I’m not mad at it though.
Spoiler alert! This story contains minor spoilers about Night 2 of The Voice Season 27 Blind Auditions from February 10. The episode can be streamed with a Peacock subscription if you need to catch up.
The Voice has gotten quite intense at some points over the years, and nobody should know that better than Adam Levine. The OG coach returned for Season 27 — currently airing on the 2025 TV schedule — and given the fact that he’s been involved in some of the show’s most controversial moments, I found it absolutely hilarious when he said in an interview that he doesn’t see The Voice as a competition. Well, here we are, just two episodes into the season, and it seems Michael Bublé may have just proved him right.
What Adam Levine Said About The Voice Not Being A Competition Show
Fans were happy to see Adam Levine return to join veteran John Legend, defending champion Michael Bublé and rookie Kelsea Ballerini on The Voice coaching panel this season, and maybe it’s the fact that his old rival Blake Shelton has long since retired his Big Red Chair, but the Maroon 5 singer seemed to have a more brotherly approach to coaching, as he told People ahead of Season 27:
I don’t really see it as a competition anymore, and I know they’re not going to like that, but that’s not what it is. It’s an opportunity for us to share our experiences with the people on the show. And it always has been that.
I have to say, I kind of love the new attitude, where it’s less about winning and more about making the most of the artists’ experience. (That’s the reason I’ve always thought The Voice should get rid of Blocks.) Levine continued:
I mean, you definitely get competitive that those juices flow for sure. But I don’t see it as a competition and I don’t think that I can bring anything other than what I have just from life and a career. And I think that’s really valuable for the people on the show that are needing that experience, or that push that help. And that’s what I think we’re there for.
I’m definitely all for that, because it’s true that it’s not just the artist who wins the money at the end that has the chance to capitalize on this experience. Excuse my skepticism, though, but this kinder, gentler Adam Levine was something I had to see to believe. It didn’t take long, either, thanks to the panel’s Canadian crooner.
How Michael Bublé Helped To Prove Adam Levine Right
On Night 2 of the Blind Auditions, which aired February 10, Hayden Grove took the stage for a rendition of “Mack the Knife” — a song clearly in Michael Bublé’s wheelhouse. It turns out Bublé has even crossed paths with Grove in real life and followed him on social media, but by the end of the audition, only Adam Levine had turned around.
My point is this: You’re gonna help him. I know he’s on your team, and he’s gonna dominate, but I’m gonna help you to help him, because he has everything it takes.
Adam Levine, for his part, welcomed the offer, telling his new team member:
I love that! … I don’t have the knowledge about the song that you sang that he has, but a great voice is a great voice is a great voice. It doesn’t matter. We’re gonna have a blast.
The coaches’ focus in this instance was purely on what was best for Hayden Grove, not which one of them would take credit for the win (although I’d be down for some kind of Team Levineblé. Team Madam?). You can watch the audition in its entirety below:
All of this talk about the coaches helping each other out doesn’t mean The Voice has become one big kumbaya lovefest, though. Michael Bublé executed a brutal Block against Kelsea Ballerini to secure country artist Braxton Garza for himself, and Adam Levine closed out the episode by winning this third of four Four-Chair Turns and relishing how good it felt to beat his fellow coaches.
That’s more like the Adam Levine I’m used to. New episodes of The Voice air at 8 p.m. ET Mondays on NBC.
