Sara Bareilles Will Not Return To The Sing-Off In Season 4

NBC’s The Sing-Off seemed like an unlikely candidate to get a renewal when it didn’t return to the network’s schedule this fall. Last month, however, NBC announced The Sing-Off would be getting a fourth season, which is great news for fans. It’s looking like the judges panel will look a little different upon the show’s return, though. Sara Bareilles has officially bowed out of The Sing-Off.

Bareilles is a pretty busy lady. Beginning on April 25, she’s set to embark on a month-long tour, and since Season 4 auditions are set to begin around the same time, there’s a good shot The Sing-off would have conflicted with the singer’s performance schedule. It is no real surprise Bareilles would quit the judging gig. Bareilles only took over for Nicole Scherzinger in 2011 after the Pussycat Dolls singer left to join The X Factor. With only one year of judging under her belt, she probably hasn’t built up much of a loyalty to the series.

According to THR, the show is set to hit NBC’s schedule during the holiday season as a shortened series, and there’s no guarantee any of the people involved will return. In fact, The Sing-Off host, Nick Lachey, has already signed on to host a singing game show called The Winner Is, also at NBC. We’ll let you know whether Lachey makes room for both, and whether Boyz II Men's Shane Stockman and Ben Folds decide to return to judge the competition, as well.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.