The Voice is celebrating its milestone 30th season this fall, and it’s certainly bringing the star power to the 2026 TV schedule. As I suspected, rumors of Blake Shelton’s potential return were greatly exaggerated, but I’m definitely not disappointed in the coaching lineup that NBC has assembled. Queen Latifah is set to join The Voice family alongside the previously announced Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson and newcomer Riley Green, and I have to admit I’m a bit concerned about the country music artist.
The Voice prides itself on finding superstar talent to lead each season’s group of contestants, and Queen Latifah is unequivocally that. Not only does she have a music career dating back over three decades (earning her a Grammy and myriad other awards), she’s an actress who’s won an Emmy and a Golden Globe and been nominated for an Oscar.
I can’t wait to see how her experience and expertise informs her mentoring strategy, because while she’s never coached on The Voice before, Queen Latifah has been a guest judge on America’s Got Talent, sang at the Super Bowl and hosted numerous awards shows and her own talk show (Carson Daly better watch out!).
That’s obviously a lot more entertainment experience than Riley Green has accumulated, and I’m really interested to see how he plays that on The Voice Season 30.
That’s not to downplay the achievements the country singer has see in his comparatively short career. Riley Green hasn’t coached before, but he performed in The Voice finales for Seasons 26 and 28. He’s won numerous ACM and CMA Awards since releasing his debut studio album in 2019 and has hits with artists like Thomas Rhett and Luke Combs.
He also recently made his acting debut on the CBS series Marshals (streaming with a Paramount+ subscription), so clearly he’s qualified to coach entertainment industry hopefuls.
Riley Green also played college football, so we're probably looking at a strong competitive spirit. I also admit how naive it would be of me to underestimate how well any country music artist can do on The Voice. However, not only is Riley Green going up against Queen Latifah, he’s got to face two of the competition’s most venerated coaches.
Season 30 will be Adam Levine’s 19th time on The Voice, which is more than any coach other than Blake Shelton (23). He and Kelly Clarkson each have 4 wins — the most of any coach other than Shelton (9). Clarkson’s reign is all the more impressive because those victories came in just 10 seasons, giving her an impressive 40% win percentage.
I love that Adam Levine and Kelly Clarkson are coming back, because they carry a legacy of winning, and I’m super pumped to see how Queen Latifah and Riley Green fit into the mix.
With this being the NBC singing competition’s 30th season, I’m sure Carson Daly’s got some twists up his sleeve, and the network has already teased special appearances from former coaches and mentors.
What we don’t yet know is the premiere date, but stay tuned, because we’ll definitely be on the lookout for The Voice Season 30 this fall on NBC and streaming the next day with a Peacock subscription.
