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The “Goofy” Way Blake Shelton Made Chance The Rapper Comfortable on The Voice
Country singer and long-time Coach on The Voice Blake Shelton can add "jokester" to his long list of accomplishments.
Leave it to country musician Blake Shelton to show Chance the Rapper a good time during the Season 23 production of The Voice.
The veteran Coach helped take Chance under his wing as one of the two newest Coaches — the second being Irish singer Coach Niall Horan — to sit in the big red chair. During an interview on the red carpet with NBC Insider for the show’s Live semi-finals, Chance said the O.G. Shelton helped him transition into his role as first-time Coach.
“It’s weird,” the three-time Grammy Award winner said. “Whenever you come in on a show, where you’re on camera, and it’s reality TV, or even like acting stuff, I think there’s a little bit of time that it takes to get comfortable.”
Thankfully, Shelton had just the remedy.
“He really helped me accelerate that by just being goofy all the time,” said Chance. “Like, he tells a lot of inappropriate jokes.”
So far, there are no signs that Shelton — leaving the show after spending 23 Seasons as a Coach — will be making any stand-up comedy routines once he retires (dare to dream). But at least he could get a good laugh out of Chance.
“It breaks the ice, you know what I mean?” Chance told NBC Insider. “And it made me understand that this space, specifically this show, is really just about loving music and having fun.”
Chance took a page from his own playbook when telling NBC Insider that he wanted his Team Chance singers to “live in the moment.” He did just that during filming.
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“That’s what we did, every day; it was really awesome,” said Chance. “And [Shelton] really made it easy for me to be myself here.”
When asked about the standout events during his time on The Voice, Chance looked back at working with Sorelle, and Manasseh Samone, both fondly remembered for their “reimagined” renditions of existing songs.
Chance referred to what most called “mentoring” as “collaborating” when saying that “being in collaboration with these artists who really love music” was the most rewarding part of being a Coach on The Voice.
“But, also, the show is 10-plus years old now, so a lot of these people grew up watching the show before they got on it,” said Chance. “So, it’s like a really big deal for them. And getting to see them live in their light and their purpose, that makes me inspired and more hungry.”
Chance’s first season on The Voice marks Coach Shelton’s last after 23 Seasons, with the rapper amassing some heavy hitters on this team, including Sorelle, Samone, Ray Uriel, and Jamar Langley. He also made his mark with some incredible fashion moments — and, of course, a sense of humor on par with his cowboy-ish sidekick before Shelton ode off into the sunset (and by "sunset," we mean "retirement").
- Reporting by Tara Bennett
