I’m not sure a casual fan of The Voice could ever understand the jolt of adrenaline that pumped through my veins upon reading about the huge revamp that’s coming to Season 29 next spring. I have dreamed of writing these words: Kelly Clarkson is back! With Adam Levine, no less! Lots of changes are planned for the season being dubbed The Voice: Battle of Champions, so please allow me to break them all down, including the one that has me confused.
The Voice Season 28 is already in production, with Michael Bublé defending his title against Niall Horan, Snoop Dogg and Reba McEntire, and that is who we’ll see on the 2025 TV premiere calendar this fall. With the new filming schedule, however, the Spring 2026 shows are being taped simultaneously, which means Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine and John Legend are also likely already at work. Yes, only three coaches will lead Season 29, which I’ll discuss more further down. But first, let’s talk changes.
The Voice Is Shaking Up Its Format For Season 29
The Voice’s 29th season will air next year during NBC’s “Legendary February,” when NBC Sports will present the trifecta of Super Bowl LX, the Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games, and the NBA All-Star Game. Playing to the theme, The Voice: Battle of Champions will reportedly infuse its singing competition with fast-paced, competitive elements.
I’m not sure exactly what that means, but if it involves Kelly Clarkson going against Adam Levine and John Legend for some kind of advantage, let’s just say I feel sorry for the guys (stream Clarkson’s episode of Barmageddon with a Peacock subscription for proof of her competitive nature).
NBC also revealed that each team will consist of just 10 artists, meaning only 30 will advance to Battle Round — a huge difference from the 48 of Season 27 and a whopping 56 in Season 26. But those aren’t the only game alterations we can expect.
New Rules Will Be Introduced For The Voice: Battle Of Champions
We all know the importance of a Four-Chair Turn, so how is the show addressing that with just three coaches for Season 29? With the “Triple Turn Competition” of course! The Voice is giving an advantage to the coach who can win over the most artists who get all three coaches to turn their chairs. The winner will earn a “Super Steal” for Battles, which can be used one time to trump other coaches’ Steal attempts.
As “King of the Four-Chair Turn,” I know Legend will be vying for this prize, but Levine actually bested him in this category in Season 27, so it’s anybody’s game. (Don’t ever count out Clarkson.)
Once we reach the Knockouts, we’ll get a huge new segment — a competition-within-the-competition that The Voice is calling its “In-Season All-Star Competition.” Each coach will bring back two fan favorites from previous seasons to go head-to-head in a special episode judged by OG coach CeeLo Green. The coach with the most wins earns a guaranteed second finalist in the finale.
Is The Voice Doing Away With America’s Vote?
It also sounds like Season 29 will switch up how it handles voting in the Semifinals and Finals. Past contestants and superfans will be part of the in-studio audience, and vote on their favorite singers in real time (I’ll be eagerly awaiting my invitation).
I agree that’s pretty cool, but does it mean America will no longer get a say, even in the final rounds? I definitely don’t love that implication, but that’s not the issue that has me the most confused.
I Don’t Understand Why There Are Only Three Coaches Instead Of Four
I’m all for mixing things up and trying something new, especially 29 seasons in, but I’m really having trouble getting past the fact that only three music superstars will sit in the Big Red Chairs this time around. That doesn’t speak to the Battle of Champions theme the way other changes do.
In its announcement, NBC proclaimed this panel as the first in The Voice’s history composed entirely of winning coaches. That is both impressive and true, but it doesn’t explain taking away one of the spots.
While Levine, Clarkson and Legend are unquestionably amongst the most iconic and long-standing mentors, they’re far from the only winners. If they wanted other winning coaches, they’d need to look no further than Season 28, which will feature two as-yet undefeated coaches in Niall Horan and Michael Bublé, who each won their first two consecutive attempts.
That’s more than Legend, whose lone win came during his debut in Season 16. Clearly these aren’t the three winningest coaches, because you couldn’t claim that without getting Blake Shelton back (and that’s likely never happening). The cowboy’s nine victories are more than double Clarkson’s second-place total of four.
Did The New Elements Necessitate The Big Coaching Change?
The only logical reason I can think of is that to make time for the previous seasons’ fan favorites to return and whatever “competitive elements” are being added for NBC’s “Legendary February,” there had to be a major reduction in the number of contestants, and it made more sense to have three 10-person teams than four 7.5-person teams (that’s good math, there).
This isn’t the first time I’ve been confused by new elements that The Voice has tried. I was iffy about the Coach Replay button when it was introduced in Season 26 — it goes against the whole premise of the show! — but I actually ended up enjoying the coaches being able to change their minds about not hitting their button.
Despite a little bit of uncertainty about what Battle of Champions holds, I’m overwhelmingly excited about Season 29. I was honestly afraid Kelly Clarkson might never return to The Voice, and given Levine’s comments about it not being the same without Shelton, I thought he might be gone for good as well.
I’m super excited to see Legend, Clarkson and Levine lead the first three-coach season of The Voice, but first things first — Season 28 will air on NBC this fall with episodes streaming the next day on Peacock. Keep an eye out for a premiere date.
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