Reba McEntire knew she had a tall task in front of her, when she joined The Voice as the replacement for Blake Shelton, who stepped away from the coaching panel after 23 seasons. She’s admitted to feeling the pressure, especially serving alongside Gwen Stefani, John Legend and Niall Horan, who have been on the show before and are used to pulling pranks and trolling each other in hopes of nailing down artists for their teams. According to some rumors, McEntire is struggling with that aspect of the show, but having seen the first episodes of Season 24, I’m just not buying these reports.
Sources for RadarOnline allege that Reba McEntire is ready to call it quits on her new coaching gig, after being caught off-guard by how much scheming is involved in trying to build a team of potential stars. The insider said:
She didn’t realize how double-crossing it all was, so it’s been a shock, to say the least.
The main issue that I have with these rumors is that Reba McEntire is no stranger to the show. She first appeared on The Voice in Season 1 as Blake Shelton’s advisor, and also served as a mentor on Seasons 8 and 23. She was even offered the gig before Shelton way back in 2011, so I find it hard to believe that she didn’t understand what she was getting into.
Also, she hasn’t been double-crossed all that much anyway. Of the other three coaches this season, only Gwen Stefani has used her Block on the Queen of Country, and while the No Doubt frontwoman has been able to attract a country singer or two away from McEntire, the “Fancy” singer has stolen one from Stefani as well, and won three Four-Chair Turns.
If anything, she said she’s had trouble letting artists down, but that John Legend, Niall Horan and Gwen Stefani have been a big help in showing Reba McEntire how to let people down easy. However, a second source told the National Enquirer (per RadarOnline) that the country music legend has trouble meeting the feisty tone of her fellow mentors. That source alleged:
Reba came on board with high hopes and the best intentions but she’s sick of it already. She realizes they’re all phonies and she’s had to get sneaky just to be heard — and that’s not her style.
I can fully see how Reba McEntire might not want to join in on some of the sneakier stunts pulled by her colleagues, even apologizing for them to one of the artists. She has had to play ball a little bit and questioned what was expected of her in the premiere, asking, “Am I supposed to like y’all? Be mean to y’all?” If it’s not her style to troll the others, I think that’s fine. Replacing Blake Shelton doesn’t mean acting like him.
But that doesn’t mean she’s straight-up miserable and wanting to leave the show altogether. In fact, Reba McEntire is already signed on for Season 25, and I’d be shocked if that was a commitment she would go back on.
It’s believable enough that it may not be in the country superstar’s wheelhouse to troll The Voice coaches in the same spirit as her predecessor, but anybody who’s watched Season 24 can see that Reba McEntire is holding her own — and she seems to be having a pretty good time doing it too. The Voice airs on NBC at 8 p.m. ET Mondays and at 9 p.m. ET Tuesdays, and you can keep up with all of the other upcoming premieres by checking out our 2023 TV schedule.