Trae Patton/NBCWhen Miley Cyrus announced a few weeks ago that she was joining The Voice full-time next season as the show's newest coach, the reaction was more of a universal head-scratch than anything else. Miley, as in the woman formerly known as Hannah Montana and currently known for her out-there antics and weird wardrobe?
The answer: Yes, that Miley. But if you saw her debut on The Voice in last week's Knockout Round episodes, in which she helped current coaches Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine and Pharrell Williams as season 10's key adviser, you know that this isn't a surprising decision at all. Real talk: She's great, and she'll be an excellent coach.
Missed the episodes? Here are five reasons why you're going to love her next season.
1. She's an accomplished musician. Sure, you know Miley has an extensive nipple pasty collection. But let's not forget that this is a woman who has also had 17 singles chart on the Billboard 100 and who has recorded seven studio albums. She's intuitive about music, as we saw when she gave very specific, tiny suggestions to some of the singers that really elevated their performances.
2. She knows her way around the industry. Miley has been in the spotlight since Hannah Montana debuted when she was 13 years old. She's also the daughter of a Platinum-selling country artist (Yes, Billy Ray Cyrus really is a Platinum-selling country artist), so she's been around music and showbiz her entire life. How can you turn away a decade-plus worth of wisdom about the music industry?
3. She's a country girl. Move over, Blake, there's someone else with deeply entrenched country roots. Let us not forget that Miley's from Nashville and that Dolly freakin' Parton is her godmother.
4. She has an easy rapport with the contestants. Miley is charismatic and gets along well with the singers. Plus, she's closer in age to the teenage contestants than the rest of the coaches, so she'll be able to understand them on a deeper level.
5. She'll round out the panel. The Voice has done a great job of hiring coaches from diverse music backgrounds, so the addition of a cutting-edge female pop artist to a panel that includes an R&B superstar (Alicia Keys, the other newbie), a country star (Blake, duh) and a rock/pop singer (Adam, double-duh) will set a nice balance.
See? So many great assets. If you think occasionally revealing fashion choices preclude her from having intelligent, thoughtful advice about the music and entertainment industry to share with wannabe singers, then you should A) stop judging people, especially women, by their appearances and B) re-watch her episodes from last week, because those scenes should get you very excited about what Miley will bring to the show.
Tune in tonight for her final Knockout episode at 8 p.m. on NBC.
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