Just because Blake Shelton was The Voice coach with the longest tenure, it doesn’t mean he’s without complaints about the competition series.
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While co-hosting Country Countdown USA with Lon Helton, the nine-time Voice champion revealed the downside of his former show.
“It bothered me more than it bothered the TV people,” Shelton said of The Voice not producing a star over its 28-season tenure. “It’s easy to see why. By the time the artist wins the show, they’ve already moved on to the next season.”
“But also,” he continued, “that show was more about the coaches, and that’s why it was so popular, and not as much focus on the artists.”
Blake Shelton Shares How The Road Is Different from The Voice
That’s perhaps the biggest difference between The Voice and Shelton’s new show, The Road.
On his latest series, 12 musicians travel from city to city, opening up for Keith Urban with one original song and one cover. Each live audience then votes on who stays and who goes.
Shelton produces The Road alongside Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan.
“I met him through a mutual friend. He’s an amazing guy to work with,” Shelton said. “He’s a creative genius. He can have a huge impact on the way a show looks. He has done a lot with music on Yellowstone, and he really wanted to be part of a music competition show.”
As for how Urban got involved, Shelton revealed that all it took was a phone call.
“Once he heard the idea, he was in,” Shelton said of Urban. “It’s a fun way to do a show.”
Unlike The Voice, Shelton said that he believes The Road produced more than one star during its first season.
“They will perform an original song. Some of those original songs will take off and go viral. Whether they win or not,” Shelton said. “Their music will be available when the show airs, so they won’t have to wait for the end of the show to buy their music.”
What to Know About The Road
American Songwriter previously spoke to Cassidy Daniels, a contestant on The Road, all of whom insisted that the CBS series was different from other similar shows.
“The thing that sets this show apart from anything to the fact that we get to do our original,” Daniels said. “… That was the whole difference of this show.”
The Road is not only unlike other singing competition shows in format, but also in prize. The winner of the series will be awarded a set at the iconic Mane Stage at Stagecoach Country Music Festival 2026, $250,000 cash, and a recording contract.
“There ain’t no artist in town that doesn’t want to win these things,” Daniels said, before reflecting on the show as a whole. “It’s a lot different than all these other shows that are out right now. You’re going to see the reality of it—the ugly, the dirty, the gritty, the crusty, and the dusty.”
The Road airs Sundays on CBS.
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