Blake Shelton Says Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson Have an Advantage on ‘The Voice’

Blake Shelton is joining fellow coaches Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson and Adam Levine for Season 15 of The Voice, which kicks off on Monday, Sept. 24. Shelton, who has won six times — most recently in 2017 with Chloe Kohanski — hopes to take home his seventh championship this year, but predicts Hudson or Clarkson, both American Idol alumni, might edge him out.

“You know, I would like to think that just because Kelly and Jennifer came from another singing competition show that they wouldn’t have an advantage, but I guess maybe they do a little bit,” Shelton told ABC News Radio. “I mean, Kelly won her first season as a coach on this show, and that’s tough to do. And I was definitely betting against her the whole time, and she proved me wrong for sure.”

Clarkson won Season 14 with Brynn Cartelli, and Shelton says if Clarkson wins again, he will understand why.

“I guess it does [give you an advantage] to be able to relate to your contestant in a way that even I can’t or Adam can’t,” Shelton said. “Because they were under these spotlights and in front of the cameras on live television night after night, and they know what these artists are going through.”

Still, Shelton is just as passionate as ever about the reality TV talent show, and regardless of whether or not he walks away with his seventh win, he will always be grateful for what the show has done for his life and career.

“I didn’t realize that most people in this country had never, ever heard of me, at all, or heard my music,” Shelton told Sunday TODAY. “And it wasn’t until I got on The Voice as a coach that I realized, ‘Man, I am nobody.’ I remember the first time or two they introduced us on the stage … The Voice changed everything for me, and I mean everything.”

Shelton will be joined this year by Keith Urban as a mentor, where the two superstars realized they had more in common than just country music.

“It was good,” Urban said of working with Shelton. “I like Blake a lot. I liked him even more after spending that whole day with him and getting to know him a little bit more. I realized, I didn’t know him that well. I’ve never really spent any time with him, so I really enjoyed it.”

Season 15 of The Voice will premiere on Monday, Sept. 24, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Photo Credit: Getty/Jason LaVeris