Shakira Impresses In Her Debut On ‘The Voice’

Shakira made her debut on the NBC singing competition The Voice on Monday, and the international singing star earned good reviews for her first show.

Both Shakira and Usher joined the cast of The Voice, which made its return on Monday night. They replaced outgoing mentors Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera, filling in quite nicely and catching right on with the show’s format.

In the early rounds, the coaches each select singers to be on their teams through a series of blind auditions. The process is quite a bit different from other singing competition shows, but Shakira had no problem with it. She displayed a bit of feistyness in critiquing the singers and even held back a bit when she needed to, not letting the other judges know that she was interested in singer Kris Thomas.

“I know you guys. I gotta keep it under control otherwise you all turn and then make my life miserable,” Shakira joked.

Both Shakira and Usher, the other newcomer, seemed to fit in well with the show and had a good rapport with the other mentors, Blake Shelton and Adam Levine.

Usher made a few quips and even referenced Justin Bieber to one of the younger contestants as part of his pitch. For those who may not know, it was Usher who discovered Bieber, who was still a pre-teen loading clips to YouTube in the hopes of being discovered when Usher took him under his wing.

The idea that Usher can again mold a successful career like he did for Bieber will likely be a big selling point as the coaches assemble their teams this season. But Shakira has some chops of her own as the biggest international star of the bunch.

Shakira seemed particularly comfortable with Levine, the lead singer of Maroon 5. Picking up where last season’s coach Christina Aguilera left off, Shakira had a few spirited back-and-forths in the Season 4 opener of the show.