Exclusive: Cher Will Mentor Team Blake on ‘The Voice’!

Reality Rocks

On the upcoming fifth season of "The Voice," Christina Aguilera's team will be advised by Ed Sheeran, Adam Levine's contestants will work with OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, and Team Cee Lo's guest mentor will be Miguel. But three-time winning "Voice" coach Blake Shelton will have the biggest superstar of all in his arsenal: the one, the only, the awesome…Cher.

Yes, Cher. Cher!! CHER!!!! [insert Moonstruck-style slap here] Snap out of it!

Seriously, this is very exciting news, and a huge coup for "The Voice," considering that Cher has mostly avoided reality television during her career. But she actually expressed interest in being a "Voice" Battle Rounds advisor backstage at the show's Season 4 finale last June (on which she performed "Woman's World" in one of her many fabulous wigs). "This is an amazing thing for [young singers]," she told Yahoo Music's Reality Rocks. "They didn't have anything like this when Sonny [Bono] and I started. We played bowling alleys and roller-rinks. We didn't get to go on any [TV shows]. This is amazing, where you have people who've been in the business, have been successful, and now want to help you — so you can kind of bypass a lot of the trashy stuff."

When asked if she would have auditioned for "The Voice," if it had been around when she was first starting out, Cher enthusiastically answered, "Oh, gosh, yeah. Are you kidding? I would have been like, 'Ah! Let me in!'"

Blake Shelton has as big and brash a personality as Cher's, so this pairing should be a fun one. It should also be quite emotional for Blake. Backstage at last season's "Voice" finale, Blake surprisingly revealed to Reality Rocks: "I lost my dad a year and a half ago. And my dad's favorite artist on earth, bar none, no question, was Cher. My dad worshipped Cher. I wish he could have seen tonight's episode, because I would've been texting him saying, 'Hey, I met Cher! I took a picture with Cher!'...She has no idea about any of that, but it was a real big deal to meet her…she's just as viable and important to music today as she ever was."

It remains to be seen if Cher and Blake will continue their lovefest next season with an "I Got You Babe" duet (just putting that suggestion out there), or if Cher will musically reunite with her old Burlesque co-star, Christina Aguilera. But regardless, her appearance during the Battle Rounds, which commence October 14, will be must-see TV…not only to learn from her astounding five-plus decades of showbiz experience, but of course, to see what she WEARS. With a little help from Bob Mackie and the right wig, Cher may be able to make even Cee Lo and Xtina look positively plain.

Season 5 of "The Voice" premieres Monday, September 23.

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