirmed earlier this month that she won’t be back next year while speaking to Howard Stern on his popular Sirius XM radio show.
“This is not my last season maybe forever, but this season I don’t have any more seasons lined up,” Miley said when asked about her future on The Voice, making it clear that she won’t be doing another round of shows when the currently airing episodes wrap in December. “So, I’m done.”
Hudson hasn’t officially confirmed whether or not she’ll be back following Miley’s confession, but it appears she’ll also be out next year due to scheduling conflicts with The Voice U.K.
Amid speculation about Alicia potentially returning to the NBC show, Jennifer confirmed that she would head back to The Voice U.K. next year after winning the series earlier this year in an Instagram post on October 12.
“#TeamJHud is coming back to @TheVoiceUK! Get ready y’all,” Jennifer wrote of her big return to the show, expecting to debut in the U.K. in January.
Jennifer didn’t mention how her return to Britain will affect her gig on The Voice U.S., though the two shows film at pretty similar times, meaning it’s unlikely the former American Idol star will be able to appear on both versions of the talent search in 2018.
NBC hasn’t commented on Jennifer potentially leaving and being replaced by Alicia, though Keys shared an inspiring post to Instagram on October 15 which may have suggested she’s got exciting things coming up soon.
Alicia posted a quote to her Instagram account that read, “Life is not happening to you, it is responding to you.”
The Voice Season 14 is expected to premiere on NBC in February 2018.
[Featured Image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for VATL]
