Being A Coach On ‘The Voice’ Is Still The Best Job On TV

The Voice has long since passed “flavor of the month” status; it debuted in 2011, and it’s about to go into its 15th season. (Yes, NBC has already milked 14 full seasons worth of content in just 7 years.) But, despite its advanced age and slipping ratings, one thing is certain: It’s a great show to be on if you want to give a boost to —or revive— your career.

But we’re not talking about the contestants. We would struggle to pick most of the show’s winners over the last 14 seasons out of a lineup. But the coaches have had consistent success, making a spot in one of the big red chairs one of the best jobs on TV.

Need evidence? How about Kelly Clarkson’s new daytime talk show, set to lead in to Ellen in most markets starting in the fall of 2019? Or maybe the fact that Adam Levine and Maroon 5 will be the halftime entertainment at Super Bowl LIII next February? Would those gigs have been possible without The Voice? Let’s examine…

In the case of Clarkson, we have to remember that she’s been famous since she won the first season of American Idol way back in 2002, and her level of fame has been pretty consistent. But The Voice has shown the Clarkson that many of her fans have always liked: down-to-earth, empathetic, caring, and confident. And while Clarkson was pretty popular before she took a slot as a Voice coach for Season 14, showing your open personality to 8-12 million people per week opens a lot of doors.

As for Levine… The Super Bowl gig is just the culmination of Maroon 5’s comeback, spurred on by the fact that Levine (along with Shelton) has been a coach since Day One. People may forget that Maroon 5’s popularity had been on the decline before The Voice started, with Levine stating that the band may only have one more album in it before they call it quits. The album they released in 2010, Hands All Over, was initially a commercial disappointment, selling less copies than their previous LPs did.

Then The Voice bursts out of the gate, and Levine and his band sing “Moves Like Jagger” with fellow coach Christina Aguilera, and the single shoots to number 1 on the Billboard singles chart. The rerelease of Hands All Over with the single included brought the album back to the top ten of the Billboard 200, and by the time the second season of The Voice rolled around, the album was certified platinum and Maroon 5 was playing arenas.

This shows the caveat to this theory: The longer you stay in one of those coaches chairs, the more sustained your success will be. Just ask the people who have come and gone. Is Usher more popular now than when he was a coach? Is Aguilera experiencing a continued career resurgence, considering she stopped coaching in Season 10? Has anyone heard from Cee Lo Green lately (he’ll be an advisor for Adam for Season 15, actually. Is a coaching return in his future)?

We know the answers to all three of those questions. Yet in the same amount of time, Levine and his fellow coach-in-bromance, Shelton, have been at the superstar level for a long time, thanks to hanging on for every single season. Shelton will likely never leave that chair, considering the show took him from country music star to crossover megastar; heck, the show even introduced him to his current girlfriend, Gwen Stefani.

So, if Kelly Clarkson plays her cards right, she’ll be in one of the middle two coach chairs for awhile. After all, if the talk show is successful, can a merchandise line be far behind?

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company’s Co.Create and elsewhere.

Where to stream The Voice