Same Old Song and Dance: The Voice's Kelly & Blake Dynamic is Tired at Best
The rivalry between Kelly and Blake has gotten old.
The Voice is back with the two-night season 23 premiere, and for many fans, this season will be special because it's going to be the send-off for iconic coach Blake Shelton. Throughout the show's 12-year run, Blake's team has won the competition nine times, which is an absolute record. His closest competitor is Kelly Clarkson with four wins.
But such a difference in score can be explained with simple math: while Shelton has been part of the coaching team since day one, Clarkson only coached singers in seasons 14 through 21.
And this year, she is back to try and take the win from Blake.
During the time that Kelly has been part of the project, the two coaches have developed a very interesting love-hate dynamic, and it looks like their feud will continue this season.
In fact, it started even before the season took off, with Blake mentioning Kelly while explaining his departure from The Voice to Jimmy Kimmel.
"Kelly finally got me fired. I wanted to announce that here," he said laughing.
Then during the blind auditions on Monday, Clarkson and Shelton kicked off the new season in a competitive mood. Blake blocked Kelly as the very first performer took the stage, which led to a lot of shouting. Even newcomer Chance the Rapper couldn't help but describe their bickering as "love-hate."
Add to that the moment when Shelton suggested that Clarkson would quit with him, and Kelly's ironic "I'm totally gonna miss him!" about Blake, and it becomes clear that the project is really pushing the coaches' rivalry forward.
But it turns out this doesn't sit very well with the fans:
"I love Kelly and I like Blake independently, but I hope they dial back the fake bickering this season," one of the fans commented on the premiere on Reddit.
Although many fans have grown accustomed to Kelly and Blake fighting like cat and dog, some viewers feel that their constant squabbling has gotten repetitive and boring to watch. Yes, both Kelly and Blake are really good coaches, but sometimes, taunting and yelling seems to be all they do.
People agree that this might have been the highlight of the show a few years ago, but now the project should stop forcing the staged feud on the beloved coaches and find something new to surprise the audience with.