- 5 hours ago
NBC’s 'The Voice' has received a nomination for outstanding reality-competition program for five consecutive years.
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00:00Hey everyone, welcome to Meet Your Emmy Nominee.
00:03I'm Layla Zaday and look, Carson Daly's here.
00:06Hi everybody.
00:06Hi Layla.
00:07Hi, how's it going?
00:08I'm doing great, thanks for having me.
00:09Of course.
00:09We're on the set of The Voice.
00:11Seven-time Emmy nominees.
00:13That's unbelievable.
00:14Does it ever get old?
00:17It's still literally unbelievable, like it's unbelievable.
00:20The first Emmy nomination we got was incredible and it was the first, I think, Emmy nomination
00:26for a singing competition and to think that a show like Idol, which blazed a path for
00:31a show like The Voice, I don't think it had been nominated and that was such a popular
00:35thing.
00:36There was X-Factors, all these shows, and we got nominated for an Emmy, we were just stunned.
00:39And now for all this time to have gone by and for us to have won, it's really, people
00:44probably think it's like, oh you're used to it, it's normal, it's like it's never normal.
00:48Okay.
00:48That would be my question.
00:50That would be my question.
00:50It's always cool.
00:51The novelty is not worn off.
00:52Well, once we got one, and being an accredited executive producer, you get one, so I have
00:58one.
00:59In fact, the very first time we won one, I thought that just Mark Burnett, our executive
01:03producer who's famous, would get the Emmy, and there was like 15 of us, and they didn't
01:07know that we all got it, so we went backstage.
01:09They handed me mine, I was like, what, I get to take this home?
01:11And so that was pretty crazy that I actually physically got one.
01:15And I thought, well, I'll never, this will be the only one I got, and then yeah, it's
01:19cool every time.
01:20Four more later.
01:21Yeah.
01:21Yeah.
01:21Well, now you're up to four.
01:23Yeah, exactly.
01:24Where do you keep it?
01:25I have them in my, I have like a man, not a man cave, that's a stupid thing.
01:29It's like an office.
01:31Okay.
01:31It's a kid cave, really.
01:32My kids have taken it over, and it's kind of old school, and I've got some books and memorabilia
01:36in there, and so they're on a mantle there.
01:39Yeah.
01:39Emmy night, so are you going to be able to just attend, or will you be doing double duty, maybe
01:44doing some carpet?
01:46Because you've got the Today Show.
01:47I go.
01:48I go.
01:48I mean, I attend.
01:50Always.
01:51Yeah.
01:51And it's a really fun night.
01:53It's a great cross-country date night for my wife and I, because we live in New York,
01:57so it's fun for us to come out here and see some friends and go to the Emmys and win
02:01or
02:01lose.
02:01So I'm definitely going to go.
02:04Great.
02:04I don't think that Today Show has asked me to work.
02:07I think somebody else gets that night, so I get to enjoy it.
02:11Did you hear that?
02:11He doesn't want to work.
02:12And by the way, Emmy night in general is a lot more fun when you win.
02:15Yeah.
02:15Because I've gone and I've lost, and it's just sort of like wah, wah, wah.
02:18Like, all right, where do you want to go next?
02:20But when you win, you're walking around with the hardware, and you go to the Governor's
02:23Ball, and you see all your friends and peers in the business, and it really makes for a fun
02:28night.
02:28Wow.
02:29So we've got to talk about The Voice.
02:31Yeah.
02:31Last season, you had a new addition, Kelly Clarkson.
02:33Yeah.
02:33She became a fan favorite, took her contestant brand across the finish line.
02:37Now, why do you think viewers really resonated to the two of them?
02:42Well, first of all, Kelly.
02:43I mean, I've said it a million times, and we've had, I think, 12 different coaches throughout
02:48the multiple seasons of The Voice.
02:51What makes a great coach is, at the end of the day, great people.
02:56It's really just that simple.
02:57There's no magic formula.
02:59We got really lucky.
03:01We had a special initial group with Blake, and Adam, and CeeLo, and Christina, and myself,
03:05and this show.
03:06I mean, that's just special chemistry.
03:08It's funny, because none of us knew who Blake was.
03:09He was the last one hired, and he's probably gotten the biggest bounce of the show of anybody.
03:13He has the biggest celebrity out there.
03:14So it really is just kind of, you know, not hit or miss, but it's really about people.
03:18And Kelly is one of, she's just a great person.
03:22Mm-hmm.
03:22When you, and so all that infectious energy that you see on screen, and her caring, and
03:26crying, and standing, and that's just how she is.
03:28She's a great mom.
03:30She's a great person.
03:31She's a great friend.
03:32And those are the characteristics that make a great coach.
03:35Yeah.
03:35And they're undeniable when they're on TV.
03:37Yeah.
03:37You can't really hide it, to be honest with you.
03:39No.
03:39And now, season 15 coming up.
03:42Can you believe it?
03:42I can't believe it.
03:43No, it's amazing.
03:44We're on twice a year.
03:45We occupy like almost 90 hours of primetime TV on NBC, so it's, we're sort of a factory
03:50at this point of always shooting, but it's, it's awesome.
03:52And if you're a fan of the show, it's quite the commitment.
03:54It's like...
03:55Yeah.
03:55It's a lot of hours to be watching a week.
03:57Oh my gosh, it's a lot.
03:58No, it's great.
04:00Yeah.
04:00And eyeballs are going elsewhere.
04:02I mean, it's one of the great problems in our business of trying to figure out how to
04:04retain viewership on, you know, network television and, you know, eventized TV shows, things get
04:11you excited.
04:11It could be something like American Ninja Warrior or AGT or The Voice.
04:15I mean, these are the things that are really holding eyeballs, despite losing a couple to
04:19your digital devices and all the content that's spread so thin.
04:22So we're lucky that we are on twice a year and that people still are into us.
04:26Yeah, absolutely.
04:27Now, what can we expect from the upcoming season?
04:29You're filming right now.
04:30Yeah, we are shooting right now.
04:31So any secrets you can tell us?
04:33Well, I'll tell you, we've always reserved the right to kind of tweak the show a little
04:38bit.
04:38You know, it started with, I think it was The Steel was something that we realized when
04:44we shot The Battle Rounds, you know, that great singers were leaving and we're like,
04:48as producers, we're like, we have to figure out how to keep the really good singers around.
04:51Right.
04:51So we need a comeback.
04:53And so we had this idea for The Steel.
04:54And The Steel's been really something that's been a nice shot of energy into the format.
04:58And we do that every now and again.
05:00So we've added The Block, which is sort of a new, we did it last season too, where in
05:05The Blinds, if there's somebody up there and if you're, you know, Blake and I'm Adam and
05:09there's a great country singer, Adam can secretly block Blake from hitting his button.
05:14And then Adam can hit his button.
05:15Yeah.
05:16And it's made for some really fun banter in The Blinds.
05:18Right.
05:18So we always are trying to tweak things to make it more fun.
05:21And we're also doing something else I can't say in season 15, that when we get closer
05:25to the live shows, that's really exciting.
05:28That's going to straddle both digital, online, and linear on the live show.
05:33So that'll be fun too.
05:34Yeah, that's exciting.
05:35Jennifer Hudson?
05:35Yeah, Jennifer Hudson's back, who's incredible.
05:37But really, you know, Kelly has been such a great, great addition.
05:41I mean, she brings so much energy to the show.
05:42And her dynamic with Blake, it was always Adam and Blake had that kind of odd couple,
05:46old man on the outskirts there.
05:48But now Kelly and Blake have a really funny rapport.
05:50She calls him out.
05:51Yeah, totally.
05:52She calls him out.
05:53That's good.
05:54She does.
05:54She's great.
05:55So it's a good group for season 15 and we're excited.
05:57It's a fun group.
05:58A lot of energy.
05:59Of all, you know, looking back 15 seasons, I have a hard question for you.
06:02Yeah.
06:02Have there been like any of the performances that were the most memorable for you?
06:08I mean, we've done just so many.
06:10I mean, some of the earlier performances from seasons one, two, and three, I mean, really
06:15are some of the ones that stick out in my mind.
06:18There are a couple of, you know, some of the more recent ones I watch.
06:22Chris Jameson did a duet with Jessie J, which is like a performance I still watch on YouTube,
06:28which I think was incredible.
06:29I mean, there's just been so many great performances.
06:32But yeah, some of the earlier shows, you really got a chance to see like Dia Frampton, which
06:37she, I think, kind of remixed and reworked a Kanye song at the piano.
06:41That was a big moment in the show.
06:42And I don't know, some of those great performances set the precedent for all the seasons that we've
06:48seen since.
06:49So there's been just a lot of great performances.
06:52Yeah.
06:52Which, now you're a huge music fan.
06:54Which of the artists out today do you think would make an interesting voice contestant?
07:00That's hard to say.
07:01I mean, of the winners or just?
07:04No, no.
07:05Out, like, out recording artists today.
07:07Just that are out there.
07:08Yeah.
07:09You know, Cassidy Pope is somebody I've always thought would be, you know, she's gone on to
07:12really great success.
07:13And when she came on the show, she was like a power pop punk singer in a band with boys
07:17and then has sort of gone to Nashville and has become a great songwriter and has learned
07:21a lot.
07:21And, you know, a lot of the artists, I think, who've gone through Blake's channeling have
07:26gone on to really great success, especially in Nashville because Blake is so great about
07:30kind of, you know, keeping his own and helping them out.
07:33And Gwen Sebastian was on the show and she's now toured with Blake and got a feature on
07:37his record and doing her own thing.
07:39Ray Lynn is another fireball who would make a great addition to our show.
07:43I think she's done some digital stuff for us.
07:45She's a great personality.
07:46Yeah.
07:46But, you know, as Cassidy Pope continues to go on, you know, something like, somebody
07:51like her, I could see it coming back.
07:53Right.
07:55Now, your Today Show family, Hoda and Cassidy Lee, kind of, they did a little mock audition.
08:00How do you think they did?
08:01Yes.
08:01Did you see that?
08:01Oh my gosh, that was crazy.
08:03First of all, they've been the biggest supporters of this show from the beginning.
08:07And so, that's awesome and I'm so appreciative of that.
08:10And they're, you know, like my family now that I'm in New York and on the Today Show
08:13and I'm not here.
08:14We were shooting the show last year and I was doing the interviews that I always do.
08:18You know, there's a lot in a day where I meet the artists.
08:20I'm like, hey, Layla, nice to meet you.
08:21Who do you have with you today?
08:22Tell me about your singing career, that whole part.
08:24And I walked out and they didn't tell me.
08:26They're like, this next one, here's the questions, just, you know, kind of go.
08:28And they kind of shoved me out there.
08:29And it was Hoda and Cassidy Lee and I was stunned.
08:33And so, I just talked to them and then they did their audition.
08:36I was laughing so hard, I could not help it.
08:38Because Hoda has this face and she was just going .
08:43And I was dying laughing and it was such a fun moment.
08:46You know, we rarely ever have done that on The Voice.
08:49We've had a lot of celebrities and a lot of musicians who've asked us to,
08:52you know, kind of try and dupe the coaches.
08:54But we never really have to protect sort of the integrity of the show.
08:57So that was a really fun moment.
08:58We got to break down the wall and just have a laugh.
09:00Yeah.
09:01Now this time of year, the VMAs are also happening.
09:04Do you get kind of nostalgic a little bit and kind of reminisce about the old days
09:08or, you know, when you see that award show coming out?
09:11It's sort of every, I mean, I can't miss it.
09:13You know, obviously being in New York and I still drive by Times Square
09:15and it's so different from TRL and I have, but I can't escape the memories
09:20and it was such a huge part of my life for so long.
09:23And the VMAs in particular were like prom in high school.
09:26It was such a big marker of the year.
09:28You know, we had spring break and then we did a summer house somewhere
09:32and then it would come into the fall and September were VMAs and, you know, we all went.
09:37And so I have so many fond memories of the VMAs.
09:40Now, you know, the world has changed so much since back then.
09:44I don't know if I would necessarily be attending or anything like that,
09:47but I'm a huge fan.
09:48I'm obviously a huge music fan.
09:50Yeah.
09:50And I'm just, every time MTV I turn on and they're playing music videos
09:53and they're celebrating musicians and artists, I'm psyched
09:56because that's at the core, you know, kind of what I'm about.
09:59You mentioned music videos.
10:00Do you think they kind of have the same, do they have the same impact as they used to?
10:05I don't think so.
10:07Yeah.
10:08I mean, I don't think so.
10:09Because, you know, when MTV started, in fact, it was just, I think like 1981,
10:15I think the day it started, their anniversary was just recently.
10:18When I was there, back in the day, there wasn't the digital output that there is now for content.
10:23So you had to go to MTV.
10:25You know, that's why that TRL was like American Bandstand, you know,
10:29for the baby boomers generation where they went home.
10:31It was the first time they saw their peers like on TV.
10:32Look what they're wearing.
10:33Look how they dance.
10:34And TRL had a lot of that.
10:35You ran home to see it.
10:36And, you know, it was the epicenter.
10:38I was one of them.
10:38It was the epicenter of pop culture.
10:39So you wanted to, you know, see what your friends, your peers were up to
10:42and what they were into.
10:43And you might be into it because of them.
10:45But now, you know, the peephole exists through the internet and so many other ways that music videos,
10:49I mean, a lot of huge Hollywood directors, a lot, came out of that time.
10:53So it was also, you know, a place where we could see how, you know,
10:57Mick G could handle a million dollar budget shooting a Sugar Ray video or a Korn video.
11:01And he did it so well.
11:02Then it was like, boom, he was in the studio system making, you know, Charlie's Angels or whatever.
11:05So, you know, the videos itself, not only for the artists then, it was everything.
11:09It was their movies.
11:10You know, it was literally Jay-Z was the movie star and or Missy Elliott or Marilyn Manson
11:15and their videos were their movies and they were a huge part of their machines.
11:19I don't think it has that same representation now.
11:21Yeah.
11:22Now, you've had such an incredible career.
11:24Is there anyone that you, when you met or interviewed, that you were starstruck yourself?
11:29Oh, sure.
11:30I mean, yeah, lots back in the day.
11:32Yeah.
11:32I only have, I mean, I don't think I've ever asked anybody for an autograph.
11:37That wasn't kind of my move.
11:39I have like four pictures up in my house of my entire career and they're, you know,
11:45probably four interviews to answer your question that I was stunned.
11:47And one of them was Madonna.
11:50One of them was Michael Jackson, who I got to sit and really spend some time with.
11:54And one was Sir Paul McCartney, you know, who we took a boat ride around Manhattan and
11:58he told me about basically the British invasion and the, you know, he told me such great personal
12:02stories about growing up being a Beatle and, you know, just great stuff.
12:06So I have, you know, I only have those, those are three big ones there.
12:09And also Bono from U2 who I sort of befriended and went to Ireland with.
12:13And so there's like really major moments in my life, real relationships that I cherish
12:18more than, than just the idea of interviewing somebody and being starstruck.
12:22Right.
12:22Just being, just like you made a connection that day.
12:24Yeah.
12:24You know, people that you love that much, those memories are more important to me than just,
12:28oh, I sat down with Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt and those, you know, great guys.
12:33But, you know, spending quality time with Bono is something that I'll always remember.
12:37Right.
12:37Well, great.
12:38Thank you so much for joining us.
12:39Oh my God, thanks.
12:39That's all the time we have for today.
12:40Did we get all that in there?
12:41All right.
12:41We sure did.
12:42Did I talk too much?
12:43Sorry.
12:43No, it's all good.
12:44We love hearing you talk.
12:45Thanks, Leila.
12:46Thanks for having me.
12:46You got it.
12:47Thanks everybody.
12:48We'll see you guys later and be sure to watch The Voice on NBC.
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