With NBC's recent announcement that Usher and Shakira had been signed to join the fourth season of The Voice, taking over for Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green when they make their planned hiatus from the series, a fourth season pickup for the series seemed inevitable if not assumed. Today comes official word of the Season 4 order, as well as an announcement from NBC that there will definitely be a fifth season as well.
NBC announced today that they've renewed their popular singing competition series The Voice for Seasons 4 and 5, with Season 4 set to air Spring 2013 and Season 5 set for Fall 2013.
“This pickup will assure the many dedicated ‘Voice’ fans that this innovative show will continue to bring some of the most talented new voices to the world’s attention through all of next year,” said NBC's Robert Greenblatt. “With the addition of Usher and Shakira as rotating coaches to join Christina, CeeLo, Adam and Blake in the next cycle, we know that this incredibly addictive program will remain even more relevant as we move forward through this exciting season. My hat is off to John de Mol, Mark Burnett, and everyone who produces this classy and highly entertaining show for us.”
Note that he refers to Shakira and Usher as "rotating coaches." As we recently reported, Aguilera and Green are set to take six month sabbaticals to work on their music (and in CeeLo's case, also the TV show he's developing). Adam Levine and Blake Shelton will be back to coach in Season 4.
NBC's announcement today mentions Ceelo and Christina taking next season off, and while it doesn't confirm that either would be back, it also doesn't state outright that they are leaving for good. So, while we'll have two new coaches when the series returns for Season 4 next Spring, it sounds like there's a chance Christina and CeeLo will be back for Season 5. It's also possible Shakira and/or Usher would stay on. I don't think anything is set in stone in the coaches area beyond Season 4, and given the judges-shuffling on American Idol and The X Factor singing competition fans should be somewhat used to seeing the judges/coaches/mentors changing from season to season.
The Voice is currently airing its third season (Mondays 8-10 p.m. EST, Tuesdays 8-9 p.m. EST) on NBC.
