Reba McEntire to Join ‘The Voice’ as New Coach Following Blake Shelton’s Exit After 23 Seasons
The nation star, 68, will sit down in the show’s popular pivoting red seat as a mentor on the impending 24th time of the hit NBC rivalry series, the organization reported Monday.
McEntire — who is appearing on the current season of The Voice as a mega mentor — will be joined by season 23 coach Niall Horan, as well as Gwen Stefani and John Legend, who have both served as coaches on past seasons. Their season will air in fall 2023.
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The news came at NBC Upfronts, where the singer performed her hit song “Fancy” on stage following the big announcement.
McEntire has a long history with the show, and first appeared on season 1 in 2011 as a battle advisor to team Blake Shelton. In February, she returned as a mega-mentor to give advice to artists ahead of knockouts.
The star revealed in 2020 that she’d actually been asked to be a coach on the first season of the series, but that she turned it down, with her spot later going to Blake Shelton. Shelton is set to leave the series when the current season wraps.
“It is very true,” McEntire said on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. “It was a very popular show in Holland, I’m pretty sure, and I watched the tape, and I said, ‘No, I’m going to pass on that,’ because I don’t think I could ever be able to tell somebody that they’re terrible or go find another job or hope you like your nighttime job. I couldn’t do that day in and day out. I just couldn’t do it. So I did pass on it.”
She did admit, however, that she later regretted her decision.
“I mean, after you see a very successful show that’s been running, what, 15 years? Uh, yeah!” she told Cohen with a laugh. “I’m like shoot, I should have done that.”
