The coaches on “The Voice” season 26 are Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Reba McEntire and Michael Buble
When “The Voice” returns for its 26th season on September 23, 2024, fans can expect to see a number of changes, from quirky scheduling to major changes to the competition.
The most obvious change is the new coaching staff for season 26, with country superstar Reba McEntire being the only returning coach from last season. McEntire will be joined by veteran coach Gwen Stefani, who took a break for season 25, as well as newcomers Michael Bublé and Snoop Dogg.
‘The Voice’ Season 26 Airtime: When to Watch
NBC has confirmed that the new season will feature five rounds of competition, as usual: Blind Auditions, Playoffs, Live Show, and Live Performance. But the scheduling of some of those rounds may frustrate fans.
Viewers are used to watching Blind Auditions on consecutive nights, on Mondays and Tuesdays. But season 26 of “The Voice” has had some changes because it’s an election year.
“The Voice” will start with just one show a week — on Monday nights only — for the first two weeks, according to TV Insider. While no reason has been given for the one-show schedule for the first week, TV Insider says the show will air live on NBC. Vice Presidential Debate on October 1st.
Starting the week of October 8, “The Voice” will continue to air on both Mondays and Tuesdays next month, but will be delayed again on Election Day, November 5, according to the news agency.
There will be six Blind Audition episodes in total, all airing from 8–10 p.m. ET: September 23, September 30, October 7, October 8, October 14, and October 15.
Changes to watch out for in the competition in Season 26
The coaches and fixtures aren’t the only changes in season 26. There are also some small but important changes to the competition to keep things fresh.
According to NBC Insider, Showrunner Audrey Morrissey said at an industry event in May, “I’m always trying to think about what would be a good thing to add to the dynamic of the show? What new twists would be not only interesting but actually relevant and meaningful to the show? We’re constantly thinking about that return on investment.”
For season 26, one of those changes is that each coach will be given two steals instead of one during Battle. This will allow each coach to end the round with nine contestants on their team, NBC said in press materials.
That then makes it possible to bring about three-dimensional Knockouts, First introduced in season 22where one artist competes with two other teammates against one, according to NBC. Each singer will choose their own song to perform while their teammates watch from the sidelines, and their coach can only choose to eliminate one teammate from each trio of singers — unless they use a save.
Anyone not chosen to stay with their coach after the Knockout round is a fair target for the other coaches to steal (each coach also gets one steal to use). When all is said and done, the coaches will leave the Knockouts round with their teams narrowed down to five contestants.
Season 26 of “The Voice” will kick off with a two-hour premiere on NBC at 8 p.m. ET on September 23. The show will be available to stream the following day on Peacock.
