How Ariana Grande Isn't Following The Rules Of 'The Voice' At All

Back in March, pop star Ariana Grande announced that she'd be sitting in Nick Jonas' judging chair come Season 21 of NBC's popular reality singing show, "The Voice." "Surprise !!! i am beyond thrilled, honored, excited to be joining @kellyclarkson @johnlegend @blackshelton next season ~ season 21 of @nbcthevoice ! @nickjonas we will miss you," the "Sweetener" singer tweeted, pairing her words with a picture of herself in a floor-length leopard print coat.

After the first episode of the new season dropped on September 22, Grande proved that she'd shown up to win. When 23-year-old contestant Gymani took to the stage with a rendition of Grande's "POV" — earning the only 4-chair turn of the night — Grande confessed that she'd "literally do anything" to secure the songbird on her team. The Grammy winner also told fellow coach Kelly Clarkson on an episode of "The Kelly Clarkson Show" that she'd been blown away by the array of talent on the show. "It's a really special experience to be able to share some of what we've learned and been able to do in our lives with these artists that are just wanting to do the same thing," Grande added. She additionally confessed that she's "obsessed" with her team, and is determined to forge meaningful connections with them — even if that means breaking a few rules in the process! Here's the major one she has already flouted.

Reality competitions come with rules for contestants and coaches alike — not that Ariana Grande is letting something like a contract slow her roll. As she shared with Kelly Clarkson on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," she's "broken every rule in my contract." And one of the big no-nos involves the level of communication with team members. According to Grande, coaches aren't technically supposed to talk to the artists on their team until the live rounds. (For the uninitiated, contestants on "The Voice" must progress through the blind auditions, the battle rounds, the knockouts, the playoffs, and the live performance shows in order to be crowned the winner, per Country Living.) So it's a bold move for Grande to already be "DM-ing them," given the show still has several weeks of blind auditions left.

"They're like, 'You're not supposed to do that,'" Grande joked to Clarkson, of how her team is more aware of the rules than she is. "And I'm like, 'Sorry!'" The pop star doesn't seem too worried about violating the terms of her contract because her team is "so nice and cool." "I love them," she shared. "I'm obsessed with my team." And for her part, Clarkson reiterated Grande's "obsession" with her artists, telling viewers that Grande is always "sending stuff to the hotel" for Team Ariana.

Perhaps Ariana Grande is comfortable being "The Voice's" resident rule-breaker due to her experience on TV. Because we're used to seeing her trademark ponytail and glitzy outfits as she belts out hits onstage, it's easy to forget that the star was once a teeny bopper on the Nickelodeon show "Victorious," before starring in her own spin-off, "Sam and Cat." And maybe all that TV work taught her that it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission from producers? Either way, Grande's commitment to Team Ariana is commendable, and it's showing viewers another facet of her personality. In fact, fellow judge Kelly Clarkson told fans that she hopes they get to know the "Thank U Next" singer in a fresh way during her time on "The Voice."

While interviewing Grande on the "The Kelly Clarkson Show", Clarkson shared just how much she's been enjoying her time with Grande so far ... partly because the diva is so funny! "Backstage, I have to have my eye makeup redone," Clarkson admitted. "Like, she's hysterical. She's so funny, very quick-witted. I didn't know this about you. I knew you were talented, I knew you'd be a great coach, I knew all those things, but I didn't know how funny you were because we never really hung much." Clearly, there's so much more to Grande than her (already impressive) musical talent.