Kelly Clarkson Says Gwen Stefani Has Blake Shelton Hiding His ‘Dark Side’ On ‘The Voice’

According to Kelly Clarkson, fans of The Voice will see a much different Blake Shelton when they tune in to the show tonight. However, it’s not because the “Stronger” singer is keeping the cowboy in line. Apparently, Gwen Stefani is the one who is responsible for making Blake behave himself on the show.

E! News recently conducted two separate interviews with the four coaches who will be competing against each other on Season 17 of The Voice. Instead of being interviewed together, Gwen and Blake were split up, with Blake and Kelly sitting down for the first interview. This provided the show’s two coaches with experience in the country music industry with an opportunity to take a few playful jabs at one another. Blake kicked things off when he was asked if he was going easier on Kelly Clarkson this season because she’s been so busy lately, thanks in part to hosting her new talk show.

“No, I still don’t have any respect for her as a coach,” Blake joked.

However, he made sure to add that he loves Kelly “as a human being.” Kelly disagreed with Blake’s assertion that he hasn’t changed. She said that he’s actually softened up quite a bit, and she believes that Gwen Stefani is responsible for Blake’s attitude adjustment, joking that he’s been trying to hide his “dark side” from his girlfriend.

“Gwen lightens you a bit,” Kelly said to Blake.

According to Kelly, she hasn’t had to team up with Gwen against Blake Shelton because Gwen does such an excellent job thwarting Blake all on her own.

“I have to do nothing,” Kelly said. “She just asks Blake for things and he gives them to her. It’s awesome.”

Kelly said something similar on her talk show, stating that Gwen “reels the cowboy in” and can simply steal contestants from Blake by telling him that she wants them on her team. However, while giving in to his girlfriend’s desires might ultimately cause Blake’s downfall on the show, he insists that he’s a winner either way. In other words, if Gwen is happy, he’s happy.

“By losing, I win,” Blake said.

While Blake Shelton seems pretty comfortable competing against his girlfriend on The Voice, Gwen Stefani revealed that she was nervous about returning to the show with her cowboy beau.

“I was worried,” Stefani confessed. “I didn’t know how we were going to handle being competitive.”

However, she said that it ended up feeling “super natural” and “super amazing.” She also revealed that she actually feels more comfortable being on the show now that she’s dating Blake.

You can watch Gwen Stefani beguile Blake Shelton when The Voice Season 17 premieres tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.