Blake Shelton Names Dan + Shay as ‘The Voice’ Battle Advisors

Blake Shelton is getting ready for The Voice‘s upcoming 20th season, enlisting fellow country stars Dan + Shay to serve as his team’s advisors for the show’s battle rounds. “The battle rounds are literally, you know, two artists coming together and making music, singing basically a duet,” Shelton said during an appearance on Access. “We call it a battle but it’s a duet. And these two are obviously, I have to talk about their career, it’s completely exploded.”

“But the way they come together and vocalize together and make music, I thought that would be a great mentor to have these two because so many times, I’m sitting here in a situation in these battle rehearsals and one of the artists will ask me a question about harmony and I don’t know crap about harmony,” the “God’s Country” singer continued. “I would be like, ‘Oh yeah I will check on that for you’ and I never do because I don’t know anything about harmony. Finally, this season, I’ve got Dan + Shay here and they kill it and they’re natural at it and honestly, it’s already come into play a couple of times and it’s helpful to have them here.”

Dan + Shay released their first single, “19 You + Me,” in 2013, followed by their first album Where It All Began in 2014 and Obsessed in 2016. The duo’s 2018 single “Tequila” became a crossover smash, and followed by additional hit “Speechless,” from their 2018 self-titled album, their careers began to skyrocket. They were awarded the Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance two years in a row for “Tequila” and “Speechless,” and their 2019 collaboration with Justin Bieber, “10,000 Hours,” has also achieved huge numbers. In 2014, Dan + Shay opened for Shelton on his Ten Times Crazier Tour.

“Blake’s the best, man,” Dan Smyers said. “We’re huge fans of Blake’s music. He took us out on literally our first tour. I don’t even think we had a hit on the radio at that point. He took a chance on us…Blake, as successful as he is, is the most down-to-earth, humble dude out there, just an incredible person, incredible role model… It’s an honor to be part of his team this year.”

Shelton will coach this season alongside Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and Nick Jonas. Clarkson has selected Luis Fonsi, Legend’s team will be assisted by Brandy and Jonas has teamed with Darren Criss. Season 20 of The Voice premieres Monday, March at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.