They’re playing musical chairs on these talent competitions, literally. On the heels of the announcement of the new judges for this season’s “American Idol” on FOX, NBC announced that for season four of “The Voice,” the new coaches who will replace Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green, who will not return next spring. Current celebrity musician coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton will remain through the fourth season.
“We are thrilled to welcome Usher and Shakira to ‘The Voice.’ The addition of these popular iconic artists continues the tradition established by Christina, Cee Lo, Adam and Blake,” Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment said in a statement to the press. “Doing two back-to-back cycles of this show requires a tremendous amount of time, and we are happy to accommodate the commitments made by Christina and Cee Lo. The participants on our show benefit from our coaches’ expertise and their continued success in the music business allows for significant new contributions to the contestants when they return.”
“ ‘The Voice’ has always been known for pairing incredible up-and-coming talent with superstar coaches who are top-level current artists,” said executive producer Mark Burnett. “Having award-winning artists as coaches means they need to be able to tour. Whether in the red chair or on tour, our coaches have their chairs for life. This is exactly why, after three seasons, we needed to allow them to rotate out so they can get on the road amongst their fans. Meanwhile, we’re incredibly excited to have singular artists like Usher and Shakira joining the fold.”
Aguilera is releasing a new album Lotus and going on tour, and Cee Lo Green is in the studio creating music with Goodie Mob, writing a memoir and working on a scripted NBC series based on his life. –yvette caslin
