The Voice is returning for Season 21 of the NBC singing competition that features celebrity coaches recruiting more celebrity coaches to help would-be singers get their foot in the door of the music industry. And just as the musicians who fill the Big Red Chairs tend to change from season to season — except for OG coach Blake Shelton, that is — so too do the advisors that are brought in to guide team members through the Battle Round. And now we know who to expect for the new season.
With new episodes of The Voice premiering in the not-too-distant future, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, John Legend and first-timer Ariana Grande announced their advisors for Season 21 after first teasing the identities in a recent promo. Each advisor is a household name and superstar in their own right, but Ariana Grande’s amazing and somewhat unpredictable choice shows that just because she’s new doesn’t mean she’ll be easy to beat. Watch out, Blake, Ariana’s here to play. Let’s take a look at Season 21’s Battle Advisors.
Kristin Chenoweth (Team Ariana)
Ariana Grande is a longtime friend of Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth, and two even performed in 2016’s Hairspray Live! together. It was a brilliant choice for the new coach to bring in a master of the live performance, which Chenoweth recently displayed with a barn-burner of a one-take number in AppleTV’s musical comedy Schmigadoon. Grande and Chenoweth’s respect is mutual, as Chenoweth named the “Save Your Tears" singer as one of her own influences.
My musical influences range starts with Dolly Parton, Carol Burnett, Madeline Khan, it goes into Julie Andrews, it goes all the way down to where I sit right now, with you, Ariana Grande.
Ariana Grande looked taken aback by the compliment, and rightfully so, girl! You just got grouped in with some legends! I can’t wait to see what advice this duo provides for Team Ariana. And now, today's edition of Me Playing Favorites is over.
Camila Cabello (Team Legend)
John Legend also chose a Battle Advisor who can draw from her own experiences with Camila Cabello. Cabello came to fame as part of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which formed on American Idol predecessor The X Factor, before she broke from the group to go solo. Cabello also brings incredible energy to Team Legend, so this should be fun to watch. But the “Havana” singer won’t be the first member of 5H to draw from her reality show experience on The Voice; Normani served as Kelly Clarkson’s advisor in Season 17.
Dierks Bentley (Team Blake)
No surprise here, Blake Shelton is enlisting the help of country superstar Dierks Bentley, who has had an impressive 17 of 25 of his singles reach No. 1 on the Billboard country charts. That is surely the kind of success Team Blake’s members are hoping to emulate. Newlywed Shelton is the winningest coach in The Voice’s history, so I have no doubt that in Season 21, Shelton knows exactly the kind of musician to best provide guidance to his team, even if he should choose to clear the lane for a non-country artist, like last season.
Jason Aldean (Team Kelly)
Kelly Clarkson is always trying to steal country artists from resident cowboy and friend Blake Shelton, and that must be a big part of her strategy in Season 21, as she’s enlisted her own country star, Jason Aldean, to advise her team through the Battles. Aldean can bring the party, as he holds multiple nominations (and three wins) for Entertainer of the Year between the ACM Awards and CMT Music Awards. He and Clarkson even did a country song together back in 2010 — “Don’t You Wanna Stay." That'll surely be the mantra for the singers in battle!
Yet to be announced is The Voice’s Season 21 Mega Mentor, but hopefully it will be someone as dynamic and entertaining as Season 20’s Snoop Dogg (and please, someone else that Blake Shelton can dance to). The Voice premieres at 8 p.m. ET September 20 on NBC, and be sure to check out our 2021 Fall TV schedule to keep up with the premieres of all your favorite shows.
