Just as Disney Day at the Television Critics association tour ended with an American Idol panel, the NBC/Universal capped their day at TCA with a short The Voice session.
Executive producer Audrey Morrissey brought along two singing show alums–season 14 coach Kelly Clarkson the American Idol OG, and season 12 winner, Chris Blue to answer questions from reporters.
I’m not 100% sure, but I do believe Chris is the first alum to sit on a The Voice TCA panel. I think that’s significant. Usually, the panels feature the coaches showing off their “chemistry” rather than singing show alums sharing how the exposure changed their lives. The show seems to be telling fans that that the contestants are a priority, both during the competition and after the confetti falls.
In fact, Chris partly maintains his connection to the show through season 14 coach Alicia Keys, who has signed on as his manager and producer. I suspect his name will be invoked plenty during the upcoming season.
Additionally, not only is NBC putting alums on the panel, but The Voice hasn’t had its own session scheduled in quite a few cycles (TCA tour occurs in the winter and fall). I suspect the hoopla surrounding the return of Idol has had something to do with the extra push from the network. And the alum-centric panel is likely at least partly a reaction to Idol’s contestant-centric promotion.
During the session, by all accounts, Kelly was her typically delightful self.
Variety posted a bullet pointed list of amusing Kellyisms. Here are a few:
- “Quit saying that — it makes me sound weird,” she instructed Blue after he said “I’m no Kelly Clarkson” one too many times.
- “Y’all are quiet as hell,” Clarkson told the roomful of journalists when there was a lull in the questioning.
- After Blue gave an impassioned answer about his hopes for his career, Clarkson did a theatrical mic drop with a bottle of water. “And we just end it with that,” she said, with conviction.
Kelly managed to get through the entire panel without uttering the words “American Idol” once. Ahem.
Kelly Clarkson just referred to #AmericanIdol as “Voldemort” AKA “The show that can’t be named” during the #TheVoice panel. #TCA18
— Emily Longeretta (@emilylongeretta) January 10, 2018
Kelly revealed that she’s been asked by many shows to join their panel (she refused to say whether American Idol reached out to her). However, “I don’t want to be a judge,” she said, “I always feel sh*tty afterwards. I really enjoy the coaching aspect.”
“I get to be a part of their team and not just judge them and say stuff — I get to actually be involved with them and cultivate their career and where they want to go, and help them navigate this competition,” Kelly said of mentoring her team, “And I think that’s my favorite part … that I get to be a coach.”
As far as the competition is concerned, Kelly said that her fellow coaches are not cutting her any slack, “Hell no, they’re a competitive bunch. They’re not helping me at all.” Also, she pointed out the sometimes pathetic salesmanship of the panelists, “We fight and are completely trying so desperately to win these people into our teams. It’s hilarious how much we grovel.”
Once again, Kelly blames her pregnancies for delaying her coaching debut: “I love this show. I’ve been trying to be a part of it (but) I was knocked up for three years. I’m super-stoked that it finally worked out. Now it’s like, mommy off time.”
According to tweets from reporters, Kelly and Chris did spend some time defending The Voice’s alumni track record.
Oh…this is good.
Critic cites @AmericanIdol has a better track record producing superstars than @NBCTheVoice, with Kelly Clarkson @carrieunderwood & more. Kelly: “Yeah, but they told @IAMJHUD to go away!” Adds that “I hate to compare within this industry” bc success measured differently #TCA18
— Jim Colucci (@jimcolucci) January 10, 2018
(To be fair–the show didn’t tell JHud to go away. The voters did. Just like Idol, The Voice is littered with talented alums who were eliminated too soon. Random, shocking boots are just how the cookie crumbles when results are determined by fickle viewers.)
Kelly Clarkson points out the music industry and how artists break is VERY different than when she became a pop star when asked why #TheVoice hasn’t made a star yet. #TCA18 #NBC
— Damian Holbrook (@damianholbrook) January 10, 2018
“I went from singing to about 20 people to about 105,000.” — @NBCTheVoice Season 12 winner @Chrisbluelive. #TCA18
— Jay Bobbin (@JayBobbin1) January 10, 2018
“It wasn’t about winning the show. It was about winning in my life.” @Chrisbluelive on how #TheVoice continues to better musicians and their careers. #TCA18 ??
— The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) January 10, 2018
“Who wouldn’t want to be a Kelly Clarkson?” Chris Blue asks. Sure, but I think we can all admit I’m really more of a Kellie Pickler. #tca18
— Todd VanDerWerff (@tvoti) January 10, 2018
Good one, Chris.
Kelly Clarkson re joining @NBCTheVoice as a season 13 coach: “It’s cool to be able to tell them that I’ve navigated a competition and that I bring that experience to the table.” #TCA18
— Jim Colucci (@jimcolucci) January 10, 2018
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