The Voice Secrets Revealed: Prize Money, Song Choices, Chairs and More

The Voice, now in its 28th season, finds ways to keep the competition fresh while sticking to its tried-and-true formula. But find out what has always made the show tick behind the scenes.

The Voice coaches stocked up on secret weapons heading into the show’s 28th season.

Michael Bublé came to play sporting a pair of socks with Reba McEntire‘s face on them (and advised Niall Horan not to ask about his underwear), while Snoop Dogg—who’s still hoping to notch his first win—started bringing his French bulldog puppy Baby Boy Broadus to the set, a good-boy luck charm if we ever saw one.

Snoop also reported for duty this summer with custom jewelry for his fellow coaches, to complement his own “S” bling and the “T” (for team) necklaces he’s gifting to his squad of artists.

“I really missed the camaraderie of the coaches,” Reba, who’s back after skipping last season, told Snoop, Michael and Niall (who’s back from a three-season hiatus) during a Sept. 8 NBC roundtable ahead of the season 28 premiere. “I missed the excitement of turning around after you hear a new voice, and getting to decide. It’s kind of a scary, powerful thing that you can turn around and make a difference in somebody’s life by saying yes or no.”

Well, if the country icon hadn’t been looking forward to that part she would’ve been in trouble, because The Voice hasn’t strayed far from its tried-and-true formula since it premiered in 2011 with Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green and the ever-bickering Adam Levine and Blake Shelton holding court in four red chairs built to swivel in service of fulfilling an aspiring artist’s wildest dreams.

And you never know what might happen when a singer starts speaking.

Ashley Osborn/NBC via Getty Images

“I will say that there have been times…where I’ve been so into somebody and then once they’ve started talking, I was like, ‘Wow,'” Kelly Clarkson, a four-time winner during her nine seasons as a coach, told People in 2018 of finding out that a compelling voice didn’t always mean an artist was ready for prime time, personality-wise.

But even if the coaches end up with what Adam dubbed “chair-turner’s remorse,” they’re the professionals in the room.

“You still have to do your job,” Blake explained to People. “But nine times out of 10, people with that mentality never really last that long.” Adam agreed, noting that if some artists didn’t want to listen to him, “let them do whatever they want, because that’s going to send them home.”

With the blind auditions underway, Reba, Niall, Michael and Snoop are all hoping that their fine-tuned ears serve them well this season.

But now host Carson Daly is part of the selection process thanks to the newly implemented Carson Callback card, which allows the only star of The Voice who’s been there since the beginning to give an artist who didn’t get a chair to turn around during their blind audition another chance at impressing the coaches.

Trae Patton/NBC via Getty Images

“I’m like, ‘What left-field move is this?'” Snoop quipped to his fellow coaches during the NBC roundtable. But they were all in favor of the shake-up, Niall marveling that it took 28 seasons for Carson (who’s also a producer) to obtain this power.

For the record, Ryan Mitchell was honored with the first ever Carson Callback card—and promptly used it to secure a spot on Team Reba.