It’s do-or-die time on The Voice, as everyone’s rosters are filling up, and the coaches are searching for those last-second artists to round out the teams they will lead through the rest of Season 21. The competition has been fierce so far, and I’m not just talking about the on-stage talent. The coaches took the gloves off almost immediately, with Blake Shelton doing a lot of the instigating. While the self-proclaimed “jackass” has enjoyed some light-hearted hazing of rookie coach Ariana Grande, it’s the rivalry between Shelton and Kelly Clarkson that’s really amped up.
The real-life friendship between Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton has become a real-life feud while the cameras are rolling, with the two music superstars duking it out for many of the show’s potential country artists. And don’t expect those battles to get any less intense as the Blind Auditions wrap up and the actual competition starts. Kelly Clarkson shared a sweet photo of her and the OG coach on Instagram, but assured viewers the rivalry is still alive and well.
The two Voice coaches are looking good, even as the smack talk becomes more pronounced between Blake Shelton — the winningest coach in Voice history — and Kelly Clarkson — who has the higher winning percentage between the two. Anyone else think those claws she’s talking about might have dropped some arsenic into Shelton’s drink, given how she’s standing in the pic? Not like, a deadly amount or anything. At least not yet…
Kelly Clarkson seemed at first to be filling the verbal-sparring void left by Adam Levine, who has continued to (playfully?) drag Shelton two years after his exit from the show. But the daytime talk show host has proved that she can hold her own against the resident cowboy. Clarkson recently pointed out that while Blake Shelton likes to question the crossover artist’s roots and knowledge of country music, she actually grew up further south than Shelton did. And in the argument of who’s more Hollywood, it’s often pointed out that Shelton is married to Gwen Stefani, while Kelly Clarkson’s mother-in-law was Reba freaking McEntire.
Regardless of who’s more authentic or who has had the most success on The Voice, the contestants definitely seem to recognize the high caliber of Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson’s success. Of the six Four-Chair Turns so far in Season 21, five of those artists have chosen to go to Team Kelly (three) or Team Blake (two). John Legend snagged the last Four-Chair turn in the penultimate round of Blind Auditions.
Blake Shelton has only one spot to fill going into the last night of Blinds, while Kelly Clarkson needs two artists. If those two decide to go head-to-head for the same singer, things could get ugly, and I cannot wait. The Voice will begin its Battle Rounds next week, as the coaches welcome Battle Advisors Kristin Chenoweth (Team Ariana), Camila Cabello (Team Legend), Dierks Bentley (Team Blake) and Jason Aldean (Team Kelly) to help guide their teams to hopeful success in the music industry.
But we’ve still got one more round of Blinds to go before that can happen! Tune in to NBC at 8 p.m. ET October 5 to see how the teams fill out. And check out our 2021 Fall TV schedule for all of the upcoming premieres.