Have No Fear, Gwen Stefani Will Officially Be Coming Back To The Voice Next Season

[Primetimer]

And her and Blake Shelton will probably rotate their chairs together, holding hands.

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[Kromm]

Ugh. And what if Blake and Gwen break up mid-season?

Actually "ugh" even if they don't. It's going to be awkward either way.

[FormerMod-a1]

It's weird.  I like them both, separately and together, but I keep thinking this relationship won't last.  And I'm usually not a cynic either.  Things that make you go "Hmmm....".

[Padma]

Glad they're keeping two women as judges.  As for Blake and Gwen, they seem well suited--both musical (regardless of genres) including writing, not just performing--and are always smiling and laughing when you see them together. They both also seem kind, thoughtful (from what we've seen and heard) and not full of themselves. And, in addition, of course, they're both very attractive.  What's not to work?

[Ellee]

Can't believe I'm typing this.  I think I might actually miss Miley.  

I was so disappointed when she was named a judge.  I really was.  Now not so much.  The clothes ...yeah, a little strange but her heart really does appear to be in the right place for these contestants.  

[saber5055]

Yeah, I'll miss Miley too, Gwen never was a favorite. Who ever would have figured that ... not me, for sure. I'm liking this season as one of the best yet, with Miley and Alicia being two breaths of fresh air in between the stale old Adam/Blake love/hate.

[Michel]

Then I guess I'll be the lone voice and say that I'm actually looking forward to seeing how Gwen interacts with Alicia next season.  She's always been terrible about her artist pitches and her elimination decisions (keeping Ryan Sill around way longer than he deserved in season seven, dumping poor Lyndsey Elm and Ellie Lawrence in favor of her obvious pet, Braiden Sunshine, in season nine, advancing Korin Bukowski past the Lives over Ellie, whose iTunes numbers were easily the highest on her team that week), but she's always brought out damn good performances from her team in the Battles and the Knockouts.

And if anything, I think her relationship with Blake actually might have rejuvenated her and could drive her to actually do a better job this season.  She seemed really happy as his Battle mentor in season ten, and she looked even happier during their duet during one of the live shows.

I just really hope she works on her pitches and focuses on the artist's voice and possibly his or her stage presence, not his or her look.  That cost her a handful of artists who would have otherwise been natural fits for her.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Michel

[TheGreenKnight]

Well…. That’s unfortunate. She was a dud as a coach and I'll miss the Alicia/Miley chemistry. At least Pharrell isn’t coming back (so far). I guess I’ll skip next season.

[Wings]

I will miss Miley.    I would rather Alicia go.  Her 'spiritual cliche' speak is way too much.   She wanted to make a sonic connection between the 2 guitar players?  What does that even mean?  

When her team compares notes and find out they all got the same, 'your soul touched mine' business, there is going to be a waiiiiiiit a minute moment.  :^)  It worked though, she won many good singers with that talk.  

She is beautiful!  Wow on her bare face, cool hair and sense of style.  

Edited October 18, 2016 by wings707

[Wings]

3 hours ago, Michel said:

I just really hope she works on a pitches and focuses on the artist's voice and possibly his or her stage presence, not his or her look.  That cost her a handful of artists who would have otherwise been natural fits for her.

Funny, I saw the opposite in a few cases with Gwen.  I don't remember names but she opted to keep a strong black singer around because of her voice and paid no attention to her not looking, acting or being current!  It takes more than a good voice to create a star;  just because you can belt a song to the last row without a mic does not mean you can win.  It pretty much means you won't.  

[Michel]

19 minutes ago, wings707 said:

Funny, I saw the opposite in a few cases with Gwen.  I don't remember names but she opted to keep a strong black singer around because of her voice and paid no attention to her not looking, acting or being current!  It takes more than a good voice to create a star;  just because you can belt a song to the last row without a mic does not mean you can win.  It pretty much means you won't.  

Oh, of course.  But that was the Knockouts.  I'm talking about the Blinds and attempting steals.  Her pitches were often about changing the look of the artist rather than working on or with the voice, and I think that drove other artists who would've been perfect for her right into Adam, Blake, or even Pharrell's arms.

[Padma]

1 hour ago, Michel said:

Oh, of course.  But that was the Knockouts.  I'm talking about the Blinds and attempting steals.  Her pitches were often about changing the look of the artist rather than working on or with the voice, and I think that drove other artists who would've been perfect for her right into Adam, Blake, or even Pharrell's arms.

Oh, I'm remembering how I hated her pitches. "We can go shopping...." "I love your shoes. I have a pair like that." Come to think of it, while I think Blake is a decent coach, his pitches are often pretty insipid too. The worst thing about Gwen for me ws that, like Shakira, CeeLo and Pharrell she seemed to have trouble getting people to choose her over the others.  I've really enjoyed that both Alicia and Miley are very competitive. And I've enjoyed Miley's spunky pitches and "heart on her sleeve" youthfulness. She's a nice contrast to the rest--probably my favorite panel over all.

[Guest]

I was excited before Gwen first appeared on this show but her stock has kind of fallen for me, and I'm not sure why.   Lackluster performance, I guess.  Now I find my radio stations are playing her more since she's been paired with Blake and it annoys me, and I change the channel.  I guess I feel like she was always supposed to be this music icon and she seems kind of vapid and ordinary on the show.  It makes me wonder if her hype was mainly due to being cute, blonde, thin and stylish.  

[Michel]

5 hours ago, Padma said:

Oh, I'm remembering how I hated her pitches. "We can go shopping...." "I love your shoes. I have a pair like that." Come to think of it, while I think Blake is a decent coach, his pitches are often pretty insipid too. The worst thing about Gwen for me ws that, like Shakira, CeeLo and Pharrell she seemed to have trouble getting people to choose her over the others.

Gwen actually made one damn good pitch that even blew me away, though.  If you can get access to it, just go back and watch her pitch to Taylor John Williams in season seven.  When she and Adam fight over him, Adam goes into one of his usual tangents on how Taylor could help him win.  But then, Gwen comes right out with something even Adam didn't expect.  She tells Taylor that while their goal is to push the artists to do better, she was so inspired by his singing, he could push her to do better.  (On a side note, a highly impresssed Blake actually sat up in his chair and applauded her in total awe.)  Well, Taylor was so flattered to hear someone as famous as Gwen say that to him, he had to pick her after that, and he admitted as much in his confessional after he chose her.  (He'd been about to pick Adam until she'd said that.)

I mean . . . if Gwen could go for the jugular with pitches like that, she'd easily land some better artists.

[Kromm]

7 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I was excited before Gwen first appeared on this show but her stock has kind of fallen for me, and I'm not sure why.   Lackluster performance, I guess.  Now I find my radio stations are playing her more since she's been paired with Blake and it annoys me, and I change the channel.  I guess I feel like she was always supposed to be this music icon and she seems kind of vapid and ordinary on the show.  It makes me wonder if her hype was mainly due to being cute, blonde, thin and stylish.  

Gwen seems like a nice woman, but she's really not that intelligent. She's trapped in this image of her as a "girl" (meaning young and rebellious) and neither really fits comfortably anymore. She has an effective voice for a specific kind of song, but not really for much else. She's fairly well connected to the Fashion and Beauty sides of the Entertainment business, but that's only a bonus if it's a woman (and a glam one) on her team who wins. On the music side, she probably knows some decent writers and producers, and maybe even a decent video director, but her connections to radio stations, music execs, etc. isn't going to be any better than any other middle-tier pop star (and her agent likely does 98% of that contact). Her social media presence actually isn't bad (it's gone up since she hooked up with Blake--its 2.5m on Twitter now and 5.4m on Instagram), and that does matter to the show a lot these days, but compare that to Miley's 30.9m on Twitter and 53.9m on Instagram. Gwen's social media, as big as it seems to normal humans, is literally like a pimple on Miley's social media's ass.  Just as another point of comparison, Blake's Twitter following is 18.2m and his Instagram 1.2m.

Going on the theory that the Coaches to a large extent matter more off-show than on (because the performance coaching the contestants get comes straight from the Show, other than the on-camera bits they shoot to make the Coaches look good), if someone only cared about what happens on-show, it might not be that bad to have Gwen as your Coach, because you'd also face less competition on your own team. The cream would rise to the top easier, and the actual vocal and performance tutors would presumably treat you the same as the people from anyone else's team. 

But when you get to a stage where the public votes? Gwen doesn't have an Army (except for a few people maybe borrowed from Blake). 

Blake has an army, because the Country folk vote for him and his folks no matter what. He gets people on Country radio (even before the show is over), he takes them on tours, etc. so it helps them on both ends.

Miley has an army. Unlike Blake, who has to tease people on Radio and via the Country Music media (although he's gotten good at it) all Miley has to do is Tweet. I mean Blake can too, but Miley's got almost twice as many people seeing it, and a ridiculous Instagram following as well. 

Gwen?  No Army. So even putting aside how vacuous she seems on the show, but also conversely how at least one contestant probably will rise to the top even on her team, overall when it comes to facing the people on the OTHER teams in popularity, anyone on her team is not in a great spot. And it would be even worse if Miley and Gwen were around on the same season, so she probably should be grateful that's not happening.

[Guest]

I recall now one specific event when Gwen kind of bugged me.  That "Spark the Fire" song with Pharrell.  Maybe it's not about getting high but it sure sounded like it.  I don't think a mom of kids her age ought to be be glorifying it.  

[Kromm]

17 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I recall now one specific event when Gwen kind of bugged me.  That "Spark the Fire" song with Pharrell.  Maybe it's not about getting high but it sure sounded like it.  I don't think a mom of kids her age ought to be be glorifying it.  

I don't smoke or otherwise consume weed. I'm not particularly a fan of it as a life choice either.

That said, I'd feel like a hypocrite putting my own feelings on that matter in front of an actual parent's feelings. 

To me it's a bit lame that in her late 40s she's still trying to be the hip "girl" who we're supposed to imagine sitting on a ratty couch in a smoke-filled basement somewhere, while she and her band mates eat lots of munchies and try to figure out a song arrangement. 

But feeling it's lame is just a calculation of my impression of her. What she ought or ought not to do ain't my business, IMO. I think it's lame, sure, but wouldn't personally go any further than that to implying it's wrong enough she ought not do it. I think Blake is lame for constantly glorifying drinking, to use an equivalent example, but again don't think I'd have a leg to stand on to say more than that on the issue.

And Pharrell is a parent too, of a seven year old. I don't see why this would be any different for him than for Gwen, just because she's a mother and he's a father.  If we condemn one, by all means let's make sure we condemn both.  And while we're at it, toss Blake into the mix too, because the more I think on it, the better an equivalent his glorification of drinking is. It's literally the same thing (only even more overtly).

Edited October 19, 2016 by Kromm

[Guest]

I didn't know Pharrell was a parent, too.  No double standard from me.  

I see the point about Blake's drinking jokes too, but I feel like at least that's legal and (for the most part) socially acceptable to joke about.  And he doesn't have a passel of minors at home, looking up to him as an example.  Does he write songs about drinking to excess that aren't comic?  That's another way Gwen's was worse than Blake's, to me.  Joking about what's in your Starbucks cup on a show no one under 20 probably ever watches, or on your Twitter, just doesn't seem as bad to me as releasing a pot smoking anthem.  I don't think Blake's jokes about being smashed are funny, either, though.  He seems to have grown out of it a bit, or maybe just on the show.  

Quote

I'd feel like a hypocrite putting my own feelings on that matter in front of an actual parent's feelings.

Is that implying it's hypocritical of me to be unimpressed with her decision there?  I'm not putting my feelings "in front of" anyone's feelings, whatever that means.  I am an actual parent and I have opinions on people who put themselves on stage, and we're all here to voice those opinions.  

Edited October 19, 2016 by Guest

[Padma]

Since Blake's been dating Gwen (mom with kids), he seems to have cut back A LOT on the drinking jokes. It used to be almost every episode. I'm glad it's gone.

As for Gwen being the cool hip sexy chick at 47 and a mother of three, I'm in!  In my opinion, she looks great so why be limited by other people's ideas of "age appropriate dress"?  To me, it all still fits, she looks great, so why the heck not?

[Wings]

I would like to see her change her appearance a bit.  I am tired of the extreme hair and red lips.   

[DaisyFields500]

I am not excited about the switch.  I like Gwen's old songs, but I am not fond of her as a coach.  I don't like the  lack of umph sales pitches.  I also don't think she can effectively help others sing better.  I think that is why she comments more on style.  I feel like she lucked up with a voice that works for her.  I agree with a previous poster that her singing voice mostly fits a specific style.  Her voice is kind of punkyy pop sound to me.  I agree that her style could evolve more to match where she is now.  Miley actually surprised me because I actually enjoyed her on the show.  I will miss her on the show.

Edited October 19, 2016 by DaisyFields500

[azshadowwalker]

So, it gives more credence to the rumors that Blake was being nasty to Miley in the effort to force her out. If I watched this show with any regularity, that would be enough to make me stop. They lost me a long time ago, though, so I am just disgusted from a distance. 

[Michel]

1 hour ago, azshadowwalker said:

So, it gives more credence to the rumors that Blake was being nasty to Miley in the effort to force her out. If I watched this show with any regularity, that would be enough to make me stop. They lost me a long time ago, though, so I am just disgusted from a distance. 

I don't want to believe that this is true about Blake.  But if it is, then NBC needs to just take a risk, cut their losses, and let him go in favor of a nicer country artist.  And since I do believe that Adam's also been nasty to Miley (and probably other female coaches), he should be sacked, too.  The fangirls of both would cry and whine, but they'd get over it.  Those two are getting way too big for their britches, if you ask me.

[Guest]

They'll never let Blake go, or Adam.  The show is about ratings, not feelings.  

[mangosplums]

On 10/18/2016 at 9:01 PM, Padma said:

 The worst thing about Gwen for me ws that, like Shakira, CeeLo and Pharrell she seemed to have trouble getting people to choose her over the others. 

On the season I watched Pharrell was the most sought after coach. All the best singers picked him because he was the one who was actually connected and could get them a career.

[Jextella]

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

They'll never let Blake go, or Adam.  The show is about ratings, not feelings.  

I like both Blake and Adam and I'm glad they keep them.  Each has the right blend of skills needed for success on the show, and IMO, the show is lucky to have them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a die hard fan of either of them in general, but they work in the context of The Voice.  

I do not like the idea of Gwen on the show given her relationship with Blake, though.  Smacks too much of favoritism and it makes Blake, Gwen, and The Voice look bad.

[Noreaster]

It was announced in the same press release that Miley is returning to The Voice in season 13.  

I don't see having Gwen back as favoritism.  She joined the show as a coach and was invited back for another season before her relationship with Blake.  This will be her third season.

[bluepiano]

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2016 at 10:51 AM, saber5055 said:

Yeah, I'll miss Miley too, Gwen never was a favorite. Who ever would have figured that ... not me, for sure. I'm liking this season as one of the best yet, with Miley and Alicia being two breaths of fresh air in between the stale old Adam/Blake love/hate.

Miley focuses on musical substance more than any coach they've had. (who'da thunk?) She does run off at the mouth, but I think that's cutting down on time that would've gone for Adam and Blake trading insults. Which is a very good thing in my book.

As a coach Gwen is way too focused on her singers' clothing and physical appearance. I get that she's got one foot in the fashion world, but this is supposed to be "The Voice," not "America's Next Top Model."

That's the main reason I'm not looking forward to Gwen's return. But I also fear that the banter between her and Blake is going to be way too cutesy and junior high school.

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2016 at 3:32 PM, wings707 said:

I will miss Miley.    I would rather Alicia go.  Her 'spiritual cliche' speak is way too much.   She wanted to make a sonic connection between the 2 guitar players?  What does that even mean?

Alicia seems to have taken over that role from Pharell. I can only hope that with Miley gone and Gwen on the panel she will drop some of the spiritual platitudes and actually talk about the music.

Edited October 21, 2016 by bluepiano

[Kromm]

32 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

Miley focuses on musical substance than any coach they've had. (who'da thunk?)

People shouldn't be surprised. Or rather it doesn't seem like the daughter of Bill Ray Cyrus should know much about music, but... she does.

That's doesn't erase the fact that she can be annoying, but she knows her music.

[bluepiano]

3 hours ago, Kromm said:

People shouldn't be surprised. Or rather it doesn't seem like the daughter of Bill Ray Cyrus should know much about music, but... she does.

That's doesn't erase the fact that she can be annoying, but she knows her music.

So does Alicia Keys, obviously, as a songwriter and pianist, but it feels like for whatever reason she's decided to just be a cheerleader and not offer anything of substance. I wonder if that's producer influence.

I mean, I don't expect her to say "on that D chord you might've sung a flatted third," but I'm pretty sure that even people who aren't musicians get tired of hearing things like "you're a beautiful ray of sunshine."

Edited October 21, 2016 by bluepiano

[le bordel chaud]

Is Christina gone for good then? She was my favorite part of the show! :(

[JMarie99]

I am not at all happy to hear this. I was never a Miley fan but I really like her on this show. As for Gwen, I liked her music with No Doubt but not so much her solo stuff. She has a very limited vocal style, and I am not looking forward to her being all cutesy-wootsy with Blake.  Then again, I'm a new viewer to this show and so I actually have no idea how she was as a coach. And I was totally surprised by how much I like Miley, so maybe I'll be surprised by Gwen as well. 

[Guest]

Miley might grow old fast, too.  A lot of coaches did great in auditions and then got kind of bad in the later parts of the show.   Shakira, for one.  I hope Miley stays entertaining.  

[Richard]

I miss Christina Aguilera. This show needs a diva. 

[Michel]

4 hours ago, JMarie99 said:

Then again, I'm a new viewer to this show and so I actually have no idea how she was as a coach. And I was totally surprised by how much I like Miley, so maybe I'll be surprised by Gwen as well. 

In seasons seven and nine, Gwen was excellent when it came to getting good performances out of her team during the Battles and Knockouts.  Her main problem lay in the Blinds, where she was terrible at making pitches to the artists she really wanted.  She'd focus on their look rather than their voice, and they'd be driven right into the arms of Adam, Blake, or Pharrell instead.  Because of this, she'd be lucky if she could wrangle a strong artist (she only got one four-chair-turn each season -- Anita Antoinette in season seven and Lyndsey Elm in season nine) and came out of the Blinds with a middling team in season seven and an out-and-out weak team in season nine.  Her other problem was her often questionable elimination decisions in the Battles, Knockouts, and Live Playoffs, as she often based them on her personal connections to the artists rather than the strength they offered her or her team or who truly performed better.  (In season seven, she screwed over Jessie Pitts, Allison Bray, Bryana Salaz, and Ricky Manning in favor of her pet, Ryan Sill.  And in season nine, she screwed over Lyndsey Elm and Ellie Lawrence for her pet, Braiden Sunshine.)

Basically, while she can bring out amazing performances from her team, I would be very distrustful of being on Team Gwen knowing I could be tossed in favor of someone she personally likes me, even if he or she is weaker.  The only coach more obvious about his pets than she is, is Adam.

[Guest]

Weak is in the eye of the beholder, though.  I would've taken Braiden Sunshine over those two you say she 'screwed over', too.

I don't recall Gwen faring particularly poorly in the auditions.  Of course, I'm the one who thinks the chair turns and coach picks are determined by the show, not the coaches or contestants.  I think that they learned to manage the balance of talent after the first couple seasons.  Otherwise, everyone with the option would've chosen Blake.  

[TheGreenKnight]

I think Gwen is a horrible coach, but--worse than that--she's boring TV.

[Padma]

On ‎10‎/‎21‎/‎2016 at 9:26 AM, JMarie99 said:

I am not at all happy to hear this. I was never a Miley fan but I really like her on this show. As for Gwen, I liked her music with No Doubt but not so much her solo stuff. She has a very limited vocal style, and I am not looking forward to her being all cutesy-wootsy with Blake.  Then again, I'm a new viewer to this show and so I actually have no idea how she was as a coach. And I was totally surprised by how much I like Miley, so maybe I'll be surprised by Gwen as well. 

Did you think they were cutesy before? I really didn't, not even on their duet. And that was in that "we're falling in love--I think?" phase. I was impressed (okay, maybe also a little disappointed--"l'amour, toujours l'amour!") that they kept it very professional. I expect now it will be even easier for them since they're "old hat".  Wherever I've seen them--The Voice, interviews, etc.descriptions of them locally at restaurants--they just seem very nice to each other and to fans with no big amounts of PDA.  Last  season I thought they kept it very respectful and reserved.

That said, I'd rather see Gwen come back as Team Blake's advisor and keep Miley and Alicia. Miley's been surprisingly good with her comments and suggestions and I still think Alicia might do more of that, too, as she gets more comfortable as a coach. Neither one of them goes on and on about fashion and makeovers, and I really appreciate that as it always seems so insipid from Gwen (she could advise them that way later, but as part of her

I don't like Christina's diva-ing up her team, even though she actually gives musical critiques (and can be a bit edgy/bitchy in the process--which doesn't bother me), so I won't miss her either, but it's too bad they won't just move forward with the group they have. So far, they seem to have the most potential.

[Wings]

I am already cringing at the banter that will take place about Gwen and Blake being together.  Between them AND from the others.   

I am sorry to see Miley go.   She is delightful and a good coach, who knew?  Alicia, meh.   I am hoping Miley wins this season and Alicia's contestants fail to make it very far.  That will show 'em!   LOL.   

[Wings]

I don't care about Gwen's age, when it comes to how she dresses.  Well I don't care about her age in any situation!  I speak, here, from a position of what style is cutting edge, hip current, ORIGINAL or, more importantly,  valuable for a singer today.  She is from the 90's by my best calculation.  I view her hair, clothes and makeup with a huge yawn.  No, gigantic GAG, if truth be known.  

Who else in this industry goes with that painted, studied, plastered, forced, bleached archaic look?  No one.  Well, Dolly Pardon but that is a signature no one should borrow.  An icon, she.  

Okay one might say to go there to be different.  Again NO.  It is not different, it is contrived. 

To avoid election horror I have decided to get down on Stephanie.  Anything that works, right?  

I will take a shot at Alicia Keys in another thread,  whose music and style of dress/makeup I love, but.....................................to be continued.  

Edited November 5, 2016 by wings707

[Guest]

14 hours ago, wings707 said:

Who else in this industry goes with that painted, studied, plastered, forced, bleached archaic look?

Christina