The Voice Season 24 is well underway, and a friendly rivalry between veteran coach Gwen Stefani and brand new coach Reba McEntire appears to be brewing. All four coaches have been vying hard for their desired contestants throughout the blind auditions, and McEntire has managed to get many talented singers on her team. Country-leaning singers especially seem to favor McEntire's team over the other coaches, and this has caused Stefani to declare McEntire a major player in the competition.
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McEntire's team especially got a boost when 16-year-old Ruby Leigh, who sang a pitch-perfect rendition of Patsy Montana's "I Want to Be a Cowboy Sweetheart" (yodeling and all), joined last week. Her performance earned chair turns from all four coaches, and each coach expressed interest in having Leigh on their team.
Stefani specifically attempted to sway Leigh by showing off some of her own yodeling skills and singing a bit of "The Lonely Goatherd" from The Sound of Music. Little did Stefani know, but McEntire had her own tricks up her sleeve. The country legend talked of being a "third-generation rodeo brat" and learning how to yodel from her mother. She then launched into her own yodeling while Niall Horan exclaimed that he "can't believe" what's happening in the audition.
"I feel bad for us," Horan then said to Stefani and Legend, as it became apparent Leigh would choose McEntire.
It turns out the audience was against Horan, Stefani and Legend as well. When McEntire asked the crowd which coach Leigh should pick, they all donned cardboard cutouts that look like McEntire's famous head of hair to show their support.
In the end — and unsurprisingly — Leigh chose McEntire as her coach. The other coaches were disappointed, and after the segment, Stefani mentioned that McEntire is definitely one to look out for.
"Reba is a major threat," Stefani said. "Congratulations on winning The Voice, Reba, in your first season!"
Stefani didn't let the moment get her down, however, and she share her commitment to work even harder to win the competition.
"Any time I'm the underdog, I'm going to fight," she said.
The Voice airs on Monday and Tuesday nights at 8PM ET on NBC.
