Entertainment

How Does CeeLo Stack Up to Other Judges?

by Casey Rackham

How many projects can CeeLo Green possibly be involved in at once? With the upcoming premiere of his TBS reality series CeeLo Green's The Good Life , fans have to wonder if the singer is leaving his other TV gig behind. Well, say goodbye to the white cats, bizarre wigs, and absolutely out-of-this-world-in-a-bad-way outfits, because Green will not return to The Voice as a judge. Earlier this year, the singer unexpectedly announced his departure from the singing show on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and though it was surprising, I can't say I was disappointed.

Other fans might agree with me, as TheWrap revealed that Green basically quit so that NBC couldn't fire him first. And honestly, are you really going to miss him on The Voice? If we're ranking coaches (which I am), then Green is at the bottom of the pack when it comes to coaching ability and TV-presence. For him, it seemed like it was more about the theatrics than actually mentoring the up-and-coming singers that were looking for their big break. The Voice, like most singing shows, is a chance for unknown singers to make their dreams come true, and sometimes it felt like Green wasn't respecting that. I'm sure he took his job seriously, but it just seemed like he cared more about his appearance and how "hip" he was instead of what actually mattered. If you need some actual proof of that, just remember that no one he's mentored has gone on to win the show.

So how do the rest of the coaches stack up on The Voice? Check out my highly unscientific ranking:

6. CeeLo Green

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You already know how I feel. Sorry, CeeLo, not even your cat can save you now.

5. Christina Aguilera

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Ugh. I have mixed feelings on Aguilera. On the one hand, she made a strong effort to change from season to season. She was receptive to the feedback she was getting from viewers, and she came back with a smile on her face and a "better" attitude. On the other hand, she really didn't change all that much. Plus, she lacks a camaraderie with the other coaches that everyone else has, and that's no fun at all.

4. Usher

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Guys, I love Usher because he's Ursher. But has anyone else noticed that he almost never makes sense? Whether he's trying to be profound or just talk normally, it sounds like he's talking out of his ass. Sometimes he'll talk for three whole minutes, and, by the end of it, I will have absolutely no freakin' clue what he's rambling on about. BUT, and this is a big but, Usher's definitely a good coach. He understands the talent that he has in front of him, and, more importantly, he knows what to do with said talent. (Although Season 6 winner Josh Kaufman probably would have won even if he wasn't on Team Usher.)

3. Shakira

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I could talk about Shakira for hours, but that's just my own personal problem to deal with (someone please let me talk about Shakira for hours). Besides the fact that she stuns on stage, she has a great chemistry with Blake, Adam, and Usher, and she gets how to coach singers. Her one drawback — and I hate that I'm even mentioning something that's wrong with this miracle of a woman — is that she gets a little testy when things don't go her way. I don't know if anyone else noticed, but once she only had one singer left in Season 6, she stopped being the wonderful and supportive Shakira that we were used to watching. Instead, she didn't really have anything supportive to say to her competing coaches' contestants. Translation: She wanted to win and she wasn't about to let America think that the other singers were better than her own. Feisty.

1 & 2. Adam Levine and Blake Shelton

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It's a tie! Let's be real — these two men are a package deal. Although Blake is my personal pick for the best coach on the show — he's an amazing singer, gives solid advice, and is always drinking something great from his Starbucks cup — you can't really separate the two musicians. They have unbelievable chemistry, and they just feed off of each other in a competitive yet loving way that brings a spark to the show. What more could we ask for? (Two Shakiras — that's what we could ask for.)

Now all we have to do is wait to see how the new coaches for Season 7, Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams, will stack up against our reigning coaches. Let's hope they'll be better than CeeLo.