Simone Biles slammed for new advisor role on ‘The Voice’
Viewers were left confused after the Olympic gymnast was recruited by Snoop Dogg to advise contestants.
NBC/Casey Durkin/NBC via Getty Image
Following her historic run at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Simone Biles is trying her hand at a new kind of competiton. The 27-year-old, 11-time Olympic medalist made her debut as a playoff advisor on NBC’s The Voice Monday, offering Snoop Dogg’s team of vocalists advice. The show’s latest round of playoff advisors also includes country singers Lainey Wilson and Carly Pearce. Snoop, a first-time coach on the singing competition, recruited Biles to be a mentor for the vocalists. However, since the Spring native isn’t a professional singer, some viewers were left scratching their heads with the casting choice.
When Biles was announced as playoff advisor for Team Snoop on Thursday, viewers took to social media to express their confusion. “How does this make sense? Lol,” one person questioned under NBC’s announcement on Instagram. “I actually feel bad for the contestants on this team… they are getting zero credible music advice from an experienced musician like the other teams are,” another person added. “So this must mean Snoop is going to the [be] the next coach of Team USA gymnastics,” read another comment.
However, others came to Biles’ defense, including The Voice season 23 finalist Noivas Wright.”People not realizing that Simone can actually give great advice on performance, routine, stage presence and confidence,” Wright wrote. “It’s not just about ‘the voice.’ They can already sing they don’t need advice on that… trust me, I would know, as a performer from the show.” Another wrote: “This totally makes sense when you realize that these people can already SING and what they need is training on stage presence, confidence, and performance, which she’s an expert in.”
NBC/Casey Durkin/NBC via Getty Image
In a recent interview with the Associated Press ahead of the episode, Snoop explained that he tapped Biles to join him on the show after they bonded at the 2024 Paris Olympics. “We have such diverse careers. But the things that we dealt with, they’re dealing with now,” the rap legend told the AP. “We have the best experience and knowledge to give to these performers. She’s a performer. I’m a performer. We’ve performed under extreme conditions. We always do our best. But sometimes things happen behind closed doors that you don’t know about. So we’re able to speak to those things and give them real reassurance.”
Biles noted how she and Snoop “were able to riff off each other” and give the contestants insight going into their next round. “It was pretty easy, simple,” she told the AP. “We’re both very mellow. But if we need to bring that energy up, then we can. For us, it was about instilling confidence going into the next week.”
Despite not being a singer herself, she told the AP she felt she could relate to the artists as competitors. “These are the learning steps: Learn, process, go bakc in and work,” she said. “They all have the vocal talent. It’s about harnessing that, knowing when to bring itout and which songs to sing and which genre you fit in. And what you want your legacy to be.”
