Why Blake Shelton Is The Best 'Voice' Coach

There's a lot more to Blake Shelton on The Voice than making fun of Adam Levine and drinking mysterious liquids out of Starbucks cups (although those are technically my favorite things he does on The Voice). Blake is pretty forthcoming about being the coach with the most wins, but if you don't listen to country music, you might not know that he's also far and away the most successful coach at getting his team members record deals, radio plays, and reigning titles. I am a Voice historian, and I know that Blake's red chair is the one you want to see swiveling in your direction when you hit your power note.

It's not that Adam, Pharrell, and the rest don't have their value too, it's that, simply put, Blake has the numbers: His winners win, his losers win, and he gets his kids' music on the radio. And isn't that why we're here? To get these folks with inspiring backstories and voices that could knock your socks off to get a hit single? Isn't this why NBC pays hype man of our youth, Carson Daly, to rile us all up each episode?

Blake is the dream maker, not to mention, he has a few other winning things going for him...

1. His Winners Win

It takes a very special artist to come out of one of these singing shows and be both malleable enough to adapt to what the industry needs, and have a strong enough will to stand behind being the artist that they want to be — but it also takes a lot of support. And if Blake has made one thing clear during his eight seasons on The Voice, it's that he's a big supportive teddy bear.

Blake has had four of the last seven Voice winners on his team, Jermaine Paul, Cassadee Pope, Danielle Bradbery, Craig Wayne Boyd, and there's a good reason (beyond talent) the latter three collectively have had the most songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and the most thriving careers: Blake is a supportive and well-connected mentor. Between them, Pope, Bradbery, and Boyd have toured with Tim McGraw, Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley, Hunter Hayes, and of course, Blake Shelton.

2. He's a Selfless Coach to the End

Hell, Blake handed a song that was written for him over to Boyd to sing for his debut single and I haven't gotten it out of my head since.

3. All the Dad Humor

But since Blake isn't your dad, you can actually find his over-pronunciation of "boo" funny.

4. And the General "Rascal" Behavior

Blake is The Voice's "every man," which is funny because he's handsome, famous, and richer than "every man" watching The Voice. But ask your parents why they like The Voice but not American Idol... it's because of Blake: He's edgy without being racy, caring without being a sap, charming without trying too hard, and then there's that accent.

5. His Losers Also Win

But it's not just Blake's winners who are leading the Voice alumni pack. His former artists, The Swon Brothers and RaeLynn, have also produced popular country albums since their time on the show. RaeLynn recently toured with Blake's wife, Miranda Lambert, and you've probably heard Blake rattling on about "a few guys named The Swon Brothers" who you can actually hear on the radio right now.

That's a big selling point for a Voice contestant when picking their coach: Even if you don't win, Blake is going to look out for you. He could be overheard just a few weeks ago telling eliminated contestant Cody Wickline, "I'll shoot you an e-mail, brother." And I bet he will.

6. Plus, He Comes with Miranda Lambert!

She's better known as simply "Miranda" to Blake and Voice fans, but the country stunner's presence in Blake's everyday life has been known to woo an artist or two over to his side. And she comes through: Miranda not only shows up on the show every once in a while, but she's just as much of a mentor to the former Voice artists she takes under her wing after the show as her husband is.

7. That Bromance with Adam

The love/pretend-not-to-love dynamic has been well-documented, but it's always worth a mention.

8. He Works Well with All the Coaches

Blake has a special relationship with his other Voice bookend, Adam, sure, but he also has great chemistry with all the other coaches who rotate through the middle chairs. Pharrell loves Blake, Gwen loves Blake, Shakira loves Blake... everybody loves Blake.

9. Country Music Wins

Because when it comes down to it, Blake is driven by a little something more than just winning The Voice; he wants to be a part of producing the next generation of country stars. He told TV Guide after Craig Wayne Boyd's win, "Country music is literally my life. My life is not this show. This show will come and it will go and my life is country music ... That's why it actually matters to me that somebody like [Boyd] gets through and gets a record deal and makes music because when this is said and done, I can sit back and say, 'That's Craig I'm hearing on the radio now. He represents us. He's really good at what he does.'"

10. But He Could Probably Make Anybody Win

And yes, that does mean that if Blake is the most winning coach on The Voice (he is), and Blake makes country stars, then The Voice is a country artist's game. Blake will always choose country; but he will also always pit country against each other. So, if you're a non-country artist that chooses Team Blake, and you're good enough to make it past whatever other wild card non-country singer he's chosen that season and make it to the Live rounds, then you just might be on the receiving end of Blake Shelton pulling strings and shooting emails to you too.

Images: Trae Patton/NBC; giphy (6)