This is why Ariana Grande didn't return as a coach on The Voice
By Lacey Womack
NBC's the voice has had its fair share of star singers on the roster for coaches. Some celebrities that have appeared on the show as judges or advisors include Alicia Keys, Dan + Shay, Chance the Rapper, Kelly Clarkson, Camila Cabello, Miley Cyrus, and Adam Levine. And in the 21st season, Wicked star Ariana Grande joined the team but never returned for another season.
Ariana Grande was recently a guest on the Las Culturistas podcast and shared the reason that she never returned to The Voice to be a coach after season 21 -- and it's not because she was busy preparing for Wicked.
On the podcast, Ariana revealed that although she had a ton of fun sitting on the row of judges and turning her chair around for her favorite singers at the blind auditions, she just couldn't deal with coming back to coach another team of contestants.
According to the singer and former Nickelodeon star, she had to end her run on The Voice after only one season because of how "emotionally attached" she would get to all of the contestants.
She told the podcast hosts, "I can't really do that because I really get in. I really get in there with everyone. I love everyone so much. I love meeting people, and I've felt so invested."
On her season, Ariana Grande was a coach alongside Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, and Blake Shelton. She turned her chair around for a number of the contestants during the blind auditions but ultimately, it was one of Team Kelly's contestants that won the season -- sibling trio Girl Named Tom ended up walking away as the winners of season 21 but Ariana doesn't have any bad blood for her co-judge.
On the podcast, the hosts mentioned that Ariana seemed less competitive than the other coaches, but Ariana shot the concept that there were any issues between them down. In specific, she called American Idol alum Kelly Clarkson "f---ing incredible" and "the best in the world" and she shared some kind words with the singers that were on her team, too.
Although she's been super busy since vacating The Voice, Ariana said that she still keeps in touch with her team over social media and keeps up with what they've been up to. "I keep in touch with them on Instagram," she said and went on to share updates on a couple of the people that were on her team. "Bella had a baby, Sasha's putting out solo music … he sent me his project last year and he's so talented."
Even though Ariana says she won't be returning to The Voice as a coach again, she's not done with music. She shared that she's "always" going to be making music and that this pivot to the big screen with her role in Wicked doesn't mean that she's done singing.
She shared that she's been focused so much on music for the past decade, but that she plans to put more into her other interests, like acting and musical theater, going forward. "I think I love acting; I love musical theater. Reconnecting with this part of myself… I love comedy, and it heals me to do that -- finding roles to use these parts of myself."