‘The Voice’ Coaches Tease Most Shocking Blind Auditions Yet & New Format

When it comes to pitch-perfect performances, no show belts truer than NBC‘s four-time Emmy-winning singing competition The Voice. But the best never rest on their laurels. And for The Voice Season 29 (premiering on February 23), the producers have emptied out those iconic 755-pound rotating red chairs (and even removed one!), reducing the coaches’ crew to a trio and welcoming back three of the show’s most celebrated celebs for a brand-new Battle of Champions competition.

Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine, and John Legend are winners, veterans who have paid their dues in titles and longevity. This is Clarkson’s 10th season — a milestone reached by Legend in Season 27. And Levine, who happily served 16 seasons (winning three times, including Season 1 in 2011) before a five-year hiatus, is back again.

You can bet these champions will keep on fighting — gleefully — till the end, executive producer Audrey Morrissey says.

“They all want to prove something: John’s got the least wins, Kelly wants to come back in full force, and Adam, he had a lot of success in the early seasons but then didn’t in his later season,” she points out. “They all really want to win, and it is like a knock-down, drag-out battle.”

Fresh Starts

Those knocks and drags begin in the Blind Auditions, which fans will now see for the first three episodes (The Voice airs one nighta week in two-hour installments all season long), as coaches work to build up a roster of 10 singers each.

“I’ve never been more shocked in the Blinds,” notes Clarkson, who adds that their resulting teams are all musically diverse. “We have people who can sing opera in different languages, we have country, singer/songwriter, rock and roll, and really solid pop singers. It’s just all over the map.”

But there was one Stetson-shaped sore spot that becameobvious early on, notes Morrissey.

“With the void of no country coach, and country being so popular and successful on the show, it’s like open season,” the exec says. “Who’s going to be the one to grab those country artists?”

They’ll need a quick draw and smooth-talking skills to earn the Western crooners. Adding to the anticipation of the Blind Auditions is something new: a Triple Chair Competition. The coach who scores the most Three-Chair Turn singers is given a single-use, all-powerful Super Steal in the subsequent Battle Rounds. So naturally,

“[The coaches are] pulling out all the stops,” says Morrissey. “They’re using their best ways to convince [the competitors] to be on their team.”

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After the Blinds and the Battle Rounds come the Knockouts, which will look totally different this year. Clarkson, Legend, and Levine will each have an opportunity to bring back two of their winning artists from the past for an exhilarating All-Star Competition. Heavy hitters, such as Levine’s Season 9 champ Jordan Smith (“who makes my heart explode with happiness,” says the Maroon 5 frontman), and Legend’s Season 16 folk winner, Maelyn Jarmon, are highly anticipated contenders.

Those All-Stars compete mic-to-mic in sing-offs, and whichever coach walks away with the most sing-off wins earns a guaranteed two spots for their Season 29 artists in the finale. Popular early Voice coach CeeLo Green returns to judge this spirited head-to-head competition.

Green, who hasn’t starred on the series since 2013’s fifth season (he has made the occasional adviser appearance since), marked his reprise with the perfect movie-inspired entrance, an idea he pitched to the show’s execs beforehand.

“It’s very CeeLo. That’s all I have to say,” teases Morrissey.

After the All-Star Competition, expect the Top 9 performances in the Semifinal, and later the Top 4 in the Finale. There is, however, another major twist: The series is removing its traditional live nationwide voting during the last leg of the competition and keeping it all in-house. Superfans and former artists will now be part of a new, in-person voting block, making these final calls in real time. Says Morrissey: “If you have to do studio voting, it’s amazing to do it with people who have been on that stage.”

Ultimately, the show is underlining its core value of spotlighting all types of musicians and giving fans so many familiar faces that you’ll almost forget their milestone 30th is actually next season. “We are thinking and talking about that, day in and day out,” admits Morrissey. And Season 29, a prep for that celebration, “is really The Voice at its best.”

“There are no weak links here,” Legend adds. “Everybody’s really good at coaching, good at pitching, good at convincing people to come on their team — every aspect of the show, the level of competition is elevated.” And like the Voice faithful, expect those coaches to be on the edge of their seats.

The Voice, Season 29 Premiere, Monday, February 23, 9/8c, NBC