The Voice is shaking things up once again for its 26th season, which arrives this fall. While the current season continues to air (with the semi-finals premiering tonight), a new line-up of coaches has been revealed.
At NBC's Upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall on Monday, it was revealed that Gwen Stefani will return to the show after a season-long break for her eighth time in the chair.
She will be joined by Reba McEntire, entering her third stint as a coach, plus two new musicians – hip-hop superstar Snoop Dogg and Canadian crooner Michael Bublé.
Both Snoop and Michael have previous ties to the show, with the former having served as a mega-mentor in season 20, and the latter as an advisor to coach Blake Shelton's team back in season 3.
The "Nuthin But a 'G' Thang" rapper has other ties to the network as well, serving as one of NBC's hosts for the coverage of the Summer Olympics in Paris, reporting on the ground from the Games and interviewing various athletes and their loved ones.
Fans reacted with enthusiasm to the new casting, with several expressing in particular that this may be Snoop's season to win. "What's so hilarious about Snoop is he'll either have the worst team or somehow win it there's no in between," one commented, with another adding: "I wanna see Reba and Snoop vibe."
© Getty ImagesOthers reacted with: "Glad Gwen is coming back!" and: "This is a panel full of incredible artists," as well as: "Michael bublé and snoop… ok this is very interesting."
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The current season features judges Reba, John Legend in his ninth season, Chance the Rapper in his second season, and debuting coaching duo Dan + Shay. Currently, all four coaches have artists in play for next week's finale, with Dan + Shay having three contestants, while the others have two each.
© Getty ImagesStill absent from The Voice is Blake Shelton, who presided as a coach for 23 seasons before eventually giving up the chair to spend more time on his music and family with Gwen, who has come back twice since his exit.
In a recent interview with Extra, he admitted that he didn't see himself returning to the NBC competition anytime soon, saying: "I don't plan on ever, like working at The Voice again." Take a look at his final season on the show below...
"I can't say I wouldn't come by for, like, a surprise appearance. I mean, that show is the greatest and most important thing that I've ever been a part of in my career. It changed my life, and I'll always be grateful for that."
He did assert, though, that he remained as big a fan of the show as ever, particularly whenever his wife's on as well. "She's still in and out, and she's so good at it. She loves the show. She always said to me, 'How can you want to step away? It's so fun.'"
© Getty Images"I've done 23 seasons without missing a single season… If you're on back-to-back seasons, there's really no time for any other thing. I guess if you didn't want to have a family and a life, you could do it that much, but something has to give, and for me, I was to the point where it was time for The Voice to be the thing that has to give this time."
