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Blake Shelton jokes Kelly Clarkson is 'second-worst coach that we have ever had' on 'The Voice'

By Megan Armstrong | Last updated 12/3/21

Blake Shelton is the only remaining OG coach on The Voice, having been on the NBC singing competition series since its 2011 debut.

Kelly Clarkson is the second-longest-tenured coach, as she joined for Season 14 in early 2018.

According to Shelton, Clarkson is also "the second-worst coach" to ever grace a Voice spinning chair.

"While Kelly is a great person and an incredible artist and a great talk show host, she is—hands down—the worst coach we've ever had on The Voice in 21 seasons of doing this show," the 45-year-old star country singer joked stoically on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday (Dec. 2). "The worst coach we've ever had."

"More than Adam?" Fallon asked. He was of course referring to Adam Levine, who served as a coach on the show from the first season through the 16th season and shared a "frenemy" bromance with Shelton the whole time.

"She is the second-worst coach that we have ever had," Shelton conceded after a beat of silence.

Fallon then wanted to know how Ariana Grande was holding up during her first season as a coach on The Voice, which prompted more comedic feedback from Shelton: "She's a little shaky, honestly. She's having a tough time emotionally with this thing. I have to tell her after every episode if she has somebody go home, it's like, you know, they didn't send them to the alligator pit, Ariana. She's crying and sobbing. People see her cry on TV, but you can't imagine when the camera goes off. She actually falls apart."

This isn't the first time Shelton has teased Grande for her emotions:

Grande, 28, has an especially close relationship with her team. Holly Forbes and Jim and Sasha Allen joined the two-time Grammy winner and her family for Thanksgiving.

On Tuesday's episode (Nov. 30), Forbes was eliminated along with Team Kelly's Jeremy Rosado.

The remaining contestants for Season 21 are Jim and Sasha Allen (Team Ariana), Wendy Moten (Team Blake), Lana Scott (Team Blake), Paris Winningham (Team Blake), Girl Named Tom (Team Kelly), Hailey Mia (Team Kelly), Jershika Maple (Team Legend) and Joshua Vacanti (Team Legend).

The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays beginning at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.

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