'The Voice' season premiere: Find out which contestants impressed the coaches — plus a surprising twist

The Voice kicked off its 26th season with first-time coaches Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé in the familiar red chairs, proving they were more than capable of giving veterans Gwen Stefani and Reba McEntire a run for their money. The premiere episode, featuring the season’s first Blind Auditions and a coaches performance of the Eagles’ “Heartache Tonight,” also introduced a welcome — and frankly, long overdue — twist (more on that later) to spice up the NBC singing competition.

More than a dozen aspiring singers took to The Voice stage in Monday’s two-hour season opener with big dreams of winning the $100,000 grand prize, a record deal at Universal Music Group and the opportunity to work with the best in music. It was quite the premiere with signature four-chair turns, dramatic coaches’ blocks and even a duet between a coach and a young hopeful.

With Stefani returning for her eighth season as coach and McEntire — who won Season 25 with singer Asher HaVon — looking for her second straight victory, Voice novices Snoop Dogg and Bublé had a lot to live up to. But as the first few Voice contestants funneled through and opted to be on Team Snoop and Team Bublé, it was clear Stefani and McEntire were facing two formidable foes.

“We may be the rookies, but you know what, we’re learning pretty fast,” Bublé told Snoop during the episode after they snagged several coveted singers from Stefani and McEntire. The rapper agreed, confidently declaring, “We may be the rookies of the year!”

As The Voice gets underway with Season 26, here’s a look at who sang their way onto Team Reba, Team Gwen, Team Snoop and Team Bublé, and how the new twist may change the game.

Introducing the Coaches’ Replay

It’s surprising it took producers this long to put a new button into play: the Coaches’ Replay. Likely a response to past seasons when coaches expressed regret over not turning around for a singer during the Blind Auditions, the added feature affords them the chance for a redo without consequences.

Here’s how it works: The Coaches’ Replay allows the coaches to press their button and turn their chair around after the Blind Audition is over. It’s an option that can only be used once by each coach, and if multiple coaches want the same singer on their team, whoever presses first wins.

The premiere saw the Coaches’ Replay in action for the first time. Kendall Eugene, a country singer with a gut-wrenching backstory, performed a stunning cover of Morgan Wallen’s “Don’t Think Jesus.” Shockingly, none of the coaches turned around, prompting McEntire to question why she didn’t. In a previous season, this would have signaled the end for Eugene. “I liked everything about it,” McEntire said in mild disbelief. “I don’t understand why I did not turn around.” Without dragging the process out any longer, she used her one Coaches’ Replay button on Eugene, welcoming him to Team Reba.

Fastest four-chair turn

There were multiple four-chair turns, but the fastest — sometimes a bellwether of future success on the show — took a mere seven seconds. The lucky recipient was Filipino singer Sofronio Vasquez, whose remarkable rendition of Mary J. Blige’s R&B ballad “I’m Goin’ Down” captivated the four coaches.

Each of them praised his soulful voice, with Stefani going so far as to call it “a Grammy performance” and Bublé, who connected with Vasquez over the Philippines, got visibly emotional. After a lot of posturing by the coaches, Vasquez chose Team Bublé.

The celebrity effect

One of the contestants, Jan Dan, grew up with ties to the music industry. His mother, Fundisha, was a R&B singer who had once been signed to Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def Records and was featured on “Basketball” by Bow Wow in 2002. That musical exposure proved beneficial as Dan’s cover of Brandy’s “Almost Doesn’t Count” had Stefani and Bublé turning their chairs.

He wasn’t an obvious pick for Stefani’s team, who explained she was approaching Season 26 “thinking out [of] the box,” but her mini coaching session with Dan turned the tide in her favor and he joined her team.

Most unique rendition

It’s not often that singers audition with non-English songs, as there’s a level of risk involved. But Kiara Vega blew the coaches away with a soul-rendering cover of Spanish singer Rocío Dúrcal’s “Amor Eterno,” a song that was beloved by her family. Even more impressive was the fact that it was her first time performing on any stage.

Bublé quickly took a liking to Vega — “an instant turn for me,” he told her — and even spoke to her in Spanish in an effort to connect with her (and get a leg up). It worked and she became the latest member of Team Bublé.

Who we’d want on our team

This might be an obvious pick, but there’s a reason Sydney Sterlace closed out The Voice premiere. The 15-year-old high schooler was so astonishing throughout her 90-second performance of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” that the coaches were floored when she revealed her age.

Sounding exactly like Rodrigo (close your eyes and you’d think you were listening to her record), Sterlace was easily one of the strongest performers. It was now a question of “how can we make your style of singing more saturated with Sydney,” Stefani advised. That piece of advice and the fact that she was the best coaching fit, landed Sterlace on Team Gwen, giving the No Doubt singer a big edge.

An honorable mention goes to Jake Tankersley, the country singer from Oklahoma who crooned Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange” and somehow made it his own. He chose to go with Team Snoop, who proved he really was The Voice’s wild card this season.

Quote of the night

“I have spent most of my life wanting to know what Snoop Dogg tastes like,” said Michael Bublé while eating a bag of Snoop Dogg-branded potato chips

A look ahead to next week

It’s Part 2 of the Blind Auditions. With McEntire exercising her Coaches’ Replay power, will the other three coaches find themselves in a similar situation next week? It’s still early days on The Voice, so anything goes. But the coaches are already putting together interesting teams with unexpected genres and musical styles. So come along for the ride as we continue on The Voice journey.

The Voice’s Blind Auditions continue Monday, Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.