There’s no escape for Blake Shelton when it comes to the trolling from his fellow coaches on The Voice, even when he’s on stage with his wife, Gwen Stefani. The Grammy winner wrapped up her Las Vegas residency recently, and with a special guest in the audience — Ariana Grande. And while Grande took time to properly fangirl over the iconic pop singer, she didn’t miss a beat when it came to dragging Shelton.
Blake Shelton took the stage with Gwen Stefani to sing their duet “Happy Anywhere” to close out Stefani's final Vegas show. After the performance, Ariana Grande revealed to Shelton that she’d filmed the on-stage duet — and also used the opportunity to continue their running joke regarding Shelton’s “seniority.” The OG Voice coach shared with E’s Daily Pop how Grande trolled him over his live performance with Stefani.
I got up and performed during the show, and afterwards, Ari was showing me on her phone that she was filming it and she was shouting, 'Look, everybody, my grandpa!’ And she was even doing the thing where you squish their head.
Blake Shelton demonstrated the motion that Ariana Grande did, using his fingers to make it look like they were squishing something small, and said that kind of behavior was indicative of what happens on The Voice when the cameras aren’t rolling. It’s not hard to believe the ribbing between coaches keeps going off-camera, but I don’t buy for a minute that Shelton isn't dishing it out as hard as he’s taking it. Though I guess it probably isn't a successful diss to call someone a "granddaughter."
Nonetheless, Blake Shelton jokingly played victim to the singing competition’s newest mentor, saying:
It’s brutal around here, especially for an old grandpa like me.
Ariana Grande isn’t the only one getting in on the Blake-bashing fun. Kelly Clarkson took a swipe at the country superstar as well on an August trip to Las Vegas to celebrate a win in her litigation-filled divorce with Brandon Blackstock. Clarkson and some friends saw George Strait perform in concert, with Clarkson rightfully calling him the “True King of Country Music,” while she tagged Blake Shelton to indicate his spot lower on that list. Clarkson made up for it a few days later when she showed Shelton some love at one of his concerts.
The Voice host Carson Daly said this sort of ribbing between coaches is part of what has kept The Voice successful over its 10 years. The amusing rivalry between Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson has been especially intense this season, as Shelton came down hard on the talk show host early in the season over her expertise in country music. And Ariana Grande has proved to fit in well among the seasoned coaches, despite early rumors that suggested Grande’s presence on the show might spell doom for OG coach Shelton, where OG stands for "Old Grampy-gramps."
Radar Online reported in September that NBC might be looking to replace Blake Shelton on The Voice, after Ariana Grande’s joining the show opened up the opportunity to nab younger and fresher talent on the coaching panel. But Grande and Shelton both seemed to laugh off the rumors, as Grande shared Shelton’s sarcastic response of “Thanks a fuckin’ lot.”
Tune into The Voice if you want to see Blake Shelton’s active rivalries in action! The Voice has entered the live segments of Season 21, with performances airing at 8 p.m. ET Mondays and results being announced at 8 p.m. ET Tuesdays on NBC. Also be sure to check out our 2021 TV Schedule for premieres through the rest of the year.
