New “The Voice” coach Kamrad: He likes to tease this fellow coach

Kamrad (27) has delivered successful chart hits in recent years with “Feel Alive” and “I Believe”. Now the German singer-songwriter is taking a seat in the red chair of “The Voice of Germany” as a coach. The music show starts on September 26th (Thursdays at 8:15 p.m. on ProSieben and Fridays at 8:15 p.m. on Sat.1 and both on Joyn) with the blind auditions. In an interview with the news agency spot on news, Kamrad explains how he deals with his status as “the new guy”, why fellow coach Samu Haber (48) creates special moments in the show and what he has planned for his “Team Kamrad”.

After the coaches were announced, you made a short introductory video on Instagram, as apparently not all viewers know you. How do you deal with your role as “the new guy”?

Kamrad: On the one hand, being the new guy is a huge advantage for me over the other three coaches because I was able to prepare very well for how they would behave and react accordingly. That means I always have a little ace up my sleeve and the element of surprise on my side. On the other hand, before the start of the blind auditions, I was worried about the talents that they might not know what to do with me. But I can now say that I can relax about that. And I’m very happy to be able to take part and make life a little difficult for the others.

Did you have any concerns that “The Voice” might suddenly bring too much attention to you?

Kamrad: No, I’m not someone who thinks about it too much. I’m just happy that maybe a few people will get to know me through “The Voice” and that I can give them a nice evening at 8:15 p.m. I like entertaining people. And I’ve always been a big “The Voice” fan, which means I’m very focused on having a great time here and doing great things with great talent.

So you’ve always followed “The Voice”?

Kamrad: I remember the first season in 2011, I was 14 and I followed it with great enthusiasm. I started playing guitar and singing early on and was also very interested in new music formats. “The Voice” was different, suddenly it was really about the voice. Now to have a red chair with Kamrad written on it is pretty cool.

So would you have liked to take part in “The Voice” yourself?

Kamrad: I was a little too young back then and “The Voice Kids” didn’t exist yet. Then I went my own way and wasn’t focused on being a singer anymore. I wanted to write songs, play guitar and produce and it never occurred to me to apply to be a singer. But “The Voice” is definitely a huge opportunity, especially if you don’t yet know exactly what you can do with your voice or how to get into the public eye. I would recommend it to anyone and, looking back, I think it might have been a good idea for me too, to speed things up.

Did you know all of your coaching colleagues personally before?

Kamrad: I was on tour with Samu and Sunrise Avenue in 2018 as support. I actually only met Yvonne and Mark on “The Voice of Germany”. Before filming, we only had a quick meal together and started a group chat. I think you can tell in the show that we were just getting to know each other. But it quickly became intense; others would have waited longer to become as intimate as Mark and I (laughs). For me, it was really cool to be in such an experienced constellation. With Mark, Yvonne and Samu, I had three people who I could always ask questions and who took me by the hand. I didn’t feel like an outsider, but rather that I quickly felt like I belonged.

The jokes between the coaches are often not insignificant. How did you deal with them?

Kamrad: I expected that everyone would take the opportunity, that I’m the new and inexperienced one who has never won “The Voice”. But I’m someone who I think is pretty quick-witted and approaches things with a lot of humor. I also come up with one or two comments that are countered quite well. And that’s the nice thing about this coach fight, you have to take it, but you can also dish it out. In this constellation it’s very special because no one feels hurt by a comment that might be below the belt. And no one feels too cool because they’ve won over a talent. If the balance is balanced, then you have a nice dynamic and then it’s fun to fight each other because everyone knows that you actually value each other a lot on a private level.

You regularly show your humor on Instagram. Is there a little comedian in you?

Kamrad: I always think it’s cool if you can make people laugh. I like telling jokes and laughing at myself too. If we all go through life with a smile and take things a little easier, then that’s good for all of us. I see it the same way with “The Voice”. I’m glad that I can live out my personality in this constellation. So far I haven’t spared any of the three coaches and have celebrated and exploited every mistake and every victory (laughs).

How was it for you to meet Samu Haber again?

Kamrad: I thought it was super cool that we were sitting together in these red chairs now. I discovered him through “The Voice” apart from his music and then went on tour with him when he was at his peak with Sunrise Avenue and I was just starting out. I was able to learn a lot from him and he became a mentor to me. Now we are on equal footing and have to battle each other for talent. So we got to know each other again and are happy that we met again. I have a lot of fun with the person sitting next to me and I’m happy to tease him a bit (laughs).

What makes him a good coach?

Kamrad: Samu comes into the room and the room looks at Samu first. That’s simply because of his charisma and his honest humor with his absurd personality (laughs). You sit on the chair next to him and things often happen that you don’t expect. Suddenly he’s standing, singing a song, dancing and is this crazy guy in the best possible sense. So it’s an experience for me to be able to experience that up close. We definitely have a few funny moments together in the show, which also show how much we like each other. We’ve already planned meetings after filming, that I’ll visit him, that we’ll make music and spend a bit more time together privately.

What is important to you about the “The Voice” talents, when do you turn around?

Kamrad: The situation is absurd when you can’t see who is singing. The most important thing is emotion and surprise. And when that happens, I turn around and fight for the talent with everything I have. But there is no formula for success. Sometimes it’s the newly interpreted version of a song that you’ve never heard before. Sometimes it’s the great vocal color that you don’t even pay attention to the pitch accuracy, but that you just want to work with. I think that’s also the reason why “The Voice” is still so exciting and thrilling in the 14th season. Because there’s always something new happening – for the coaches, for the audience and also for the talents.

And what makes the “Kamrad” team special?

Kamrad: “Team Kamrad” definitely has the most motivated coach because it’s my first time here and I have to prove why I’m here. I’ve set myself a lot of goals and can already reveal that I have a very versatile team that’s fun to work with on a variety of things. I want to help the talents find their voice and avoid many of the mistakes I made. I’m the coach who is closest to their reality because it was only two and a half years ago that I made the leap from “I can’t pay my rent” to “suddenly my song is on the radio”. I just want to work with them on an equal footing.