Folks were hoping to see Blake Shelton join Team Gwen as a Playoff Advisor on the NBC show.

With the live shows on The Voice season 26 just around the corner, the remaining competitors are getting a taste of what it’s like to work with other incredible musicians. But after what the show just revealed, it seems fans were holding on to hope that they’d get to see this former coach make a grand return.

Ahead of the Playoff rounds beginning on the November 19 episode, The Voice surprised viewers by revealing which award-winning artist would be assisting coach Gwen Stefani ahead of the performances. In a post uploaded on the show’s official Instagram, fans learned Grammy Award nominee mgk (a.k.a. Machine Gun Kelly) will step in as a Playoff Advisor for Gwen, helping her team as they try to make it to the next round of competition against those on Michael Bublé, Reba McEntire and Snoop Dogg‘s teams.

“Make some noise for Team Gwen’s Playoff Advisor… mgk! 👏🔥,” read the caption on November 18. “Don’t miss the Playoffs TOMORROW 9/8c on @nbc and streaming on @peacock!”

While the news of Machine Gun Kelly joining the show in this capacity thrilled many fans, some were disappointed by the fact former coach Blake Shelton (who’s also married to Gwen) wouldn’t be there to help his wife in this stage of the season.

“Good pick but there was a small part of me that thought it was gonna be Blake 😭😭😭😭😭,” one person wrote in the comments. “Me too. I was hoping,” a different follower replied.

Although fans won’t be seeing Blake on The Voice season 26, mgk does make a great choice as someone to assist Gwen during the Playoffs. While he’s so far only been on the show as a performer back in 2017 (per People), a clip posted on the show’s YouTube account really shows his expertise in the music industry as he offers contestant Jake Tankersley advice during his rehearsal.

“You have a good smile,” mgk told Jake in the snippet. “So, maybe crack a smile on that and let people know they can be close to you. When you have any moment when there is no lyrics though, because there’s so many words, step away from the mic and play your guitar … It’s all about the feel. You have a wife and kids, they bring the color to your life so it’s all feel.”

We’ll definitely be tuning in to see what else mgk brings to The Voice table!

Adrianna Freedman
Editorial Assistant

As the entertainment and news editorial assistant for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.