Photo: Paul Drinkwater/NBC
After a season hiatus, the original four judges of NBC’s reality competition, The Voice, are re-united for upcoming season five, debuting Sep 23 . At the recently held Television Critics Association (TCA) convention,Christina Aguilera actually exuded excitement at the prospect of once being pitted against superstar performersAdam Levine, Blake Shelton and CeeLo Green, overseen by producer/host Carson Daly.
Aguilera affirmed, “It’s always fun to kind of fight with each other, press our buttons for the ‘voice’ we want, see the person, get him on our team. It is a great process to coach, pick the songs and really get close to the members of my team. Naturally, we (the judges) pull for our teams. We want them to win. Obviously you get close to them. But it’s the contestants that do win at the end of the day, and not the coaches.”
(L-R) Carson Daly, Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, Ceelo Green Photo: Paul Drinkwater/NBC
Aguilera readily admits she had no idea what her job was supposed to be when she started coaching in season one. She recalled, “I went in holding hands with the other judges and didn’t know what really to expect. I don’t think a show like this was even on our radar Our (executive) producer Mark Burnett sort of reached out to all of us and gave us confidence that this would work. It’s interesting, because the show turned us on our ears. And it was fun. I caught an episode of last season when I wasn’t on it and thought, oh, my God, I can see why people like this. It’s wonderful entertainment. And thank God for Shakira, who replaced me. She did a beautiful job – sweet, lovely energy, and lovely for the show.”
Aguilera, who was born December 18, 1980 in Staten Island, New York, is the daughter of an Ecuadorean-American father and a mother who was part Irish and half German. She first gained national exposure as a child, appearing on Star Search and as a member of The Mickey Mouse Club. In 1999, she came to prominence with her debut album,Christina Aguilera. In 2010, she co-starred with Cher in the ill-received feature, Burlesque. That same year, she made her coaching debut on The Voice. After three seasons, she knew she needed a break. Aguilera confessed, “You know, I was doing this between recording albums, too.
“I’m the type of person that cannot live in front of a camera or a microphone 24 hours a day. I have to take breaks to stay connected with myself. It’s important so that I can then be at my best when I am on camera and find happiness with it. I’m a mom, and when the cameras go off, I go home. I put on sweats and a T?shirt, and the red lips come off, everything. I’m just mom. I needed some time to do that. My son starts kindergarten this fall and I’m excited about that. I’ve been on a really incredible journey the past six months. I just feel revived and renewed, and I’m very thankful. Did a lot of traveling and did a lot of really amazing things, and I’ve learned a lot. But mom’s also got to pay the bills. Mom’s got to do her thing. And I am really looking forward to getting back in front that camera and mixing it up with the boys.”
The Voice is executive produced by John de Mol, Mark Burnett, Audrey Morrissey Stijn Bakkers and Lee Metzger, developed by Mol. Carson Daly is host with Christina Milan serving as social media correspondent. The program airs Mondays (9pm) on NBC.
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