Jennifer Hudson Filled In For Kelly Clarkson On The Voice, And Now There’s One Thing I Need To See

The Voice’s revamped 29th season is flying by — much like Jennifer Hudson’s shoes — as the Battle round has wrapped, leaving this season’s three coaches with just six team members apiece. The so-called “Battle of Champions” has been full of surprises, and J-Hud’s return was one of the latest. After watching her fill in for Kelly Clarkson, I’m now desperate for a season that features all coaches who came to fame through reality competitions.

I Loved The Advice Jennifer Hudson Had For Team Kelly

It was previously reported that Kelly Clarkson had missed some filming days for The Voice Season 29 after the death of her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock. However, it was only when the Battles began that we learned Jennifer Hudson was returning to pull double duty as Team Kelly’s Battle Advisor and coach during rehearsals.

J-Hud was previously a coach on The Voice in Seasons 13 and 15 and a Mega Mentor on Season 26, and while we all remember her penchant for throwing shoes, I’d forgotten how strong those competitive juices flow. It should come as no surprise, of course, from someone who took a seventh-place finish on American Idol and became an EGOT winner with her own talk show (complete with that viral Spirit Tunnel).

Where The Voice’s other coaches encourage their Battle contestants to forget about the competition and focus on chemistry with their duet partner, Jennifer Hudson went in the opposite direction, reminding Kelly Clarkson’s artists they were vying for the same spot. As she told Drew Russell and Jared Shoemaker in the March 23 episode (streaming with a Peacock subscription):

Her unique perspective coming from a talent competition makes me want to see how her strategies would play out against Kelly Clarkson and other artists who have found fame on American Idol and other talent shows.

I Want To See A Full Coaching Panel Of Former Competition Stars

Artists like Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson bring such gravitas to The Voice because they’ve been through this. It’s why Carrie Underwood returning to American Idol as a judge was such a big deal. It’s why Clarkson and John Legend butted heads earlier this season over song choice. Now I’m so curious to see what four former competition stars would do if pitted against each other.

Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson and Niall Horan — whose former band One Direction was formed on The X Factor in 2010 — would be obvious options, with all of them having coached on The Voice before.

There are endless options for a fourth, including Cassadee Pope or another past winner of The Voice. I’d love to see Adam Lambert (American Idol Season 8 runner-up) or Kelly Rowland (who competed on Star Search), and if The Voice weren’t so entwined with Blake Shelton, his ex-wife Miranda Lambert, who came in third on Nashville Star in 2003, would be an option.

Or maybe The Voice would stick to its 3-chair format. However they’d choose to do it would be fine with me. I was just delighted to hear Jennifer Hudson offering some different advice during the Battle round, and I think it would be a treat to see her face off against Kelly Clarkson and others who have been through a similar experience.

See how The Voice Season 29 plays out, with new episodes airing at 9 p.m. ET Mondays on NBC and streaming the next day on Peacock.