How Much Do 'The Voice' Judges Get Paid? See Their Salaries

Raking it in! The Voice judges, including Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and Camila Cabello, among others, have earned a hefty salary during their time on the show. However, Ariana Grande, who appeared on the show’s 21st season, was reportedly the highest-paid coach.

How Much Money Do ‘The Voice’ Judges Get Paid?

The NBC show has become extremely popular since it first premiered in 2011 and has featured some seriously A-list artists as coaches and advisors.

After appearing as a part-time advisor during season 13, Kelly was brought on as a full-time coach for season 14, which premiered in 2018. Of course, this came as a surprise to some, considering the “Heartbeat Song” singer got her start on American Idol, which was rebooted in 2018 with judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry.

“Think of how I felt,” Kelly said with a laugh about her surprising decision during an interview with Entertainment Tonight in 2017. “[But] I’ve been in talks with The Voice about doing stuff for years … It’s going to be good, and I’m excited, y’all.”

That being said, the “Since U Been Gone” singer acknowledged her previous experience on Idol is a positive for her as a coach. “I think there is a difference being one of the contestants previously on a show like this … I think that does carry weight,” she added.

Blake is the only coach who has appeared on The Voice since season 1. “I can’t believe I have sat in this chair now for the twentieth season … even Kelly is still a rookie compared to me,” the “God’s Country” singer joked during a promotional YouTube video for the NBC show. However, it was announced in October 2022 that season 23 would be his last.

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“Country music has been my life since I was 14/15 years old and now what’s exciting for me is to find new young talent,” Blake added. “This is our tenth year anniversary and it’s unbelievable that the talent level just keeps getting better, 20 seasons now of being a coach on this show and I still love my job.”

Past coaches, including Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani, Miley Cyrus, Christina Aguilera and Alicia Keys, also raked in major money for their short-lived appearances on the reality singing competition.

These talented artists may have the best jobs … ever. Keep scrolling to see how much money each Voice coach has made over the years!

Ariana Grande

The “Positions” singer penned a major contract for her upcoming coaching gig during season 21.

“Sources say Ariana is getting a whopping $20 to $25 million dollars for the show, putting her in the same category as Katy Perry on American Idol,” iHeartRadio’s Rob Shuter reported on his “Naughty But Nice” podcast in March.

Kelly Clarkson

Radar reported that Kelly gets about $14 million per season deal. Why so much? Although she gushed over how excited she was to appear on the NBC show versus Idol, there was allegedly a bidding war for her. The Voice won out, so producers offered her the second-largest salary ever for it. She has since won three seasons, but it’s unclear if she received a raise.

Blake Shelton

Blake is also one of the highest-paid coaches on the show, and we totally get why. He’s a fan-favorite, he’s been there since the beginning, and his team has won five times! The Wrap reported that Blake made about $13 million per season as of 2016, but insiders told Radar that that number is even higher now because he and fiancée Gwen negotiated together to get huge bonuses. We’d be lying if we said watching their romance unfold on the show isn’t a huge draw when they appear together!

Gwen Stefani

Gwen has had a few stints on the hit NBC show, and while she’s always been beloved, her popularity has only grown since her relationship with Blake began. She started out making $10 million per season on season 7, but by season 12, she was reportedly making more than $13 million thanks to bonuses surrounding her relationship with the country crooner. She appeared again on seasons 17 and 19 but was replaced by Nick.

Adam Levine

Adam was apparently being paid the same as Blake before his pay increase with Gwen, according to The Wrap, so it is likely he made around $13 million per season. He sat as a full-time coach for seasons 1 through 16.
“I think when the band made it and had that all going on in the early 2000s, I think I was really young and also, it was a different time,” the Maroon 5 singer told Zane Lowe for Apple Music’s Beats 1 in September 2019 after he announced he was leaving the show. “So I think not everyone had a camera on them at all times and you enjoyed a certain kind of privacy that I think you don’t enjoy anymore. And then being on The Voice and stuff really changed that even more. You know, it kind of launched me into the bizarre territory of being, I guess for lack of a better phrase, a household name.”

Miley Cyrus

The “Malibu” artist only appeared on two seasons of The Voice, but she made as much as longtime coaches Blake and Adam. Miley reportedly raked in about $13 million per season, according to Money Nation. That’s probably because she’s a huge star and really helped bring in more of the younger demographic.