The Voice is shaking things up for Season 19. On Tuesday, Entertainment Tonight reported that Gwen Stefani would be returning to The Voice as a coach after taking a season off. As for what this means for the NBC competition’s current coaching line-up, Stefani will take over for Nick Jonas, who joined the program during Season 18.
Stefani will join Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, and her beau Blake Shelton when The Voice returns in the fall. This news comes less than a month after Season 18 ended. The latest season of the show featured Jonas stepping into coaching duties for the first time. Even though the latter part of the season was filmed virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic, the “Close” singer had a successful run on The Voice, with his finalist, Thunderstorm Artis, ultimately placing third. It was previously announced back in October 2019 that Jonas would be joining the program for Season 18. At the time, Jonas released a statement about joining The Voice, in which he expressed how eager he was to be a part of the popular show. His statement read, “I’m so excited to be a part of ‘The Voice’ family. It’s such an awesome group of individuals, and I can’t wait to help these artists really build and hone in to find their unique voices.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
While there are likely many who will be disappointed by the fact that Jonas will not be a Season 19 coach, there are many who are excited over Stefani’s return. The No Doubt frontwoman last served as a judge for Season 17. She also was a judge on Seasons 7, 9, and 12 and was a mentor during Seasons 8 and 10. As fans are well aware, Stefani has made frequent appearances on the show throughout its run due to her connection to Shelton. On The Voice’s Season 18 finale, Stefani and Shelton performed a duet of their track “Nobody But You” together.
Stefani addressed her future with The Voice back in December of 2019. During an interview with Extra, the singer said that she enjoyed her time as a coach and that she was hopeful that she would be back in the future. She said, “We’ve had so much fun together. What a great group of human beings. It never gets old, this showโฆ To be back four times, it’s a miracle. Hopefully, maybe I will be back one day, we will seeโฆ If not, thank you guys for watching.” Ultimately, Stefani’s wish has come true and she will back in action on The Voice when it returns for its upcoming season.