The Super Bowl is over, the NBA All-Star Game has passed, and the Winter Olympics are in their final week. However, there is still plenty to look forward to this month on NBC, and of course I’m talking about the return of The Voice. The “Battle of Champions” hits the 2026 TV schedule on February 23, and while the singing competition’s kickoff is always worthy of celebration, I am especially pumped for Season 29, because I just found out the show has finally made a change that I’ve been wanting for years.
Three of The Voice’s most prestigious coaches — Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine and John Legend — will face off this season, and they recently sat down to discuss the harrowing competition to come. Much to my delight, the American Idol alum uttered five words that I have been waiting to hear:
No Blocks this year, though.
The Blocks are gone!
In previous seasons, a coach had one Block to use during the Blind Auditions that would keep another coach from working with an artist — even if that coach hit their button and even if that was the mentor the contestant wanted to choose. It’s supposed to stir up drama between the coaches, but it ends up being a punishment for the artists, and I’ve been on my soapbox for five years asking them to get rid of the Blocks.
The topic came up when John Legend, Adam Levine and Kelly Clarkson were talking about the all-stars who will be returning for a little side competition on The Voice Season 29, to be judged by Levine’s fellow OG coach Ceelo Green. Those artists are:
- Javier Colon (Team Adam, Season 1 winner)
- Jordan Smith (Team Adam, Season 9 winner)
- Maelyn Jarmon (Team Legend, Season 16 winner)
- Jake Hoot (Team Kelly, Season 17 winner)
- Girl Named Tom (Team Kelly, Season 21 winner, the only group so far to win the show)
- Renzo (Team Legend, Season 27 third-place)
Back in Season 27, John Legend blocked Adam Levine from working with Renzo, and there’s simply no way to know how that affected the artist’s journey on the show.
That's the problem with the Blocks. The singers have to go through so much to even get the opportunity to sing in front of the four coaches (or three, in the upcoming iteration), so if they think a certain coach has the most to offer them or can share some expertise in the artist’s genre to potentially give them a leg up once the show is over, The Voice should not include game mechanics to hinder that.
Sure, sometimes it works out, like in Season 20, when Nick Jonas blocked John Legend from Cam Anthony. There’s no way the R&B artist would have chosen to go with Blake Shelton if Legend had been an option, but the country music star promised to have Anthony’s back, and they won the whole season together.
That, however, is the exception, not the rule, so I’m glad for Season 29 the artists will be able to choose any coach who hits their button, with no fear of being blocked from them.
I can’t wait to see what other twists and turns Carson Daly has in store for us, and thankfully we don’t have to wait long to find out. The Voice Season 29 premieres at 9 p.m. ET Monday, February 23 on NBC and streaming the next day with a Peacock subscription.
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