Kelly Clarkson to Join The Voice

A second American Idol alum will soon be joining the cast of  The Voice: Kelly Clarkson has been named as one of the coaches for the singing competition’s 14th season, set to air next year. The news comes one day after fellow Idol finalist Jennifer Hudson was announced as a coach for The Voice’s upcoming 13th season.
Clarkson will join the show’s two constants in coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. A fourth judge will be named at a later date.

“This person is a very near and dear friend of mine, somebody that I consider to be family,” said Shelton via a Facebook Live broadcast, teasing the big news. That statement is not too much of a stretch, considering that Clarkson’s husband Brandon Blackstock is Shelton’s manager. “I’m finally not knocked up and I can join your show!” joked Clarkson, responding to Shelton’s good-natured trash talk by showing off her multiple music industry honors, including ones from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association.

This won’t be Clarkson’s first experience on The Voice, as she previously served as a guest mentor on the show’s second season in 2012 and performing on the 11th season finale in 2016. Clarkson was also rumored to be one of the judges for a 2018 reboot of American Idol, which will air on ABC after a lengthy run on FOX.

Most recently, Clarkson released the album Piece by Piece, which included the Top 10-charting title track as well as “Heartbeat Song.” To date, she’s released six full-length albums, including the multi-platinum smash Breakaway with “Since U Been Gone” and the 2011 collection Stronger. She is currently working on her seventh album, an R&B-influenced project that will be her first for Atlantic Records. The 12th season of The Voice is currently underway, airing Monday and Tuesday nights with coaches Shelton, Levine, Alicia Keys and Gwen Stefani.