‘The Voice’ Coaches Offer Advice to Pharrell Williams for Season 7

At a Hollywood event to promote The Voice as it gets closer to live episodes, Billboard asked the current coaches and the host of The Voice for any advice they would give to next season's rookie Pharrell Williams, who is replacing Cee Lo Green in the big red chairs.

"The gloves have got to come off -- he's got to get mad, gotta get competitive and starting thinking about music like it's a sport," Blake Shelton said outside The Sayer's Club in L.A., where the coaches each played acoustic sets on Thursday evening.

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Shakira was more succinct. "Fasten your seat belt, it's going to get wild," she said. "He's going to do a great job; he's a very smart guy."

Adam Levine praised Williams' talent and personality. "He's so lovely -- an unbelievable talent actually," Levine said. "I think he'll be a great coach. It's a different experience, so he has to get ready for the roller coaster."

Voice host Carson Daly praised Williams' eye for talent before relating a personal experience. 

"I remember the first time I went on Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, and the publicist in the green room said, 'This goes fast, jump in,' because it's a panel," he said. "I was on that show for about 10 seconds and it was over. Didn't get to speak. I told that story to Usher. When we start shooting, just start talking when you have something to say. Just be yourself and don't worry about what you're saying."

This article first appeared on Billboard.com.

Phil Gallo, Billboard