The Voice: Christina Aguilera & Cee-Lo Will Be Replaced Next Season By Usher & Shakira?
The previous season of The Voice was full of contrived drama for ratings, mostly between judges Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine. But it extended to Aguilera and everyone, because she’s currently the only woman on the show. And it’s easy to make the only woman “the b**ch,” “the villainess,” “the diva,” and then pick on her looks. Which is exactly what happened. She was in the middle of all the fake drama that kept the ratings consistently high and the show in the headlines even though it’s materially only marginally different from its peers. And whatever they’ve been doing has mostly worked. Until now. Because The Voice is firing people.
According to reports, Aguilera and Cee-Lo will be fired next season. Us Weekly says they were originally going to be replaced by Maria Carey and Nicki Minaj, both of whom obviously ended up signing with American Idol instead (and before that, Simon Cowell talked Carey into Idol over X Factor which was her first choice).
And today, Us Weekly adds that Shakira and Usher are the front runners for replacement coaches.
Two very accomplished artists will be taking over Christina Aguilera and Cee-Lo Green’s fancy red chairs on The Voice during its fourth season.
A source tells Us Weekly Shakira and Usher are set to replace Aguilera and Green, who have each coached teams on the show, alongside fellow mentors Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, for the past two seasons. (The show’s third season has just gotten underway on NBC.)
Earlier this month, Aguilera opened up to Ryan Seacrest on his KIIS-FM radio show about her stint on the hit singing competition, admitting she once viewed her job as a coach on The Voice “kind of like a side project.”
“[I thought], ‘It’ll keep me close to my son [Max, 4] in L.A. I don’t have to travel,” the five-time Grammy Award winner said. “Then it kind of took off, and there goes my free time!”
The Voice source tells Us that Aguilera will use her break from the program to focus on tours and promotional duties surrounding the release of her new album, Lotus; Green is currently working with NBC on a new show of his own.
Both Shelton and Levine are set to return for Season 4. – via Us Weekly Magazine.