He’s baaa–ack! In a surprise announcement on September 16, 2026, NBC revealed that after more than three years away from “The Voice,” original coach Blake Shelton has returned to celebrate the talent show’s milestone 30th season.
“We’re ready to break the internet,” the show’s social media accounts declared, fully aware how much fans have been pining for the country superstar to return since he retired from the show in May 2023. It doesn’t sound (yet) like Shelton’s returning for a full season, but here’s what we know…
Gwen Stefani Says She’s Heard Early Days of ‘The Voice’ Were Like the ‘Wild, Wild West’
Shelton will appear on a just-announced NBC special called “The Voice: 30th Season Celebration” on September 17 at 10 p.m. Eastern. One video posted to its social media accounts shows him strutting onto the set with his wife and fellow “The Voice” coach Gwen Stefani, whom he met on the series when they were both navigating their divorces.
Also on the episode, sitting at a roundtable reminiscing about old times, are two of Shelton’s fellow original coaches — his longtime frenemy on the show, Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, and CeeLo Green. The only star missing from that original crew is Christina Aguilera.
In another video, Levine — who is back for season 30, which premieres on September 21 — laughs with Shelton and host Carson Daly, who’s been with the show for its entire run, that filming early seasons of the hit show felt totally different than now.
“We had no idea what we were doing when this journey started,” Daly says, and Levine agrees, “Coaches now, I’m like, ‘You don’t even know. It was crazy.'”
“Even before you came,” he continued, pointing at Stefani. She replied, “I heard stories about you guys before. It was like wild, wild west. Like anything could happen, right?”
At that point, the video shows an old clip of a contestant saying he could use a sip of “sarsaparilla” and Shelton hilariously waves him over to have a sip of his!
In addition to an apparent lack of guidelines in the show’s early seasons, the music industry itself has changed since “The Voice” debuted in 2011. Showrunner and executive producer Audrey Morrissey told The Wrap on September 16, “When we started the show, which I can’t believe is 15 years ago, the avenue for that [platforming artists] was a record deal. And the world has changed, and it’s not necessarily that anymore.”
‘The Voice’ Fans Are Thrilled to See Blake Shelton Back on ‘The Voice’ Set
Although Shelton has performed on “The Voice” a couple of times since his departure, fans were particularly pumped to see him back in his element there, shooting the breeze with his former co-stars and pals. They flooded the show’s posts with reactions, with many hoping that he’ll get the bug to come back full-time.
One gushed, “Needed this 😍Gwen and Blake on the Voice 👏😍❤️🔥” while another lamented, “The voice isn’t the same anymore without Blake”
“I want BLAKE BACK for good,” someone declared.
“Still miss Blake so much,” another person wrote. “He really brought something unique, warm, and real to the Voice. You know it’s real when it didn’t matter who else comes on, Blake grounded the show and made it work!”
The one-hour special airs on September 17 at 9 p.m. Eastern time and will be available to watch via Peacock the following day.
