LeAnn Rimes is described by TV insiders at The Voice Australia as a ‘one and done’ coach.
After Ny Breaking Australia revealed that the 42-year-old ’90s country star would use her stint on The Voice Australia as a “dress rehearsal” for the more popular British version of the show, people behind the scenes have suggested that Rimes will indeed be leaving sooner rather than later.
Rimes joined the TV singing competition this year after local singer Jessica Mauboy, Britain’s Rita Ora and American hitmaker Jason Derulo left their big red chairs.
Despite The Voice Australia seemingly having a chance to compete with The Block for ratings this season, industry insiders say it may not be enough to convince new coach LeAnn to make regular appearances in Australia.
“She could very well be a one and done coach,” a TV insider told New Idea on Monday.
‘So far she’s struggled to find her voice on the show, while her fellow coaches Guy Sebastian, Kate Miller-Heidke and Adam Lambert joke around with each other – and bring in the most talented candidates.’
Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian, who first competed on The Voice in 2019, is the last remaining judge in the 2023 line-up.
Production for this season began in March, while Jess was on tour supporting her album Yours Forever, Rita was in the US filming the American version of The Masked Singer after being a judge there, and Derulo was on tour in Europe.
TV insiders claim ’90s country star LeAnn Rimes will be a ‘one and done’ coach on The Voice Australia as she ‘struggles to find her groove’ on the Australian judging panel
LeAnn made her debut on The Voice this year, along with Guy and the two other new coaches, fellow American Adam Lambert and Kate Miller-Heidke.
The respected, classically trained Australian pop singer is believed to have replaced Kate Jess as the archetype of the ‘nice judge’.
Ghost Town singer Adam, who came to Sydney in March to perform at Mardi Gras, has been appointed Jason’s replacement as the global hits judge.
An insider claims younger Australian contestants were reluctant to choose LeAnn, 42, as a coach because they didn’t know her, while another industry source said Australia was a “dress rehearsal” for judging on The Voice UK
Adam has “proven popular,” the magazine’s source said, because he is an example of how to build a career after winning the competition.
The 2009 American Idol runner-up subsequently went on a world tour with Queen’s Roger Taylor and Brian May.
So LeAnn is the replacement for the 33-year-old British singer Rita, but there is a problem with the age difference.
‘She’s struggled to find her voice on the show so far, as her fellow coaches Guy Sebastian, Kate Miller-Heidke and Adam Lambert battle it out – and bring in the most talented candidates,’ the TV insider claimed
According to the insider, some of the show’s younger contestants were initially “hesitant” about choosing LeAnn as their new coach because “they didn’t know who she was.”
LeAnn’s signature hit How Do I Live topped the global charts in 1997, followed by Can’t Fight The Moonlight from the 2000 film Coyote Ugly — before some of this season’s younger contestants were even born.
The Voice Australia continues to be outperformed in ratings by Nine’s home renovation show The Block, which averaged 1.039 million viewers last week, compared to the 986,000 it had.
Channel Seven has yet to say whether there will be any changes to the show’s judging panel in 2025.
The UK version kicked off its current season last weekend with LeAnn, McFly’s Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones joining Tom Jones and Will.i.iam as coaches