Blake Shelton has nothing but praise for the newest coach on NBC's hit reality singing competition show, The Voice. The chart topper recently opened up about newcomer Gwen Stefani, calling her an "icon."

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According to Us Weekly on Wednesday, Shelton is excited to be working with the blonde beauty in the upcoming season of the show.

"Gwen Stefani is an icon. The level of brilliance Gwen and Pharrell Williams brought into the game... I absolutely did not see this coming," Shelton said.

The two stars joined show veterans Adam Levine and Blake Shelton for their first promo picture of the new judges.

But even with his words of praise, it looks as though the country star will still be battling it out during the show to make sure his team stands out from the rest.

He added, "I've been a liar from day one. When we sit down there in those blind auditions and spill our guts and make our pitches to get artists on our teams, I'm willing to stoop to any level. I'm just a scumbag, and I admit it!"

Meanwhile, it looks as though fans can't wait to see the next season of The Voice.

In a preview clip of an audition, Stefani is shown standing up on her chair, with Shelton stating "Gwen brings this very honest, very humble power to the table." Previews of Williams have other judges making jokes about Happy, his hit single and features Williams' soon to be signature line, "I know what to do with that voice." The singer says it three times in the preview video alone, with Levine making fun of him on the fourth time around.

Season 7 of The Voice airs September 22 at 8 p.m. EST/PST on NBC.

Tags: The Voice Reality TV nbc