“The Voice” is celebrating a major milestone before Season 30 officially begins. NBC’s special, “The Voice: 30th Season Celebration,” reunites several familiar faces from the show’s past to look back at 15 years of memorable auditions, rivalries and coaching moments.
Among the returning stars are Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, CeeLo Green and Gwen Stefani. Carson Daly sits down with the former and current Coaches as they revisit how “The Voice” evolved from its 2011 debut into one of NBC’s longest-running competition series.
Shelton’s appearance is especially notable because he stepped away from his full-time coaching position in 2023 after an extraordinary 23 seasons. A teaser promoting the celebration announced his return with the playful message that the “old sheriff” was back.
Levine’s presence brings another piece of the original lineup back together. He and Shelton became famous for their playful rivalry during the early years, while CeeLo Green was also one of the four Coaches sitting in the red chairs when the series premiered in 2011.
Gwen Stefani also joins the reunion, although she was not part of the original Season 1 panel. Stefani first became a Coach several seasons later and eventually became one of the program’s most recognizable recurring personalities.
That distinction is important because Christina Aguilera, not Stefani, completed the original four-Coach lineup alongside Shelton, Levine and Green. TheWrap reports that the anniversary special reunited the original male Coaches, with Stefani effectively taking Aguilera’s place in the group.
Aguilera’s absence therefore became an obvious talking point for some longtime viewers. Because the special is designed to revisit the earliest days of “The Voice,” fans naturally wondered why one of the show’s founding Coaches was not included in that particular reunion.
However, there is an important limit to what is currently known. Neither NBC nor Aguilera has publicly provided a confirmed explanation for her absence from the special, so claims about why she did not participate should be treated as speculation unless additional information emerges.
The celebration isn’t focused only on the original Coaches. Kelly Clarkson also participates, while Season 30 newcomers Queen Latifah and Riley Green appear as the franchise looks both backward at its history and forward to its next chapter.
Clarkson and Levine will serve as the two veteran Coaches during Season 30, while Latifah and Green make their debuts in the red chairs. Carson Daly returns as host, continuing the role he has held since the competition began.
The milestone season is also returning to some of the format elements longtime viewers remember. Season 30 will feature six weeks of live shows—the longest live stretch in five years—along with real-time voting and a new First-In Button during the Blind Auditions.
“The Voice: 30th Season Celebration” airs September 17 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC, while Season 30 officially premieres Monday, September 21 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. For longtime fans, seeing Shelton, Levine, Green and Stefani together again provides plenty of nostalgia—but Aguilera’s absence leaves one unanswered question hanging over an otherwise significant reunion.
