Ariana Grande is the newest addition to The Voice, and co-star Kelly Clarkson only has nice things to say. The international pop star is replacing Nick Jonas and joining Kelly, Blake Shelton and John Legend for season 21. Kelly's also not the only one hyping up Ariana, her team's special battle advisor, Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth, is praising the "positions" singer as well. Kristin said she admires Ariana and has watched her grow, so obviously wanted to be on her team.
While having Ariana on the show is a sure way to bring in new viewers, it might also make her tough to beat. Ariana's on top of her game right now, and a lot of contestants will probably want to be on her team, making the other coaches' jobs a little harder. Blake, however, is looking forward to the challenge. The country singer joked that he's tired of beating John and Nick every season, so he's eager to having a new competitor to defeat. "I'm looking for a challenge. I think Ariana could be a challenge. I'm looking forward to beating her though," Blake said about his new co-star.
Hopefully, the competition between Blake and Ariana won't get too intense, because it sounds like Kelly loves having her around. "She's so funny. Like, very witty," Kelly said of Ariana on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Kelly also praised Ariana's focus on vocal health, which isn't something the coaches have primarily focused on before. "We've never had a coach like her. I've only been there for 8 seasons but, like, in all my seasons, I've never heard a coach talk about vocal health as much." After joking that they probably should have mentioned it before, since all the coaches are vocalists, Kelly added "She's really into it, so it's cool."
Kelly also talked about how much the fans love Ariana and their reactions to seeing her. Since The Voice is back to filming in front of a live audience, they get real-time reactions to their coaches. Kelly explained how each coach walks out individually and gets an audience reaction, comparing Ariana's entrance to popular K-pop band BTS walking out. "I go out and they're like, 'Yay!', and then John goes out, 'Yay,' and then Ariana goes out, and it's literally like BTS has entered the building. Like, they lose their minds." Kelly then joked about how Blake has to follow Ariana. "Blake was like, 'Can I go before Ariana? Like, this is embarrassing.'" Kelly said.
Ariana is a huge star and will definitely bring her fanbase along with her to The Voice. It's nice seeing her already getting along with the other coaches before the season has even premiered. The friendly rivalry between her and Blake will also be fun to watch, until one of the coaches wins it all.
The Voice season 21 premieres Monday, September 20 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.