The Scene

Cee-Lo & Xtina Out Next Season: "The Voice" Taps Two New Superstar Replacements

Published on Monday, September 17 2012
Written by Katie Marzullo
 
It’s a shake-up at “The Voice”!
 
Hot off the heels of “American Idol” announcing their new judging line-up, NBC has just announced that two of the judges on the hit singing competition, Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera, are peacing out for the Spring season, leaving Adam Levine and Blake Shelton alone and unsupervised… Yikes!
 
But fear not, because their seats will be (temporarily) filled by a couple of artists who also have plenty of A-list cred and who have definitely earned the right to not only judge but mentor emerging talent – Usher and Shakira!
 
This is great news, I think, because I have said from the beginning that “The Voice” would benefit greatly from having a rotaing panel of judges/mentors. Not that Blake, Adam, Cee Lo, and Christina haven’t been great, but it will be great to see some fresh faces are thrown into the mix, and it can only be a good thing for the show (which has steadily kept its chief rival, “American Idol”, on its toes the past couple years).
 
And, as I said, these two new POVs come from some extremely well-regarded talent in the industry. Usher? ‘Nuff said. He discovered Bieber, for crying out loud. He obviously has an eye for star power. As for Shakira, she is exactly the type of singer that “The Voice” typically keeps an eye (or ear) out for. She is truly unique both in her sound and her image, which blends pop with bellydancing! Who else does that, I ask you? She’ll be great for not only grooming aspiring singers but polishing their onstage presence as well.
 
Being a judge on a singing competition show surely seems to be a hot commodity nowadays, and not just a novelty for washed-up pop stars and the like. Legit talent are being lured to these shows and offered extremely generous contracts to do so. Let's hope that the contestants are getting as much out of it at the end of the day as the judges... This is about discovering the next big musical act, after all. Right?
 
What do you guys think of these new judges?
 
 
- Katie Marzullo, YH Staff Editor