Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Voice returns for Season 26 Monday night with the coaching quartet of Snoop Dogg, Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefanie and Michael Buble. (NBC Photo)

The Voice returns Monday night with a new gimmick, an altered schedule and two new judges.

Anyone who follows the show likely already knows about the latter.

Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé will join Gwen Stefanie and Reba McEntire on the Season 26 coaching panel.

That means Reba is the only returning coach for Season 26. She’s fresh off her first win and entering her third straight season in one of those big red chairs.

As for the altered schedule, The Voice will air only on Monday nights for the first two weeks of the season, partly because the vice presidential debate is set for Tuesday, Oct. 1.

That means Season 26 kicks off with a two-hour show beginning 8 p.m. eastern time on Monday, then resumes next Monday in the same time slot.

As for the gimmick, Season 26 will feature a replay button. If a singer doesn’t turn a chair, they’ll still have a chance to earn a spot on the show if a coach changes his or her mind after the performance ends and they have a chance to talk to the auditioner.

Of course, this flies in the face of The Voice’s original gimmick, a blind audition in which the voice and nothing else matters. Not age, not appearance, not style, not showmanship. Just The Voice.

But Camila Cabello suggested the coaches get a “regret button” when she coached Season 22. My only shock is that it took The Voice four seasons to implement yet another gimmick to the competition.

The good news is that the show has rounded up another cast of very talented vocalists. I’ve researched more than two dozen of them so far. You can learn more about them by following the links below.

323 (Vocal trio)
Aliyah Khaylyn
Beya
Cameron Wright
Camryn Brooks

Shyezee (Shye Roberts)
Sloane Simone
Sofronio Vasquez
Sydney Sterlace
Torre Blake
Tsola (Tsola Akuya)