Season 29 of The Voice, subtitled “Battle of Champions,” brought Adam Levine back to his old red chair for the first time in years — and paired him with two other former winning coaches, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend, for a format the show had never tried before.

A panel of winners only

The premise was simple but unprecedented: for the first time in the show’s history, every coach on the panel had already won a season. Levine won three times during his original 16-season run before leaving in 2019. Clarkson returned after sitting out Seasons 24 through 28, and Legend came back for what was his tenth season overall.

New twists on the format

The season added a “Triple Turn” competition during blind auditions, rewarding whichever coach landed the most three-chair turns with a “Super Steal” that could override another coach’s attempt to steal an artist during Battles. The live shows also brought in a new voting bloc made up of superfans and former Voice contestants seated in the studio audience, whose votes helped decide who advanced to the finals.

How it ended

The season ran February 23 through April 14, 2026, and it was Levine, not Clarkson or Legend, who came out on top. His artist Alexia Jayy won the title after closing out the finale with a cover of Adele’s “One and Only” and a rendition of “Lady Marmalade,” beating runner-up Liv Ciara for the win.

The Voice has since moved on to Season 30, but Battle of Champions stands out as one of the more unusual formats in the show’s run — and a reminder that Levine’s instincts for picking a winner hadn’t dulled during his years away.