As if The Voice’s star-studded coaching panel of Snoop Dogg, Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani and Michael Bublé wasn’t enough, the singing competition is about to welcome two more superstars as Mega Mentors to help guide the Season 26 teams through the brutal Three-Way Knockouts. Sting is one of those celebrated musicians, who will help Stefani and Coach Snoop navigate this portion of the 2024 TV schedule, and he had a pretty big confession to make about agreeing to do the show.
Sting, the famed singer of The Police, will lend his expertise to Team Snoop and Team Gwen when the Three-Way Knockouts kick off on November 11, while Jennifer Hudson — who previously served as a coach on The Voice for two seasons — will assist the members of Team Reba and Team Michael. While the EGOT winner has plenty of experience on The Voice, it would seem her counterpart knows considerably less about the process. Sting told People:
I have a confession to make. I'd never seen The Voice. When I was given the premise of the show, I was a little bit anxious, but I know Gwen very well. I'm a big admirer of Snoop Dogg, and so I thought, I'm going to take a risk. I'm going to go on the show even though I'm a little trepidatious.
I highly doubt that his lack of knowledge about the competition will hinder him in providing worthy advice for the contestants. Sting has, after all, been doing this for nearly 50 years, winning 17 Grammy Awards and an Emmy along the way, in addition to a Tony Award nomination and four Oscar nods.
As the other coaches have said multiple times this season how fulfilling their job is — Reba McEntire even proclaimed Season 26 her “favorite” — Sting loved giving "the nearest hint of advice and seeing that come to fruition," calling his experience both "nourishing and joyful." He continued:
I really feel good about the show. I feel good about myself, and I feel good about the young singers who are putting themselves through this ordeal. It is an ordeal, but I've loved it so far.
It’s good to hear that Sting enjoyed the process as much as the coaches do, and that’s probably in part because he gets to leave before Snoop Dogg and Gwen Stefani have to make heart-breaking choices for their team.
In the Three-Way Knockouts, team members will go head-to-head-to-head, with their coach tasked with choosing just one to advance to the Top 20 for Playoffs. Each mentor will get one Save to bring back one of their eliminated players, as well as a Steal to take a member of a different team. If Coach Snoop thought the Battles were hard, he’s going to really need that Gangster Holy Ghost to get through Knockouts.
Before all that happens, though, I’m excited to see the fresh perspective that Sting brings to The Voice having never seen the show before, and we don’t have long to wait. Season 26 Knockouts kick off at 8 p.m. ET Monday, November 11, on NBC and can be streamed the next day with a Peacock subscription.