Monday, May 15th 2023, 1:59 pm
Reba McEntire is staking her claim on one of The Voice's iconic spinning red chairs!
On Monday, NBC announced that the country music legend has signed on as a coach for season 24 of the reality competition series. Reba will draw from her iconic career as she shares her expertise with hopeful up-and-comers, joining veteran coach John Legend and returning coaches Niall Horan and Gwen Stefani.
The news comes after Reba began her stint as the Mega Mentor for season 23, advising Blake Shelton and his fellow coaches -- Kelly Clarkson and newcomers Chance the Rapper and Niall Horan -- and their team members ahead of the Knockout Rounds. Reba made her first appearance last month and will continue her run with the beloved competition in the next season.
It's a full-circle moment for Reba -- who not only served as Blake's Battle Round Advisor during the singing competition's very first season back in 2011 but previously revealed that she'd turned down an offer to become a coach on The Voice before it debuted.
In February, Reba told ET that after she turned down the offer as the show was being shopped around, the producers turned to Blake -- who stayed with the show for over 12 years. After his exit was announced, there was a question of whether or not she'd reconsider.
"Who could fill Blake's shoes?" Reba said with a smile, playing coy.
Looking back on when she was first offered the gig, the singer explained, "I got [a look at] the Holland version of The Voice. They sent it to me and I said, 'I can't see me doing that.'"
"Because, you know, I'm a gypsy at heart," she added, explaining that she doesn't feel she could be tied down to just one project and just one place for too long. Also, it's going to be a tough job for whoever takes it on.
"To fill Blake's chair? Wow. That's gonna be tough," Reba said. "He did a great job and kudos to him."
Reba's addition to the coaching roster is exciting news as the show heads into the last few episodes of Blake's final season.
Season 23 will end with a bang as former coach Adam Levine takes the stage with Maroon 5 for the second night of the singing competition's two-part finale on Tuesday, May 23. The band will perform their newly announced single, "Middle Ground" -- out May 19 -- with the song's music video debuting the same day.
Blake and Adam coached together for The Voice's first 16 seasons and had some legendary spats over the years. Blake even gave the former coach a teasing shout-out just this season, during the Battle Rounds, when a contestant was faced with a unique situation. Neil Salsich had to perform his Battle solo after Team Blake competitor Adam Whalen dropped out of the competition for personal reasons.
"I told him backstage, if you lose this Battle, it will be the worst fail in history," Blake said of his advice for Neil before his solo performance. "I mean, like, Adam Levine-levels of failure."
When ET spoke with Adam at this year's Vanity Fair Oscars Party last month to get his reaction to Blake departing the show, the Maroon 5 frontman could only joke, "It's about time!"
The Voice's two-part finale airs Monday, May 22, and Tuesday, May 23, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
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