Did Kelly Clarkson just throw some subtle shade at long-time The Voice coaches Blake Shelton and Adam Levine and their desire to win the show before taking on her role as a coach on Season 14 in 2018? Though Kelly’s made it pretty clear that she’s excited to be joining the NBC series next year, it looks like the star may have thrown just a little shade in the two coach’s direction in a new interview when addressing her upcoming role.
Kelly got candid about the show, which she’s made several appearances on over the years before most recently appearing as a mentor on Season 14, in a new interview, where she referenced the talent search’s struggle when it comes to finding singers who have lengthy careers after their season ends and Blake and Adam’s desire to win over finding credible stars.
Speaking to Redbook for a new cover feature, Clarkson touched on The Voice’s failure to produce a huge star in the music business in its six years on air and seemingly also called out Levine and Shelton for being so competitive. Kelly admitted that she wants her upcoming stint to be about finding a credible star.
“I’ve already warned both Adam and Blake that winning is not my biggest concern,” the former American Idol winner said when asked what fans can expect from her upcoming coaching stint – where she’ll also sit alongside returning coach Alicia Keys – seemingly calling them out for focusing on the competition rather than the talent.
“I want to find someone who has incredible talent and really work with that person,” she then continued, suggesting that the show has failed to produce a true star thus far and has been more focused on Adam and Blake’s rivalry. “It would be amazing to look back in a decade and see this artist have a huge, successful career that I was a part of.”
Kelly’s admission had some fans suggesting she may have been throwing just a little shade at The Voice coaches before she joins the show in a more permanent role for Season 14, as she famously found fame after winning the very first season of American Idol back in 2002.
American Idol and The Voice have been ratings rivals since the NBC show first began in 2011, while fans of the former Fox series (which will return to TV on ABC on March 11, 2018) have always pointed out that Idol has produced more legitimate stars like Kelly, Carrie Underwood, Adam Lambert, and current coach Jennifer Hudson.
Adam and Blake have also been very vocal about wanting to win the series in the past, seemingly at any cost, as Shelton told The Tennessean back in February that he was “dead set” on winning the show once again before Season 12.
But it seems Clarkson probably wasn’t intentionally throwing shade at The Voice or the show’s coaches, as the star is famously close friends with Shelton and has a great relationship with those behind-the-scenes as the show.
She’s also revealed in the past that she’s pretty excited to take to her chair alongside Blake, Adam, and Alicia, next year, but won’t be as sweet as viewers are probably expecting.
The mom of two revealed earlier this year that she’s not going to sugar-coat her critiques when it comes to building her team, as Clarkson revealed that she actually plans to borrow a little of former American Idol judge Simon Cowell’s honesty when it comes to being a coach.
“I hope I’m a little bit like Simon,” Kelly told Variety in October when asked what kind of coach she’ll be on The Voice next year, denying that Cowell was too mean when giving his critiques on American Idol in the talent search’s heyday.
“For the most part, I love his honesty. This is not a nice industry,” Kelly continued. “People think I’m going to be super nice all the time. I am nice. But I also want to keep it real.”
Clarkson also previously revealed that she was asked to judge on the upcoming seasons of both The Voice and American Idol , but chose the NBC show because of both her and her husband’s, music manager Brandon Blackstock, close relationship with Blake Shelton .
Season 13 of The Voice currently airs on Monday and Tuesday nights on NBC. Season 14 is expected to debut next spring.
[Featured Image by Andrew Toth/Getty Images for Nickelodeon]