I knew it’d be a good season of The Voice when Riley Green claimed a chair alongside fellow newcomer Queen Latifah. The country singer feels right at home on set (right down to his hat holster), but that doesn’t mean being a coach is easy. It can be rough during battles having to decide who gets a chance at winning and who goes home. So I totally get why Green is excited for The Voice’s live shows, particularly because of how it impacts one brutal element of the show.
As someone watching from home, it can be brutal watching your favorite singers (shout to Johnnie Kapua) not be the ones chosen. So I can’t imagine the dilemma of having to pick between two talented people. Like watching the queen have to choose between BigCountry and Luke Cope. Given this, it’s understandable that Green is ready to put the decision-making onto someone else. The new coach shares in an interview with People how the live shows will take some of the pressure off:
Queen Latifah, Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson, Carson Daly— I couldn’t have picked better people to be around. They’ve been great. We’ve pre-recorded quite a bit. The fun thing about the [live shows beginning Nov. 9] is I’ll be finding out [results] like everybody else. And I’m really excited that I’m not having to send people home! I’m glad America can do it, and I’ll just try to help them along the way.
The singer’s previously discussed the awkward part about the blind auditions: having to explain when he didn’t turn his chair. So it makes sense that picking between his own team can feel challenging. However, it wasn’t easy for his co-coach Kelly Clarkson, who did everything she could to convince country-leaning singers to pick her over him... even standing in front of Green’s chair as she did with Joe Henley.
Maybe now that we’re entering the live shows, everyone will feel freer. Still tis hasn’t stopped the coaches from having a good time, and I’m not just talking about all of the smack talk. The coaches, along with returner Adam Levine, have really stepped up their game when it comes to banter and pulling "goofy" hijinks on each other. When it comes to messing around and going for the win, all hats are off and that’s why Season 30 is working.
Clarkson also has stepped up her hijinks, competing against two popular newcomers, even offering one singer her hair, which was a Voice first. It was something the other coaches (and the rest of us) had never seen before, until maybe the duck blind stunt Green pulled against Levine in Season 30, Episode 5 to sway Kayleigh Mathews onto his team. The back-and-forth between them will hopefully continue into the live shows. Their playful rivalry has given me the vibes of Blake Shelton and Levine’s "feud." Although Shelton never put Levine in a time out in a duck blind.
Regardless, I’m excited to see what Green’s antics will be now that he’s putting it on America to choose. We can find out together every Monday on NBC and the next day with a Peacock subscription.
