Chemistry is a difficult thing to predict.
When Shakira and Usher replaced Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green for season four of NBC's The Voice, the veterans of the group, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, had differing views on how the series would fare. If Monday's NBCUniversal summer press day was any indication of how well they all get along, the foursome passed with flying colors.
Which coaches would be returning for a fifth season, however, have yet to be officially announced. As reported in The Hollywood Reporter's cover story featuring Levine, it is expected that the original four coaches, including Aguilera and Green, will return. Shakira and Usher remained mum about continuing on the show.
"I don't think we were ever nervous. We were certainly curious of what the chemistry would be when the new guy and gal came," Levine told reporters. "It's obvious too if you watch the show that there's a lot of chemistry. You never know, it could've not been there. ... It's a different chemistry than the chemistry before but we're happy it's there."
Shelton, meanwhile, admitted to feeling some butterflies when the newbies joined in on the chair-turning fun. "I was a little bit nervous just because I knew how well the show was doing," he said. "It was beating the odds, you know. It was a music talent show in a world where there's a lot of those. We knew we had something that worked and I never met either one of these two before. One thing you can't fake is chemistry."
For Shakira's part, the appeal was the authenticity. "There's nothing fake about it," she said, later saying there were "no posers."
Usher had a more realistic take on things, alluding to the fact that he was a cog in a well-oiled machine. "They didn't need us for the show to work," he said.
In terms of that other show (Fox's American Idol), Levine refused to speak ill of the rival singing competition, though he has been vocal in the past. "We don't get involved with stupid s--- like that," he scoffed.
Executive producer Mark Burnett also jumped in on the Voice vs. Idol debate: "The coaches are current stars," taking a jab at Idol's rotating judges table.
E-mail: Philiana.Ng@thr.com
Twitter: @insidethetube
