Blake Shelton Says Ariana Grande ‘Came Out Swinging’ During ‘the Voice’ Blind Auditions

Season 21 of The Voice premieres in September, and the show recently began filming its blind auditions with a new face in one of the famous red chairs. Ariana Grande joins the show this season as a coach for the first time, sitting alongside veteran coaches Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend. During a recent interview with SiriusXM‘s Storme Warren, Shelton opened up about coaching with Grande, sharing that the pop star is “fierce.”

“She is a tiny human being, but she is a fierce competitor,” he said. “She’s a blast.” Though Season 21 is Grande’s first as a coach, unlike previous new stars, she knew her way around the NBC competition series. “She’s been a fan of the show for a long time and she knew the process,” Shelton explained. “A lot of the times, a new coach comes in and we kind of have to walk them through, ‘Okay, here’s what this part of the show is and here’s how it works. There’s a steal, there’s a save, don’t be afraid to say this.’” He told Warren that Grande “knew everything” and “jumped right in.”

“She was super competitive in the blinds to the point where she was really funny,” he added. “I guess I just didn’t know what to expect from her, but I didn’t expect her to just come out swinging like she did.” Judging by Grande’s recent social media post, it appears that the blind auditions have concluded and all four coaches have selected their teams.

“hello @nbcthevoice can september 20th hurry up please ?” the “Into You” singer wrote. “i love my #teamariana and i am waiting quite impatiently to be able to follow them all on instagram and to show you their work and for the world to fall in love with them the way i have !!!!!!!” Last month, the show released its first promo video for Season 21, which Grande called “the most ridiculous and fun.”

“i adore these humans so much and am already an emotional wreck worrying about saying goodbye to everyone the day of the finale and nothings even happened or aired yet,” she wrote at the time. “simply cannot wait til we get started.” After Shelton’s latest admission about Grande’s competitive nature, his previous statement to Hoda Kotb on the Today show might be in jeopardy.

“I’m not going to lie,” the country star said after Grande’s addition to the show was announced. “We’re still going to beat the crap out of [Grande], you know, on the show. It’s our job — they pay us to win, Hoda. They don’t pay me to lose.”