‘The Voice’ Coach Niall Horan Says Relationship With Other Coaches is Very Real: ‘Our Text Chain is Hilarious’
Some viewers might think that the onscreen chemistry between this season’s coaches on The Voice is manufactured, but rookie Niall Horan shared that they’re all just as close in real life, too. In fact, he let viewers in on some fun behind-the-scenes facts about what the coaches are like, even when the cameras aren’t rolling.
‘The Voice’ is not Niall Horan’s first experience on a singing competition show
Horan is a first-time coach on Season 23 of The Voice, alongside fellow newbie Chance the Rapper and veterans Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson. He of course has plenty of experience with singing competition shows. Horan’s time in One Direction was orchestrated by coaches on The X-Factor, who put him, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne together.
He admitted he struggles sometimes with rejecting contestants because he knows what it’s like to compete on a show like The Voice, saying recently, “I know what it’s like to be 16 and [stand] on a stage…looking at some famous dude who’s got your future in his hands.”
Niall Horan says he’s ‘lucky’ to have such a good relationship with the other ‘Voice’ coaches
Viewers love the relationship the former boybander has with the other coaches on The Voice, and Horan revealed that that relationship extends off-screen as well. From playfully competing with each other to pulling pranks, Horan shared that they’re all good friends.
“We’re so lucky, because I can’t imagine what it’s like to force a relationship for the camera,” Horan told Esquire. “It’s just non-stop laughing.” He added that the coaches have a “hilarious” group message, with Shelton constantly sending jokes and “winding Kelly up.”
Horan also shared that The Voice coaches were some of the first people to hear his latest single, “Heaven,” before it officially debuted. He also plans to let them listen to his upcoming third studio album The Show before it drops, too.
The artist’s third album ‘The Show’ comes out this summer
The Show will hit shelves on June 9, some three years after his last album, Heartbreak Weather, which debuted in the Top 5 on the Billboard charts. His debut album, Flicker, was also a hit, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and spawning the popular single “Slow Hands.” Horan is no stranger to chart success, and he admitted he’s hoping for another hit album.
The singer called the months before The Show’s release “really tense because I just want to know what people think,” then added that he’s “keeping everything crossed” for luck for the upcoming project.
Based on the success of “Heaven,” it looks like Horan will have another hit album on his hands. The single debuted at #4 on the Irish singles chart and its music video has racked up over 4 million views.
Horan acknowledged that the “competitive” nature of the music industry might mean he doesn’t get the hit he’s looking for, saying, “My team likes it, the people that I worked with like it, but that’s not to say the masses in the world will like it.”
