The Voice made its return for its 21st season on September 20th on NBC. Along with the new season comes a new and exciting lineup of coaches ready to build their talented teams. 

Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, and Blake Shelton resume their positions as coaches from previous seasons. Now, these award winning artists are joined by Grammy winner Ariana Grande as she makes her Voice debut. The successful singer surprised her fans by tweeting, “Surprise! I am beyond thrilled, honored, and excited to be joining @kellyclarkson @johnlegend @blakeshelton next season~ season 21 of @nbcthevoice! @nickjonas we will miss you.” She also reportedly said in an interview, “I’m so honored and excited to join ‘The Voice’ family! I have been a huge fan of the show for such a long time. I can’t wait to go head-to-head with the incredible coaches, get to know these new artists and help to take their craft to the next level.” Fans are both excited and dubious regarding the decision to make Grande a coach.

The Voice is an NBC series in which undiscovered artists get a chance to be mentored and learn from some of the most successful singers of all time. They get the opportunity to go head to head with other contestants in the show’s journey to find the next biggest star! Since the show started airing 2011, The Voice has been one of NBC’s most watched series. However, the views have declined over the years as the show’s coaches have come and gone. In season 20 of The Voice, which premiered in March of this year with coaches Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Blake Shelton and Nick Jonas, the show’s number of viewers per episode were at approximately six million. With new coach Ariana Grande, season 21 kicked off with its views having rapidly increased by over one million and viewership is expected to continue along this path. 

It is no surprise that The Voice’s views spiked when Grande made her debut on the show. She has one of the largest followings on Instagram of 270 million and one of the most dedicated fanbases. Her fans were excited and eager to see how Grande would perform as a coach and to watch her team of talented singers flourish through the show’s progression. As she has such a wide following, it makes sense that her fans will be watching the show and keeping up with her success and achievements. 

However, some loyal fans of The Voice are not happy with the show’s decision to make Grande a coach. Some think that she is too young and inexperienced to carry a team of singers to victory. As the show continues on Mondays and Tuesdays and the blind auditions come to an end, we will see how her team plays out and if she will prove to be a good coach!