‘The Voice’ Adds John Legend as a Coach for Season 16

Just below 'EGOT winner,' John Legend is adding The Voice coach to his resume. Season 16 of the [...]

By Libby Birk

Just below "EGOT winner," John Legend is adding The Voice coach to his resume. Season 16 of the NBC singing competition will feature Legend as a coach, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Legend will join the spring panel that includes returning coaches Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. Legend will replace Jennifer Hudson, who coached the 13th and upcoming 15th season. Carson Daly will return as the show's host.

Sources told THR that Legend propositioned NBC with a desire to join the cast of The Voice.

"I'm thrilled to join the coaches of The Voice. I've been a guest and mentor on the show multiple times and I'm so excited to discover talented singers and help them make the most of their gift. I hope the world is ready for #TeamJL," Legend tweeted on Thursday.

"John Legend is a one-of-a-kind musician and producer with remarkable skills that are beyond measure," Paul Telegdy, president of the alternative and reality group at NBC, said. "His multi-dimensional career and incredible talents provide a repertoire that will excite and inspire our artists. This coaching panel is sure to ignite season 16."

Clarkson has been a judge on the show since season 14, having first appeared in season 2 as a part-time adviser and returning in season 13 in the same role. Levine and Shelton have been coaches ever since the show premiered in 2011.

Legend won an Emmy Sunday night for his work as a producer on NBC's acclaimed Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert broadcast, becoming the first African American man to earn an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards) and becoming just the second-youngest to join the club. He needed only 12 years to complete the feat, having won his first of 10 Grammys in 2006. He earned a Tony as a producer on the 2017 revival of August Wilson's Jitney and an Oscar for writing "Glory" with Common for 2015's Selma.

It remains to be seen who Legend will tap as an adviser during his time as a coach in the spring; the likes of Thomas Rhett, Keith Urban and CeeLo Green have been brought on for the upcoming season 15 in the fall, for the teams of Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and Adam Levine, respectively.

With Shelton, Rhett and Urban (and arguably Clarkson), season 15 might have a bit of a country-fied feel to it, as country music singer Kelsea Ballerini also joined the show as the series' inaugural Comeback Stage coach.

"I have been SO excited to share that I'm joining the @nbcthevoice family this fall as the 5th coach for the first ever 'Comeback Stage,'" Ballerini wrote on Instagram earlier this week. "It's been such a new, fulfilling challenge and I've been beyond inspired by the artists I've gotten to meet and work with. I can't wait for you to fall in love with them."

"In a Voice first, we have a fifth coach," the show's host Carson Daly says in a voiceover during Ballerini's promo, explaining that the stage is an online series that will accompany the primetime show.

Ballerini will coach the artists through a series of Comeback Battles, with two earning the chance to compete for America's vote and the winner earning a spot on the competition's live shows that kick off in November.

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

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