COUNTRY NEWS

“The Voice” announces Keith Urban as the Mega Mentor of its 25th season

Mar 26, 2024, 4:12 PM | Updated: 4:13 pm

NBC announced Monday that longtime country music staple Keith Urban will add “The Voice” to his list of television stints in addition to “American Idol” and “The Voice Australia”.

The singing competition show made the announcement on Instagram that Urban will be the so-called Mega Mentor for the show’s 25th season. Mega Mentors do not belong to any one judge’s team, but rather provide feedback and coaching to all contestants during the knockout rounds. The season is well underway, having premiered on February 26. Urban’s involvement will begin April 8.

This is a far cry from being Urban’s first association with the show.

In addition to serving as a judge on “The Voice Australia” on seasons 1, 10 and 11, Urban performed “Blue Ain’t Your Color” live on the most recent season finale of “The Voice” and was the advisor to Blake Shelton’s team during season 15.

Urban will find himself in good company with other country artists on the show — Dan + Shay and Reba McEntire are current judges, accompanied by Chance the Rapper and John Legend. McEntire herself was a Mega Mentor for season 23. The Australian-American follows up another country artist, Wynonna Judd, who held the role last season.

In the knockout rounds, two teammates separately perform songs of their own choice while their opponent watches. Judges then select the winner, and the other contestant is sent home unless another judge steals them for their own team. Judges are only permitted one steal during the knockout rounds.

The knockouts are proceeded by the final two rounds: the playoffs and the live shows. The season finale will end with granting the last artist standing a recording contract.

The “Somebody Like You” singer is well-qualified to mentor up-and-coming artists. The Grand Ole Opry inducted the musician in 2012, and he is the recipient of four Grammys, 13 CMA awards and six ARIA Music Awards.

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