North East Regional Extra, Wednesday, August 6, 2025 - Page 1
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POILER alert: Ronan Keating can’t catch a break in Sunday night’s premiere of The Voice Australia. A veteran of the series, who’s mentored singers in Australian, UK and German versions of the reality juggernaut, the Irish hitmaker begins the second night of Blind Auditions with an empty team. To be fair, his fellow coaches are tough opposition: operatic alt-pop powerhouse Kate Miller-Heidke, Spice Girl Melanie C and Grammy Award-winning superstar Richard Marx have got some serious tricks up their sleeves. That doesn’t mean that there’s any disharmony between the stars. Despite their friendly onscreen competition, Keating enthuses, “this is my favourite bunch of coaches I’ve ever worked with.” “I love them. The relationship between us all is brilliant. We are all strong enough to be able to go up against each other, but nobody makes any snide remarks. It’s a bunch of people I respect. And I’m really happy to be on this panel. “Kate is possibly the best female singer in this country and for someone of her stature to be on the panel is a huge bonus for all artists involved. Richard is a legend and a very dear friend of mine. We’ve written songs together. I put him on a pedestal. Melanie is one of my oldest friends. We’ve known each other for over 30 years. We grew up together in the industry, we’ve both watched each other grow. I hold her in high regard, not just as artist but as a human being as well.” In Monday’s episode, the smooth-talking singer is looking for a voice that “stands out from the crowd”. Can he successfully convince tarot reader Milly, piano man Mitchell or former forester Chris to join team Ronan?
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