USA Today (Sept. 22nd 2014)
'The Voice' sounds different this season
Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams join talent mix
The NBC singing competition returns for a seventh season tonight with its third configuration of star coaches as No Doubt's Gwen Stefani and producer/singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams join veterans Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.
"Gwen and I have always had a great friendship, so this fit perfectly, like a glove," Williams says. "Adam is really smart and he's competitive. Blake, he's like the talent whisperer. He reads vibes. It's just magical watching him."
The newcomers aren't at a disadvantage competing against Levine and Shelton, who have been on the show from the start, says executive producer Mark Burnett.
"When you watch the first couple of hours, you see how fantastically Pharrell and Gwen seamlessly fit in. Also, they are absolutely not sitting back quietly, not for a second," he says. "They're very confident and very experienced."
Babies entered the coaching equation as Stefani decided to join the show, which also has featured Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Usher and Shakira.
"I got pregnant, I had a baby, I was at home with my parents … and a call came in. (They said), 'Christina's pregnant, do you want to do the show?' I hung up and thought, 'My life is weird,'" says Stefani, who had her third son with husband and Bush lead singer Gavin Rossdale in February. "It seemed like the perfect time."
Williams appreciates both being able to coach talented singers and the larger microphone The Voice provides.
"It's what I do every day in the studio (with professional singers). It's to coach, groom and guide them," he says. "It allows me to have a platform to speak to 14 million people every night, in terms of some of the suggestions and advice I'm giving to artists. They might be some of the questions people have at home."
The coaches again will be working with star mentors: Stevie Nicks with Team Adam; Rossdale with Team Gwen; Alicia Keys with Team Pharrell; and Little Big Town with Team Blake.
No major structural changes are planned for TV's most-watched unscripted competition. (The series, which won an Emmy in 2013, averaged 14.2 million viewers in the spring, up 1% in viewers and down 12% in young adults from the previous spring season, which started later.)
Burnett points to spring winner Josh Kaufman, who would not have survived until the end if the show didn't have the "steal," which allows coaches to pick up eliminated singers from other teams. "The real evolution for the show are the steals," he says. "No question, the United States is a country of second chances."
For all of The Voice's success, it hasn't produced a recording star anywhere near the stature of American Idol's Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood or Jennifer Hudson, who appeared on Idol during its highest-rated early seasons.
Williams says the goal is to cultivate "the voice" and adds there's no formula for creating a star. "You try and tell artists, 'You deserve your position on this show. You're shining.' But the question is, 'How important is it to you to be famous? Or to move people?' It's just a clear divide."
Burnett isn't concerned that the cancellation of Fox's The X Factor and the likely shift of Idol to one night a week for much of next spring's run, because of declining ratings, is a harbinger for the whole genre. The Voice, which helped turn The Blacklist into a hit last season, will continue its Monday-Tuesday schedule.
"It just makes The Voice a bigger fish within the pond. There were three shows (during the regular broadcast season) and The Voice still dominated and now there's half a show and us. It's a great thing for us," he says. "I think we'll remain No. 1 on our night. All you can really ask for is to win your night."