ABC News Radio (Oct. 1st 2018)

Why Blake Shelton thinks Jennifer Hudson may be his biggest Voice competition this season: "She’s the sneaky one here"

The blind auditions continue tonight on The Voice, with Blake Shelton keeping a close eye on his competition. 

Even as they begin their fifteenth season together, the bromance is still alive between Blake and Adam Levine.

“Of course, Adam has been here since day one,” Blake points out, “and he makes the show so fun for me, because if I didn’t have him as a punching bag down there, I don’t what I would do.”

“And he makes the Blinds entertaining,” he adds, “because he gets so competitive and it’s funny to me.”

Blake says his pal Kelly Clarkson definitely wins the title of cheeriest, most energetic coach.

“Kelly’s a blast to work with,” he observes. “You never see her sad, or you never see [her] when she doesn’t have a huge smile on her face.”

He adds, “I don’t know that there’s anybody who’s ever been a coach on this show that’s more excited about [it]… And it shows.”

But it’s Kelly’s fellow American Idol alum Jennifer Hudson that Blake sees as the one to watch.

“She’s the sneaky one here,” Blake alleges. “And she’s not as over-the-top as Adam is, as far as being competitive.”

“And she doesn’t have as much to say as Kelly — nobody has as much to say as Kelly,” he laughs. “But Jennifer is a super-talented, experienced coach: She came from a show like this, just like Kelly. And then she went on to not only do music, but to win an Oscar and perform on Broadway.”

Blake’s compliments for Jennifer don’t end there: he adds she’s a “sweet person” who’s “one of [his] favorites.”