LOS ANGELES, Nov 6: Jennifer Hudson is returning to The Voice, this time with a new role. After serving as a coach on two seasons of the singing competition, the EGOT winner is making her grand comeback as a “mega mentor” in Season 26. Hudson will be joined by rock legend Sting, who will also take on the mega mentor role for the first time.

Hudson and Sting will help the current mentors prepare their artists for the upcoming Knockouts round, where singers will compete against each other for a chance to stay on the show. Hudson will team up with coaches Michael Bublé and Reba McEntire, while Sting will work alongside Snoop Dogg and Gwen Stefani.

This is the first time The Voice has featured two mega mentors in a single season. In previous seasons, one mega mentor would split their time between all four teams. Hudson's return marks her first appearance on the show since coaching in Seasons 13 and 15.

While Hudson did not win in either of her two seasons as a coach on The Voice US, she found success on The Voice UK, where she led singer Mo Jamil Adeniran to victory in her first season. This time, she could once again help guide a future The Voice champion when working with Bublé and McEntire’s hand-selected contestants.

Hudson's journey in singing competitions began long before The Voice. She first rose to fame as a finalist on the third season of American Idol, where she placed seventh. Despite not winning, Hudson has expressed gratitude for her experience on the show.

"By the time I was eliminated, I felt I had gotten an opportunity to display who I was as an artist, so I was okay with being eliminated," Hudson said in a 2022 interview on The Jennifer Hudson Show. "The competition may be over but your passion isn't, your love and your drive isn't."

The Knockouts round of The Voice begins on Monday, November 11.