‘The Voice’ Fans Weigh in on Gwen Stefani’s Grand Return for Season 17

Gwen Stefani has made her much-awaited return to The Voice as the series made its Season 17 debut on Monday. Stefani first appeared on the show in 2014 as a judge on Season 7. She was on-and-off as she held that position in Season 9 and 12. The latter was in 2017.

Stefani joins a panel that includes Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and original judge and Stefani’s boyfriend, Blake Shelton. She will be replacing longtime judge, Adam Levine.

Seeing the Sweet Escape singer back on the singing competition was a welcomed sight for the series’ fanbase.

In an interview with E! News, Stefani explained what it’s like being on the show with Shelton. The two ended up meeting one another on the show and began dating during the 12th season.

“Every season I’ve been on it, I’ve been in a different, like, weird phase of my life. The first season I literally just had a baby, the second season my life blew up in my face, the third season I was falling in love with Blake and now here we are…I was worried, I didn’t know how we were going to handle being competitive. It’s just so far into the relationship that it’s just a different phase. But it was super natural, super amazing,” she shared.

As for the competitive nature between the two, Stefani won’t be pulling any punches even though she will downplay her goal. She didn’t return to take second place. Shelton is well aware that she is back with one thing on her mind.

“You know, she wants to win and I want to win and that’s what they pay us to do on this show is to try to win the show,” Shelton told Entertainment Tonight. “It’s harder for [Gwen]. She’s not competitive. She’ll be the first to tell you right up until it gets competitive and then all of a sudden she is.”