English Entertainment
NBC’s ‘The Voice’ season 9 names Adam, Blake, Gwen & Pharrell as coaches
MUMBAI: Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams will be the season nine coaches and Carson Daly as host for NBC’s musical competition series The Voice.
The ninth season will begin in September.
“With such an astounding group of coaches at the peak of their musical ingenuity and Carson returning as our host, we are thrilled for what season nine will bring. The expertise and camaraderie of this panel will provide an immeasurable experience for the artists and must-see entertainment for all who are watching,” said NBC Entertainment president, alternative and late night programming Paul Telegdy.
Levine and Shelton have been Voice coaches since the series inception in 2011. Season nine will mark the third season for Williams and the second for Stefani.
“I can’t believe we’re already on the ninth season. Time after time, coming back, it honestly feels like the first day of school. It’s become a second family for me and I’m always so excited to come back to it,” Levine said.
Shelton added, “Adam, Gwen, Pharrell and I had a blast together in season 7 and I’m excited we’re back together again. They are all so talented but I’m pretty damn excited about another winning season for Team Blake.”
Stefani said, “I’m coming back and am so excited! I can’t believe I get to return to ‘The Voice.’ It’s so inspiring to be around such incredible talent and music. I’m looking forward to working again with Adam, Blake and Pharrell. I love those guys.”
“I am grateful to have a role on the show among such an incredible group of great people and am looking forward to another season of talented artists,” Williams said.
Daly said, “For eight seasons The Voice has enlisted world-renowned coaches, amassed the most talented singers ever on TV and we are just warming up! Season nine will continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible when you have a dream. I’m so honored to continue to be front and center of this consistently exhilarating show.”
English Entertainment
Ellison takes his Paramount-Warner Bros case straight to theater owners
The Skydance chief goes to CinemaCon with promises and a skeptical crowd waiting
CALIFORNIA: David Ellison strode into a room packed with thousands of cinema owners and executives at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday and did something rather bold: he looked them in the eye and asked them to trust him.
The chief executive of Paramount Skydance vowed that his company would release a minimum of 30 films a year if regulators greenlight its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that has made theater owners deeply, and loudly, nervous.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison told the crowd. “Once we combine with Warner Bros, we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually across both studios.”
It was a confident pitch. Whether it landed is another matter. Cinema operators have already called on regulators to block the deal, and scepticism in the room was hardly concealed.
Ellison pushed back by pointing to recent form. Paramount, born from the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media last August, plans to release 15 films this year, nearly double the eight it put out in 2025. Progress, he argued, was already underway.
He also threw theater owners a bone they have long been chasing: all films, he pledged, would run exclusively in cinemas for a minimum of 45 days, drawing applause from a crowd that has spent years fighting for exactly that commitment across the industry.
“People can speculate all they want,” Ellison said, “but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment. And we’ll show you we mean it.”
Fine words. The regulators, however, will have the last one.
