Season 9 premieres tonight, Monday (Sept. 21), with Gwen Stefani back in a judge seat. Fans of the hit series can already see one of the highlights from the first episode on-line. That's right, the hype machine has been turned on.
It's the coaches performing a medley of their own hits, but with a twist — each coach performs a cover version of a song made popular by one of the other coaches.
I haven't watched the clip yet, especially as I knew when it came to Stefani someone would select her band No Doubt's hit "Don't Speak," despite there being a monster catalogue there. I was correct. The fact that it's Blake Shelton crooning "Don't Speak" makes me even more apprehensive to going on YouTube and watching the promo clip.
Stefani returned the favor by doing Shelton's "Neon Light," with Pharrell performing Maroon 5's "Sugar" and Adam Levine singing Pharrell's collaboration with Daft Punk, "Get Lucky."
For what it's worth, Shelton returned to work on the set of the show just days after his divorce from Miranda Lambert was announced. He’s drafted his good friend Brad Paisley as an adviser to his team this season.
Stefani, too, is making her return to the working world fresh from a divorce announcement from Bush lead singer Gavin Rossdale.
"The Voice" is one of the more odd reality series in that the talent they are fostering is oftentimes, if not always, overshadowed by the judges themselves, their new material, their collaborations, and their much-publicized personal lives.
One contestant, however, has already been garnering some attention. His name is Barrett Baber and he managed to get all four judges to turn their chairs around when he sang “Angel Eyes.” Sure, this happens somewhat often on the show, especially early on in a given season, but Barrett's buzz has already begun nonetheless.
“I’m trying to pioneer a new sound maybe in country music with some soul,” the Fayetteville, Arkansas, high school teacher told the coaches. “There’s some really great music out there, but I think there’s a place for me, for this voice.”
You will have to tune in to find out who Baber picks as his coach. My guess is Levine.
This year’s competitors range in age from 15 to 66 and include singers as disparate as a high school student who was accepted into a nursing program, a graduate of a military school, a skier who had his Olympic hopes dashed following an accident, and an Irishman who adds an international flavor to the competition.
No fewer than three contestants got all four judges to turn their chairs in the season premiere, but some of the most touching stories came, per usual, from those who didn’t make it.
More on the advisers: Selena Gomez is on Team Gwen, John Fogerty is matched with Adam, Brad Paisley will help mentor Blake’s team, and Missy Elliott joins Pharrell, with Rihanna being the overall advisor for Season 9.
Fogerty is the biggest liability as far as advisers go. The former Creedence Clearwater Revival front man saw solo success some 25 years ago, and has been doing nostalgia tours since the late nineties. "The Voice" has its fair share of old school singer/songwriters every season, which is perhaps why no winner has seen Billboard success since the show's inception, and what Fogerty can say to rectify that is up for grabs.
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