NEED TO KNOW
- Five coaches confirmed for The Voice Australia: Melanie C, Ronan Keating, Kate Miller-Heidke, Richard Marx, plus newcomer Tones and I.
- Kate and Richard joke about rivalry but praise each other’s insight; a major twist has also been teased.
- This season’s artists are all exceptionally diverse, spanning genres from gothic metal to opera.
The Voice Australia is back this weekend, and we’re already getting ready for the biggest season of them all after five coaches were announced — with Tones and I a surprise addition.
She will join Melanie C, Ronan Keating, Kate Miller-Heidke and Richard Marz, who are all returning coaches, and there’s already tension in the air.
“We don’t get along,” Marx, 62, deadpanned when WHO asked how the pair like working together. “There’s drama, the fights that are happening – you won’t believe it.”
However, their schtick doesn’t last long.
In the next breath, the pair are singing – no pun intended – each other’s praises.
“All jokes aside,” the singer-songwriter and music producer relented. “I really have a lot of respect for Kate and the way she hears artists, and watching and listening to how she’s assessing and what matters to her.”
“I think, a lot of it we have in common,” he continues.
“And so, in between, it’s funny – like, you would think that, in between takes or when there’s a little downtime, the last thing we would talk about is music or singers or whatever. But that’s what we talk about because we’re fascinated by it.”
Kate, 44, is equally as effusive about her fellow coach. “I feel like I’ve learned so much from Richard just sitting next to him, in his physical proximity,” the Aussie singer-songwriter gushes. “He just always has such sort of deeply incisive commentary because of his background as a producer, a record producer.
“I do think, in many ways, you’re just so, so qualified to help these singers.”
What do we know about the twist?
The coaches will battle it out to win over the artists during the blind auditions (when we see the iconic twisting chairs!) and then the usual singing rounds will play out: callbacks, battle round, knockouts (semi-finals) and the grand finale.
The winner will win a cash prize of $100,000 and an all-inclusive recording development package.
However, a twist has been teased this season, with even the judges unaware of what it was before filming began.
“[It’s] a major shock,” Kate claimed. “So strap in!”
The artists are more diverse than ever this season
Despite Richard and Kate returning for their second and third seasons of The Voice, respectively, the pair explained that this season’s talent is more diverse than ever, with each artist having their ‘own thing going on’.
“We don’t have that many straight-down-the-line singers [this season],” Kate revealed. “Everybody sort of has their own thing, their own artistic vision. That’s really cool.
“I’ve got a gothic metal singer on my team, an opera singer, musical theatre, folk, pop. I love that about this show – if you don’t like something, just wait a minute.”
The premiere of The Voice will air Sunday, August 2, at 7:30 pm. Episodes will continue on Monday and Tuesdays at 7:30 pm on Channel 7.
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