NBC announced Aug. 4 that Keke Palmer will host THE VOICE: CELEBRITY, a new spinoff swapping undiscovered singers for famous faces, with Joe Jonas joining Queen Latifah and Riley Green on the coaching panel when the season premieres in 2027.
“That’s right, it’s true! I am hosting THE VOICE! I’ll see you guys there,” Palmer said in an Instagram video confirming the news.
Palmer steps into the host chair Carson Daly has occupied since THE VOICE launched in 2011, though Daly isn’t leaving the franchise. He’s simply moving behind the camera as a producer on the new celebrity edition, a shift that lets NBC hand the spotlight to a face already familiar to Movieguide® readers — Palmer sat down with us years ago to talk about her family musical JOYFUL NOISE, and her early résumé includes the wholesome favorites AKEELAH AND THE BEE and THE LONGSHOTS.
NBC describes the new format as one that “swaps undiscovered talent for a wide range of celebrities, actors, musicians, influencers, athletes, comedians, and reality television stars,” all competing toward one goal: becoming the first-ever VOICE celebrity champion.
Palmer’s hosting résumé already skews family-friendly. She won a 2023 Emmy for co-hosting the game show revival PASSWORD alongside Jimmy Fallon, and NBC is clearly betting that same warmth and easy rapport carries over to a singing competition built around famous faces instead of first-timers.
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Jonas brings his own history to the coach’s chair. Long before “Cake by the Ocean,” he and his brothers grew up the sons of a pastor and wore purity rings as a public sign of their faith — a chapter Movieguide® has covered before, including how the brothers’ views on that pledge shifted as adults. He’s coached THE VOICE once before, on the Australian version.
Riley Green, who joined the regular THE VOICE judges lineup this fall alongside Kelly Clarkson and Adam Levine, is staying on for the celebrity edition too. He’s already sizing up the competition around him.
“Kelly’s definitely talked the most trash, so she’ll probably be tough,” Green told reporters, adding that meeting Queen Latifah felt like a milestone of its own — she was, in his words, “a larger than life figure for me growing up.”
The celebrity season will introduce a few new wrinkles to the familiar format: a “Voice Boot Camp” showing contestants’ behind-the-scenes prep, a “VIP Room” where fellow celebrities watch and weigh in on auditions and a “Workroom” where coaches and their teams strategize ahead of Battles. NBC hasn’t yet revealed which famous names will actually compete.
For families who’ve made THE VOICE a weeknight habit, the celebrity edition is worth watching with a discerning eye rather than dismissing it as a gimmick. Swapping unknown singers for famous names raises an honest question worth talking about at home: does talent still matter more than fame here, or does the celebrity wrapper change what viewers are really rooting for? Either way, it’s a low-stakes entry point for parents wanting to talk with kids about how entertainment builds its audiences.
The regular Season 30 of THE VOICE, still hosted by Daly with Clarkson, Levine, Green and Queen Latifah coaching, premieres Monday, Sept. 21, on NBC. THE VOICE: CELEBRITY follows in 2027, and NBC says more details — including which celebrities will actually take the stage — are still to come.
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