Reba McEntire is joining the cast of The Voice for Season 24! The Country Music Hall of Fame member will replace Blake Shelton, who will say goodbye to the reality TV talent show after next week’s finale, where he has served as a coach for all 23 seasons.
McEntire, who served as a Mega Mentor for the Knockouts during the current season, shared the news on social media.
There’s a new Coach in town! See you all this Fall! #TheVoice pic.twitter.com/tLxQIuXtRc
— Reba McEntire (@reba) May 15, 2023
In a separate tweet, The Voice confirmed that McEntire would be part of the lineup of coaches for Season 24, along with Shelton’s wife, Gwen Stefani, plus John Legend and Niall Horan.
Welcome your new fall Coach line-up!@reba, @johnlegend, @niallofficial, and @gwenstefani. #TheVoice pic.twitter.com/h6cUBeTTp1
— The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) May 15, 2023
It’s fitting that McEntire is joining The Voice, since she was first offered the role of being a coach on The Voice, ahead of its inaugural season in the United States. When she turned it down, the job went to Shelton instead. She later said she regrets not taking the job when it was offered to her.
“It was a very popular show in Holland, I’m pretty sure,” McEntire told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live. “I watched the tape and I said ‘No, I’m going to pass on that, because I don’t think I’d 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. Blake was the perfect choice. He’s done a wonderful job.”
McEntire was asked earlier this year if she would be willing to take Shelton’s spot on The Voice, a question she deflected at the time.
“Who could fill Blake’s shoes?” McEntire said to Entertainment Tonight. “That’s gonna be tough. He did a great job, and kudos to him.”
The Oklahoma native also shared why she felt the need to decline the invitation to join the cast of The Voice when it was first offered to her.
“They sent it to me and I said, ‘I can’t see me doing that,’” she recalls. “Because, you know, I’m a gypsy at heart.”
McEntire is going to have a busy fall. In addition to being on The Voice, the 68-year-old is releasing her new book, Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots, and the accompanying album.
“The book is a fun book,” she revealed on the Today Show. “Sometimes you have books, autobiographies, that are really diving into stuff. This is just a fun book. You can look through it. You can read it front to back. It’s got recipes, stories, new pictures people haven’t seen before. Talking about my family, my faith, my friends. And then recipes that are from the restaurant in Otoka, Oklahoma, called ‘Reba’s Place.'”
The Not That Fancy album is new versions of some of her biggest hits, including her “If You See Him, If You See Her‘ duet with Brooks & Dunn i.
“It’s songs that I went into the studio with Dave Cobb and re-recorded,” McEntire revealed. “And then we’ve got four new songs, songs that we did later, like ‘Georgia,’ the duet with Ronnie and Kix, Brooks & Dunn. It’s great music along with a fun book.”all
A date for the Season 24 premiere of The Voice has yet to be announced. Find all of McEntire’s music and upcoming shows, and pre-order Not That Fancy, at Reba.com.
Read ‘Reba McEntire: 11 Things to Know About the Country Music Legend’
Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC / Tyler Golden
