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ShowsThe VoiceSeason 6
The founding era's last rotation — Pharrell and Shakira join

The Experiment

Season six closed the founding era with a fresh coaching lineup: Pharrell Williams and Shakira replaced CeeLo and Christina alongside the returning Blake Shelton and Adam Levine. The new combination brought genuine curiosity to the chairs.

Filmed
Los Angeles
Los Angeles · Pharrell Williams and Shakira's founding-era finale
Premiered
Feb 24, 2014
NBC · February 2014
Format
Blind audition competition
Pharrell Williams and Shakira join as coaches
Cast size
4 players
Coaches: Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams, Shakira
Host
Carson Daly
Carson Daly — sixth season at the helm
On this page5 sections
  1. 01The take
  2. 02The shape of the season
  3. 03Where it sits in the canon
  4. 04Adjacent in the canon
  5. 05Also appears in
01The take

The Experiment.

A fresh four-some in the last season of the founding chapter.
02The shape of the season

Six seasons in, one pivot.

Season six marked the end of the founding era with a coaching lineup that hadn't existed before. Pharrell Williams brought a producer's precision to the chair; Shakira, returning for her second run, was more confident in the role. The combination with Blake Shelton and Adam Levine gave the blind auditions a different texture — four coaches with genuinely distinct musical perspectives competing for the same singers. The format worked; the chemistry was interesting if not quite electric.

03Where it sits in the canon

The #07 slot.

Slot #07 of 29 in the Voice Editor's Canon. Season six closed the founding era with a coaching combination that hadn't appeared on the show before. Pharrell Williams brought a producer's precision to the chairs; Shakira, returning for her second cycle, arrived more confident in the role. Together with Blake Shelton and Adam Levine, they gave the blind auditions a different competitive texture — four coaches with distinct musical sensibilities pulling in different directions. The season doesn't reach season four's ceiling, but it is a genuine late-founding-era entry: interesting coaching chemistry, competitive blind auditions, and a format running near its best. Seventh slot.

No spoilers. Every page is reviewed before it goes live.
05Also appears in

Cross-references.