“The Voice” is entering Season 30 with two familiar champions and two completely new Coaches. Kelly Clarkson and Adam Levine are returning to their red chairs, while Queen Latifah and Riley Green make their coaching debuts when the milestone season premieres September 21.
Queen Latifah’s arrival is particularly significant because producers have apparently been trying to bring her into “The Voice” family for years. Executive producer Audrey Morrissey revealed that Latifah was someone the show had wanted for a long time.
Producers had previously hoped to bring Latifah onto the program as a mentor, but the timing never worked out. Season 30 finally gave them the opportunity to go even further by placing her in one of the four main coaching chairs.
Morrissey explained that Latifah immediately demonstrated why producers had been so interested in her. She described the entertainer as someone with an unusually powerful presence who naturally attracts people when she enters a room.
That quality reportedly became a serious advantage during the Blind Auditions. Morrissey said Artists were strongly drawn toward Latifah, sometimes even when they had initially imagined choosing a completely different Coach.
Clarkson has also admitted that Latifah became formidable competition during the Blinds. The first-time Coach apparently won over several Artists, showing that years of experience with “The Voice” do not necessarily guarantee an advantage when celebrities begin fighting to build their teams.
Riley Green brings a very different personality to Season 30. Producers were interested not only in his success as a country singer but also in the dry sense of humor and relaxed Southern personality he demonstrated during appearances away from the show.
Green has explained that appearances at the Grammy Museum and on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” helped him land the coaching position. Producers saw his ability to joke naturally and connect with people, qualities that have always been important to the chemistry between “Voice” Coaches.
That inevitably created comparisons with Blake Shelton. Shelton spent 23 seasons on the program and became famous not only for his success as a Coach but also for his constant joking rivalry with Levine.
Morrissey, however, has stressed that Green is not being brought in simply to imitate Shelton. She believes viewers will discover Green’s own style of humor, describing him as a Southern gentleman with a particularly sharp and dry wit.
Interestingly, Green and Levine have already begun developing the kind of playful relationship that longtime fans may recognize. The two have openly joked about giving each other a hard time, with Green appearing perfectly comfortable teasing the veteran Maroon 5 frontman.
Even longtime host Carson Daly noticed the resemblance. He said the back-and-forth between Green and Levine reminded him of the early “Voice” years when Shelton and Levine constantly bickered like brothers while still maintaining a genuine friendship.
With Clarkson and Levine providing years of experience, Latifah bringing the magnetic presence producers had wanted for so long, and Green introducing a fresh country personality and potential new rivalry, Season 30 has a coaching combination the show hopes will feel both familiar and new. The four Coaches reportedly clicked almost immediately—and viewers will finally get to see that chemistry when the milestone season begins.
