Blake Shelton Had Strong Words For Ariana Grande After She Joined The Voice
If you thought the judges of hit show The Voice all got along like a house on fire, then you’d be wrong. When the news dropped that Ariana Grande would be gracing the red swivel chairs for Season 21 of the show, everyone was in raptures. That was except for Blake Shelton, who had some pretty harsh words for Ms. Grande. And given the warm response from the rest of the judges, it was decidedly, erm, awkward.
Yes, while the pop princess tweeted that she was “beyond thrilled” to be stepping in for Nick Jonas in the fall, Shelton was notably less enthused. In fact, his response was positively confrontational. Meanwhile, the country singer’s fellow judges gushed with praise for their stellar new addition. Jonas responded with his own tweet, writing “Congrats @Ariana Grande! You’re going to kill it next season! Welcome to the family.”
Then Kelly Clarkson chimed in, celebrating the show’s girl power with her message, “Next season we are bringing y’all some powerful female energy! Welcome to the @NBCTheVoice family @Ariana Grande.” And not to be outdone, John Legend joined in the show of love with his own comment, “Welcome to the @NBCTheVoice family @ArianaGrande!”
The soul singer continued his support for the star at a virtual press conference attended by some of the judges. According to People magazine, Legend told reporters, “Ariana is one of the most gifted artists in our business today. She is a huge chart-topping artist with amazing vocal skills.” Asked whether he had any advice for his successor, Jonas simply replied, “Ariana clearly doesn’t need my advice.” Praise indeed!
Little wonder that everyone is so thrilled about Grande joining the judging panel. The artist recently responsible for chart-topping album Positions is one of the biggest stars to take a red seat on the show, like, ever. And that’s saying something, given the stellar power of her peers. But aside from the fact that Grande was already a famous face in TV – thanks to Victorious and Sam & Cat – when she broke into music, the pop legend’s career has eclipsed that of pretty much every other recording artist of her generation.
