Singers on the small screen: Rihanna joins ‘The Voice,’ Common and Ne-Yo to do ‘The Wiz’
Rihanna, shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala, will join NBC’s “The Voice” this fall.
If you want to see a pop star this fall, turn on your television.
NBC announced Thursday that Rihanna will join “The Voice” for the singing competition’s upcoming ninth season and that Common and Ne-Yo will take part in the network’s planned live broadcast of “The Wiz.”
Speaking at the Television Critics Assn. media tour in Beverly Hills, network chief Bob Greenblatt said Rihanna will act as a “key advisor” to the show’s four coaches, according to the Associated Press. As previously announced, Gwen Stefani will return as a coach for the new season, scheduled to premiere Sept. 21, after she sat out Season 8; the No Doubt frontwoman’s fellow coaches are Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Pharrell Williams.
As for “The Wiz,” Ne-Yo will play the Tin Man in the R&B-inflected adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz,” while Common will play the Bouncer, described in a statement as “the gatekeeper of the entrance to Emerald City who is out to get what he can from Dorothy and her three friends.”
Set to air Dec. 3, “The Wiz Live!” will also star Queen Latifah in the title role and Mary J. Blige as Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West.
Twitter: @mikaelwood
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