Niall Horan is making his debut on The Voice, and he’s ready to win. However, there’s one veteran coach who has proven themself to be a tough competitor: Kelly Clarkson. In a recent interview, Horan revealed why Clarkson is his “biggest competition” in the upcoming season 23 and teased what to expect from his first time as a coach.
Who is ‘The Voice’ coach Niall Horan?
For those who are unfamiliar with Horan’s work, here’s a bit of background on the Irish singer and what qualifies him to be a coach on The Voice. He got his start with boy band One Direction on The X Factor in 2010 (perhaps he’ll be like Camila Cabello and use that experience as a selling point on The Voice). The group skyrocketed in popularity, becoming one of the best-selling boy bands in the world. However, One Direction parted ways in 2016.
After the group split up, Horan began a solo career. He released two singles, “This Town” and “Slow Hands,” followed by his debut solo album, Flicker, in 2017. His second album, Heartbreak Weather, arrived in 2020.
In addition to music, Horan pursued another passion: golf management. He and his close friend/fellow musician Lewis Capaldi also released a documentary called Homecoming: The Road to Mullingar earlier this year. The film followed them on a road trip through Ireland.
In October, Horan took to Twitter (seen above) to reveal that he has new music and festival plans on the way in 2023.
“I’ve got new music coming in the new year, that I’m really, really proud of. I appreciate you being so patient with me while I’ve done it,” he said. “I have a whole new album too, and something that I’ve wanted to do forever is festivals and I’ve never really had the opportunity to do it, so I think we will be announcing some festivals in the next couple of days and weeks and months, for next year, which I’m really excited about.”
Niall Horan shares why Kelly Clarkson is his ‘biggest competition’ on ‘The Voice’ Season 23
Horan is going up against fellow newcomer coach Chance the Rapper and veterans Clarkson and Blake Shelton on The Voice Season 23. The season marks Shelton’s last time coaching after 12 years on the job. However, Horan is more worried about competing against Clarkson, who joined as a coach in season 14. She’s returning in season 23 after a one-year hiatus.
“Ooh, my biggest competition this year is definitely Kelly,” he told NBC Insider. “We have very similar tastes in music, same kind of taste in voices. Yeah, I think she’s going to be a massive threat to me. But you never know, I could win the thing.”
Clarkson currently has four The Voice wins under her belt, including her historic season 21 win with Girl Named Tom.
Horan says his team has ‘ridiculous talent’ in season 23
Despite the tough competition, Horan feels confident that his team could go all the way. He added that he’s “excited to win this thing.”
“I love finding new talent online and things, so I really wanted to get involved and find a new crop of talent that we can nurture and make careers of,” Horan said. “I’ve got an unbelievable team of ridiculous talent. I didn’t hit my buzzer every time, because I was being super picky about who I wanted on my team. I wanted all different types of singers, all different types of genres, just wanted character.”
The Voice Season 23 premieres on Monday, March 6, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
