While the incredible talents of everyday Australians blows us away on The Voice, itโs host Sonia Krugerโs glamorous ensembles that also command our attention (and a whole lot of fashion envy!)
In an exclusive interview with Now To Love, Sonia admits the process behind creating her show-stopping looks is a lengthy one.
โIt takes a while to get ready. The looks are always a bit extra on The Voice. Every show has its own identity and I think The Voice is like this heightened pop clip,โ she tells us.
โIโm wearing this neon green jacket dress and itโs sequined and I said to Natalia my stylist: โYou donโt think this is just a bit too much?!โ and sheโs like: โItโs The Voice, Sonia!'โ
โItโs the closest Iโll ever get to being in a video clip so youโve got to go for it. It takes six people to build me. Iโm the bionic woman now!โ she laughs.
While 12-hour back-to-back days on the Channel Seven set can admittedly become โgruellingโ, Sonia says her hosting gig never feels like work.
โItโs a very social kind of day!โ she beams.
โWhen we do the Blind Auditions, it can be a little bit gruelling because there are a lot of people to get through and youโve got to speak to all the family and friends and then watch them perform and then talk to them after the fact.
โOver the course of the four days that we shot the Blind Auditions, I calculated I may have met 500 people and trying to remember everybodyโs name is tricky.โ
While Soniaโs official title may be โhost,โ she also acts as a nurturing support system to the contestants and their nervous loved ones waiting in the wings.
Itโs through these strong bonds that the in-demand TV personality admits she canโt help but have her favourites.
โYou ride that wave of them turning chairs and then getting through certain rounds and you canโt help but really love certain people either, and everybody has a different favourite,โ she says.
โI spend most of my time at the side of the stage with family and friends so I feel like I go through that nervous rollercoaster that everybody goes on.
โThey walk out and itโs so quiet, you can hear a pin drop. Itโs an eerie feelingโฆ It can be quite devastating when theyโre [eliminated].โ
Sonia says sheโs incredibly grateful to have a strong support network to help take care of her daughter Maggie, seven, whom she shares with producer television Craig McPherson.
โI have family who can always pick up the slack if I canโt get Maggie to school or pick her up after school. Iโm luckier than a lot of working parents that have to commute and work,โ she says.
โI feel like my work comes in blocks so I know to be prepared and organised for that block of time.โ
Proving sheโs the ultimate cool mum, Sonia even brings little Maggie onto the set of The Voice with her.
โI brought her to the filming. Guy [Sebastianโs] kids were there, Keith [Urbanโs] kids were there. So it has become a bit of a family affair for all of us,โ Sonia gushes.
โWhen Guy spoke to Maggie he was like: โDo you like music?โ and Maggie was talking about how they do music at school and I said to her afterwards: โWhoโs your favourite coach?โ and she said: โRita!'โ
It seems like Sonia couldnโt possibly fit more on her plate, but the ageless 56-year-old always manages to find the time for exercise.
โWe can be a bit time-poor so you have to just prioritise it in your day if you can and do it early in the piece before everybody else is up,โ she says.
The Voice continues on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel 7