In an Instagram post from Shine today, it looks like the cast is full of love leading to the return next month.
In the photo, vocal coach, Vanessa Birchfield is seen hugging Grammy winner and judge, Ashthon Jones, after a warming moment together on set of the auditions.
Sources close to the production say the two women are very good friends.
"Almost everyone that works on the show is really close," the source told BTV Insider. "They all feel like their a family on and off set."
In a recent interview with the judging panel, Jones' weighed in on how she felt about having to wait for the return and we agreed with her when she said, "it's been hard." Jones has been an advocate for BTV since the first episode of Shine aired in 2017.
"It takes time to build what we have here. I mean look at BTV now, just launching a talent division and that's taken a great deal of time to structure internally. Which is exactly what Shine is all about. Artist first." Ashthon told us. "We couldn't properly promote the artists like we wanted so a hiatus was the best decision."
2'Live Bre, her fellow judge on the panel, followed her and put our worries to bed. "Y'all forget Shine was the first of its kind. No cap. We (are) changing the game. Shine was the first to really take artists and give them a platform for their own music."
Creator of the series, Brandon Stewart, was nodding and said "it's all a part of our plan. Shine was the show that launched it all. It's really moving quickly, a lot quicker than I expected, but opportunity doesn't wait for anyone."
BTV Insider then asked what we could expect during the remainder of this season.
"What can they expect guys?" Stewart looked at them. They all laughed.
"What can't they expect?" Jones asked Stewart in response. They all laughed again. "It's actually impressive how much the show has matured..." Jones said. She continued, "we're more than a discovery platform. We are entertaining and that's because Brandon, Bre and I have spent so much time together, and have been on reality TV competition platforms like this one."
"Yeah, but this one is different than any we've been on," 2'Live Bre interrupted.
The 3 confirmed that the music is better than ever and the drama delivers more that seasons past. So reality TV fans can get excited about that. But how did they raise the stakes for this season? "We're launching our own record label. So this is a big deal." Ashthon told us.
The trio isn't just stopping at the #1 competition web series in America, but they're expanding. It's something they have wanted to do for quite some time.
"Well, she let the cat out of the bag with that one didn't she?" Stewart joked. "We were saving that announcement for the top of the year, but I guess that's fine to run that now."
"It's true!" Jones reiterated with a smile.
Don't miss the return of Shine on September 25th, with more exclusive updates dropping right here on BTV Insider.