Countdown is on to The Voice premiere

UNDATED (WHDH) -- The countdown is on to Monday night's season premiere of The Voice.

The show remains the same but two of the faces in the big red chairs are different.

"It took a hot second to kinda warm up because it was just so weird so see everybody's face in the red chair, but then, it got really exciting because everybody brings a different energy," said host Carson Daly.

Colombian music sensation Shakira and R&B superstar Usher are both

Pinch hitting in season four while Voice originals Cee Lo Green and

Christina Aguilera take a break to pursue other projects.

"Season 4 felt more like season 1 to me in the blind audition process because I was nervous about what Usher and Shakira were going to be pushing their button for,” said Voice coach, Blake Shelton.

And the veteran judges weren't above strategizing against the newbies.

"If you're not sure about pushing your button, the first thing you're going to do is try to get somebody else to do it. That worked a couple of times this year in the blind auditions. They fell for it a couple of times."

But that's not to say the rookies were pushovers.

"Shakira was pregnant and feisty and she replaced a lot of that grit that Christina had,” said Daly.

And considering he arrived at work on a motorcycle, Usher brought a new aura of cool.

"I think that Usher can fly too. He can. I've seen him. He can fly. He has wings. He's still going to lose this year. But he's going to look cool doing it,” said Shelton.

Yet come Monday, it's not about the look - it's all about "The Voice".