As expected, pop stars Shakira and Usher will be returning to The Voice for another spring season. The two will rejoin Blake Shelton and Adam Levine after taking this past fall season off.

Colombian superstar Shakira, whose best known hit is “Hips Don’t Lie” first coached NBC’s hit singing competition last spring with Usher, but left in order to raise a family. She and boyfriend Gerard Pique welcomed a son in January.

As for Usher, he made Hands of Stone, a film in which he stars as Sugar Ray Leonard. The film also stars Edgar Ramirez and Robert De Niro.

It was widely expected that the two stars would be back. In May, several sites reported that they would return for the show’s sixth season, but it wasn’t until today’s announcement that it was made official.

The current fall season featured Cee-Lo Green and Christina Aguilera, who returned after taking their own much-needed break for solo projects.

The Voice picks its season five winner tonight, but it will only be off the air for a few weeks. Levine and Shelton, plus Shakira and Usher, will be back in their spinning chairs for a two-night premiere on Monday, Feb. 24 and Tuesday, Feb. 25.

image: NBC