Niall Horan knew Reba McEntire was a big star. But he admits he had no idea how big of a star she was, until they were both coaches on The Voice together for Season 24 in 2023, when the pop superstar realized that McEntire was truly a global icon.
“It was crazy,” Horan says on SiriuxXM’s The Highway. “I thought I knew how big Reba was before I met her, and then just watching the room every time she walked into it, it was just like the queen had arrived. It was pretty special to watch that, such an absolute legend of country music, legend of American history to be honest with you. And what you see is what you get with Reba McEntire. There’s no two Reba McEntires. You get the one we see on TV. She’s just the best, and she was so nice to me and so just there for me, if I needed her and stuff like that. And it was just so cool to work with her.
“I did two seasons with her, and we had such a great time,” he adds. “If you asked me to trash talk her, first of all, I wouldn’t, because I’d be kicked out of America. But I genuinely don’t have a bad thing to say about her. She’s just an amazing woman. And when she sings, oh my God.”
What Niall Horan Says About Reba McEntire As a Singer
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Horan, of course, knows a thing or two about singing. First part of the successful boy band, One Direction, Horan has since launched an incredibly successful solo career, which just included two co-headlining shows with Thomas Rhett. So it may take a lot to impress Horan, but he admits he was impressed by McEntire’s live talent the first time they performed together.
“We do these coach performances at the start of every season, and we sung ‘Take It Easy‘ together by the Eagles,” Horan remembers. “When she started singing, and I stood over in the corner with my in-ears in, and she just started singing, I was like, ‘Oh my God, that is Reba McEntire, and I’m about to sing in the same song as her.’ I felt crazy embarrassed to be doing it. It was just crazy.”
Niall Horan Praises Blake Shelton
Horan is a big fan of country music, recently making his Grand Ole Opry debut. Horan was on Season 23 of The Voice, also in 2023, which happened to be Blake Shelton’s final season as a coach on The Voice.
“I was on his last one, which I’m kind of really sad about because we were only getting going as like a bit of a duo,” Horan shares. “And then he left, which was sad, but he was so good for me. Like, he gave me such great advice on the show, because it’s a different thing than I’ve ever done. I usually just do the songs, write the songs, go on stage, play them. But I’ve never done that TV thing where you’re sitting there, effectively hosting a TV show to the nation. And Blake was so good. I sat next to him, and he helped me out a lot. And we just were always just giving each other sh– all the time. Still to this day, he’s hilarious.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC