Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson Can’t Stand Each Other? ‘The Voice’ Execs Deny Coach-Blocking ‘American Idol’


American Idol alums Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson have signed up to be judges on The Voice Season 13 and 14, respectively. While it would be more exciting to see the former AI contestants on the same season, a new report revealed that Hudson and Clarkson won’t be appearing together because the singers allegedly could not stand being around each other.

According to Radar Online, Kelly Clarkson was “completely blindsided” when she heard that Jennifer Hudson was going to be a judge on The Voice Season 13. Insiders told the website that no one told the “Stronger” singer that Hudson was cast ahead of her. Clarkson is set to judge on Season 14. Appearing on different seasons, however, reportedly was the better option for both Clarkson and Hudson, as insiders claimed that there is still an ongoing beef between the two.

“Kelly and Jennifer really cannot stand each other!” the insider said.

Following the dip in ratings, Voice producers were reportedly hoping that Jennifer Hudson can help save the show from getting canceled. The source claimed that with Miley Cyrus returning for another season, everyone was hoping that there would be “some serious cattiness” between Cyrus and Hudson come Season 13.

As several outlets previously reported, The Voice has been significantly losing viewers the past season. The Season 12 finale averaged a 1.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Although the show topped its key demo, Dancing with the Stars still came ahead when in comes to the total number of viewers. According to Variety, The Voice Season 12 suffered a 13 percent drop in its key demographic. Although 9.1 million viewers watched this season’s finale, it’s still significantly lower compared to 10.5 million people who tuned in for the Season 11 finale.

With Jennifer Hudson coming on board next season, NBC is hoping that she could draw people back to the show. In a recent appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers (via Billboard), the American Idol alum said that she’s definitely in it to win it. Hudson also told her fellow Voice coaches Blake Shelton and Adam Levine to bring their A game next season.

“Look out Blake and Adam. I’m watching them so that Team JHud can be ready, because when I come I come to win. They’ve gotta be ready,” she said.

Hudson also told Meyers that she cannot help but feel emotional when it was announced that she will be a judge on The Voice Season 13. She shared that it brought her back to her American Idol days, back when she was just one of the hopefuls.

“For me to come from a place like that, where once I was a contestant and then who would’ve ever thought that I would be a coach, and the chair’s turning around for other hopefuls. So for me…I was very emotional about it.”

Although Jennifer Hudson did not win when she competed on American Idol Season 3, the 35-year-old still proved to be one of the most successful contestants on the show. Hudson currently has two Grammys, and all three of her albums reached top 10 of the Billboard 200.

In other news, NBC has been accused of coach-blocking ABC by hiring Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson on The Voice. Insiders told Entertainment Weekly that Idol producers were “definitely interested” in signing the two, which made perfect sense since Hudson and Clarkson were two of the most popular contestants on American Idol history. NBC reality chief Paul Telegdy, however, clarified that they were talking to Hudson and Clarkson long before they heard that ABC was rebooting American Idol.

“We’ve been talking to those two for a long time about joiningThe Voice. We didn’t make the connection between them appearing on the show and ABC’s return of Idol,” Telegdy explained.

The Voice Season 13 is set to premiere this September on NBC. Tune in for more spoilers and updates.

[Featured Image by Rich Polk/Getty Images]

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