‘The Voice’: Kaleb Lee Praises Show’s Decision to Switch Coaches (Exclusive)

When Kaleb Lee appeared on Season 14 of The Voice in 2018, the four coaches were Adam Levine, Alicia Keys, Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson. Since then that lineup has changed a few times, as it has every season since the show began. While the decision to switch coaches each season might be unique, Lee praises the format, mostly because of the variety it offers the aspiring singers.

“I really do love it,” Lee told PopCulture.com. “I think it brings a different dynamic to the seasons. The different coaches, they’re all great, they’re all awesome, they all bring something different to the table. It’s been cool to see, like for our season Alicia Keys, Adam was on the show and then obviously Kelly and Blake.

“Having those things turn, I think it brings out different artists too,” he continued. “Like, if these artists know that John Legend‘s gonna be back there may be some more John Legend type artist’s that audition that typically wouldn’t. So it keeps the artist pool unique and interesting and I think it makes for a great show.”

Lee tried to get his music career off the ground for years, before deciding to give it up so he could raise his family with a stable income, relocating to Florida to get entirely away from music. But when producers saw a video of him singing and invited him to audition, he decided to give music another chance, although that decision didn’t come easily.

“I wrestled with it,” Lee conceded. “I wrestled with it a lot more than my wife did. As soon as I told her, she’s like, ‘You gotta do it.’ When we moved to Florida, it wasn’t too long after where she was already pushing me to, ‘Let’s go back,’ ’cause she knew how much I loved it. I mean, we loved our life; we had a great thing going in Florida and still do really. There was just a piece of me missing, and she knew that. I think she, along the way, always thought that it was ’cause of her and the kids that I chose to get away from music.

“And in some ways it was but it wasn’t in a negative way, it was a positive thing,” he continued. “So I think this full circle thing of me being back in music, has been great because I’ve been able to be a dad and a good husband for a season and now I’ve got their support, their full support, and back in what I’m doing, so I couldn’t imagine it any different.”

Lee started out on Shelton’s team before being stolen by Clarkson. Although he didn’t win the show, he made it into the semi-finals, learning plenty in the process.

“The show was for me, it was a boot camp,” Lee said. “When you get thrown into it, especially for me being out of music for so long, there was no better way for me to get back into this world. It’s just months of intense rehearsals, song picking, production, performances, you name it. In this industry, we experience that on the show week in, week out. For me, it was perfect, exactly what I needed to just really jump back in the deep end and get back into this thing and do music for a living.”

Lee is back at radio with “I Dream in Southern,” which is a duet with Clarkson. The two just performed the song on The Voice.

Photo Credit: Getty / NBC