Blake Shelton's spinning, red chair on The Voice will be filled by a fellow country star who's very familiar with the series. On Monday (May 15), Reba McEntire's team confirmed that the pop culture icon will become a first-time coach for Season 24. The brief press release adds that McEntire "will draw from her iconic career as she shares her expertise with hopeful up-and-comers."
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Furthermore, the announcement confirms next season's lineup of coaches. Niall Horan will return, joining not just McEntire but two returning fan favorites absent from Season 23: John Legend and Gwen Stefani.
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McEntire replacing Shelton fulfills one of the singing competition show's original plans for its 2011 debut. During a 2020 appearance on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, she confirmed the rumor that NBC's The Voice could've had Team Reba in Season 1 instead of Team Blake.
"It is very true," McEntire confirmed, as quoted by ET Canada. "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."
McEntire proved to be efficient at providing advice to aspiring singers --and discovered that she's got a friendship spark with Horan-- as Season 23's Mega Mentor.
Of course, Stefani's return ensures that a member of her family will have appeared as a coach in every episode of The Voice. Stefani met future spouse Shelton on the series in 2014. They became a couple in 2015 and wed in 2021.
