For season 24 of The Voice, three coaches we know and love — Niall Horan, Gwen Stefani and John Legend — returned to the panel, however, we could not imagine a better individual to represent the country music community in the fourth and final chair than Reba McEntire. With Blake Shelton departing from the series after 23 seasons, the one and only Reba McEntire took his spot, and her journey on The Voice thus far has been nothing short of spectacular.
When asked about her team in an interview with Music Mayhem and other media outlets, she gushed, “I’m proud of them. I really am. I think we got a good shot.”
In said interview, Reba chatted about all things surrounding The Voice, sharing tons of behind-the-scenes secrets, as well as some of her favorite memories with Niall, Gwen and John so far. She even teased what season 25 of The Voice has in store.
Unveiling a new side to Reba McEntire
While Reba has been a force to be reckoned with in the music industry since the 1970s, The Voice is showing viewers a new side to her that has yet to be put on display.
“It is a different part of me coming out, because it’s non scripted. It is ‘You be you. You just go have fun,’ which I like to do that,” she shared with a smile.
The country superstar continued passionately, “Cutting up with Niall and Gwen and John, and you know, jabbing them and doing that competitive thing, it is just hysterical… They come up with some of the funniest skits for us to get to do, so it just brought out my personality that a lot of people haven’t seen.”
“If you see a concert, you’ll see a little bit of it. It’s just me being me,” the Oklahoma native concluded.
Most surprising thing about being a coach
Even though CMA Award-winning artist’s experience on the hit competition show thus far has allowed her personality to shine in a new way, according to Reba herself, that is not the most surprising thing about being a coach.
“The thing that surprises me more than anything is how attached you get to the contestants,” she revealed. “You work with them, and then you’re going to have to let one of them go… Niall said, ‘That’s not fun.’ Gwen said, ‘Oh, you won’t like this part.’ John said, ‘That’s the hardest part of the show, letting them go.’”
Now, with the Battle Rounds underway, the country legend is experiencing letting go of some of her beloved Team Reba members for the first time — an experience that she does not enjoy, to say the least.
“We got to the battle rounds after we picked everybody, and I said, ‘Oh, I love the battle rounds. They’re competing and they’re singing together and it’s so good,’ and then John looked at me and said, ‘Now what do you think about it?’ and I said, ‘I don’t like sending anybody home. I don’t like this part. Let’s change the rules.’ Everybody laughed, you know, we can’t do that,” she concluded with a chuckle.
Importance of being a coach On The Voice
While the 68-year-old singer/songwriter has enjoyed building connections with everyone on Team Reba, she understands how much of a responsibility it is being a coach, as well as how life-changing being a part of The Voice can be for an aspiring artist.
When asked how she would have felt having a coach to guide her through the music industry at a young age, Reba believes that she would have “benefited greatly from it.”
“I think I would have benefited greatly from it, because I do love advice and I take it really seriously. We all laugh about ‘Would anybody turn a chair for us?’ Niall said, ‘Oh, absolutely not.’ Gwen said, ‘Oh, no, I would have never gotten turned for.’ I feel the same way,” she dished.
The GRAMMY Award-winning artist concluded with a grin, “I’m sure glad it turned out the way it did and we’re all on the panel with the coaches to help these other people further their career. It’s a lot of fun. It’s very gratifying, and we’re very grateful to get to do it.”
Advice for aspiring artists
While the Oklahoma native offers a great deal of advice to her Team Reba members, she also shared in our interview some advice for aspiring artists nationwide, spilling some of the harsh realities of being in the music industry.
“Be careful what you wish for, and be specific. It’s hard. I say every decade is hard to get into the music business. This is no different,” she dished. “There’s always different ways, and there’s always people you think, ‘How did they get on the radio? I’m better than them!’ or you think, ‘How did they get on the radio? I want that path!’”
How To Get Recognized For Your Talents, According To Reba McEntire
While everyone’s path to success is different, Reba believes that you simply cannot grow a career unless you put yourself out there, “singing everywhere you can” to get recognized for your talents.
“TikTok is a great example. I mean, people are getting record contracts off of TikTok now. Being on TV shows like The Voice is another great avenue. Songwriting is a great avenue to get involved,” she suggested, but the second half of her advice is a lot less positive.
“Be sure you want this, because if you’re going to get into it, the reason why some people have longevity and some people don’t is because they don’t want to do the work, and it is a lot of work,” the queen of country shared. “The fun part is being on stage and being in front of a camera, delivering. The hard part is the promoting, preparing, getting there. That’s the hard stuff, so if you’re willing to do all the hard stuff to have those few minutes of the fun part, knock yourself out.”
She concluded with a smirk, “It’s worth it. I totally recommend it. Be careful what you wish for, because it’s a lot of work.”
Favorite memories from filming season 24 of the Voice
While a majority of the beloved competition series is tailoring her Team Reba members to perfection, consistently giving them life-changing advice as she mentioned previously, Reba has dozens of memories from filming season 24 of The Voice that she wouldn’t trade for the world.
Explaining with a giggle, “We have our coaches meeting before we go in to start the TV show, and it reminds me so much of The Reba Show that we’ll all be visiting and telling stories about ‘Oh, did you see Beyoncé’s show? Oh my gosh. Did you see the horse and all that?’ and then the producers, Audrey and Carol, will be there like, ‘Um, we got to get going.’”
Goofing around in the coaches meeting is just one example of the indescribable bond she has built with Niall Horan, Gwen Stefani and John Legend during her time on the show.
“That camaraderie, I think, is what I love so much, and we’ll just take it right into the next step of one of the skits and have fun with it. We’ll be jokingly cruel sometimes with each other, but it is for fun and entertainment and nobody takes it seriously of any jabs that we do, you know, it’s so funny,” she shared with a smile.
“Niall will say, “Gwenny, I’m not afraid of you. Yes, I am,” and just silly, funny things. Everybody’s got a great sense of humor and we use it,” Reba gushed.
Preparing to work with Dan + Shay for season 25 of the Voice
While Reba McEntire and John Legend will be returning to The Voice for season 25, Niall Horan and Gwen Stefani will part ways with the franchise — at least for now.
Instead, Chance The Rapper will make his return to the series, and the country music community will expand with a brand-new coach in Dan + Shay.
“I was thrilled when they told me Dan + Shay were going to be on the show, and of course we had to have a love seat for them instead of just one, and they’re great. They’re so good at their notes,” Reba prefaced before diving into the true impact she thinks Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney will have on aspiring artists.
She continued, “Dan being a producer, writer, knows music inside and out. Shay’s such a wonderful singer, and he’s got that knack of sharing his expertise, but also experience of how he got to where he is today, so they’re great coaches, and I just love hanging out with them. I’ve loved being around them and their family, and to do it now on The Voice is like icing on the cake.”
To see Reba in action, and to see if she takes home the victory at the end of season 24, catch new episodes of The Voice on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8pm ET/PT on NBC.
