NBC announced today that season 8 of The Voice will once again feature coaches Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, and Christina Aguilera. Pharrell will also return to fill the chair vacated by CeeLo Green.
The news comes on the heels of season 7 kicking off the Battle Rounds, which features two contestants from one team singing the same song. The team’s coach then must decide which artist advances to the next round, leaving the remaining artist to potentially be stolen by another coach. Celebrity advisors for this round also included Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks, working with Adam Levine; the band Little Big Town, mentoring alongside Blake Shelton; Alicia Keys lending Team Pharrell a hand; and Bush lead singer Gavin Rossdale, helping out his wife, Gwen Stefani.
Advancing to the next round are Team Pharrell’s Elyjuh Rene and Luke Wade, Team Adam’s Chris Jamison, Team Gwen’s Sugar Joans and Taylor John Williams, and Team Blake’s James David Carter.
A couple contestants were stolen, including Jean Kelley (who moves from Team Gwen to Team Pharrell), Griffin (who moves from Team Pharrell to Team Blake), and Craig Wayne Boyd (who moves from Team Blake to Team Gwen).
Eliminated contestants included Team Pharrell’s Maiya Sykes, Team Adam’s Jonathan Wyndham, and Team Gwen’s Amanda Lee Peers.
OHSOGRAY chatted the with contestants Sugar Joans and Jean Kelley about how it was working with their guest mentor Gavin Rossdale.
How was it working with Gavin Rossdale?
Sugar Joans: Working with the mentor was kind of crazy just because having Gwen and Gavin was such a natural pairing – putting both of them together because, obviously, they’re married. It was a very natural, welcoming, family oriented vibe. It was amazing just to have two people with such notable careers in one room giving me advice on how to perform. I’ve never had that experience before and I just wanted to soak up every ounce of information they could give me and make them proud going forward. It was really really special and a great opportunity.
Jean Kelley: I thought it was a very smart pairing. It made sense. As soon as I saw Gavin, I thought that they would work really well together and they did because [Gwen] is a little more reserved than I had expected her to be. He is very outspoken and he gave a lot of insight – both of them did – but he in particular could see I was struggling with the song. He had learned about my story and just about losing a parent and growing up without money. He reminded me, “You’re a survivor. You need to dig deep and think about that. This isn’t just singing lyrics. You need to bring your story into it.” I slept on that and I really tried to bring it back. In the next rehearsal, it was a completely different performance. I really owe him that insight and that encouragement in believing in me.
The Battle Rounds continue tonight at 8/7c on NBC. Keep checking in with OHSOGRAY as we’ll be bringing you behind-the-scenes coverage of The Voice through the finale.