The Voice is set to return with what Channel Seven is calling the show’s “biggest shake-up in history”, introducing a surprise fifth coach alongside its returning all-star line-up.
Joining Melanie Chisholm, Richard Marx, Ronan Keating and Kate Miller-Heidke this season is Australian singer-songwriter Tones And I.
The multi-award-winning artist, whose global hit Dance Monkey topped charts in more than 30 countries, told TV WEEK she was thrilled to join a show she grew up watching.
“I grew up watching The Voice, as any aspiring singer, artist or songwriter would,” she said.
“I still can’t believe I get my very own big red chair with my very own big red buzzer… it’s all very showbiz!”
According to Channel Seven, the new season marks “a bold new era with a twist even the coaches won’t see coming”, promising “bigger voices, bigger surprises and bigger fireworks”.
Keating said Tones And I’s arrival came as a genuine surprise.
“I’d never met her before, and we had absolutely no idea she was coming. It was a total shock to the four coaches, a complete surprise,” he told TV Week.
Chisholm also welcomed the addition to the coaching panel, saying: “She’s a fantastic artist who I really admire, and it was lovely to work alongside her.”
Returning coach Miller-Heidke will be aiming to defend her title after guiding 19-year-old Alyssa Delpopolo to victory last season.
Speaking to TV WEEK, she said Marx was the coach to beat.
“He does not mince his words and he’s a fearsome competitor,” she said.
“When he starts reeling off his CV, it’s honestly dazzling, the people he’s worked with.”
Host Sonia Kruger also returns for the new season, guiding contestants as a new group of performers compete for the title.
The winner of The Voice will receive $100,000 in prize money, along with a recording development package that includes production, recording, mixing, mastering and access to Australia’s leading A&R and label services.
The Voice premieres on Sunday at 7pm on Channel Seven and 7plus.
Image: Seven
