Blake Shelton’s ‘The Voice’ Replacement Revealed as Country Music Icon

A big-time country music star will replace Blake Shelton on The Voice. On Monday, NBC announced that Reba McEntire will be one of the coaches on the competition show for its 24th season. She was a mega mentor during Season 23 and will now claim her red chair alongside veteran coaches John Legend, Niall Horan and Gwen Stefani. Season 24 will premiere this fall. 

The Voice Season 23 live shows kick off on Monday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC with a two-hour semi-final event. The top eight artists will perform live for the first time in front of coaches for a chance at a spot in the finale. The current season of The Voice is the top alternative series in total viewers for the fourth consecutive season.

McEntire is very familiar with The Voice. Along with being a mega mentor in Season 23, the three-time Grammy Award winner was a Battle Advisor to Team Blake in 2011. While appearing on The Jennifer Hudson Show, McEntire explained why she returned to the show this season. 

“[Shelton] is leaving, and so he wanted me to be a mega mentor on his last season. He’s a good guy, McEntire said, per NBC Insider. “It’s so much fun to be back on The Voice again. It’s always a lot of fun to give advice because I study people when they perform, and I want to be touched when they’re singing to me.”

The interesting thing about McEntire replacing Shelton is she was offered his role when the show was launched. However, while appearing on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in 2020, McEntire explained why she turned down the offer. 

“It is very true,” she said answering a fan’s question about being offered to be a coach, per Entertainment Tonight. “It was a very popular show in Holland, I’m pretty sure, and I watched the tape, and I said, ‘No, I’m going to pass on that,’ because I don’t think I could 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.”