Reba McEntire is setting the record straight about her first season as a coach on The Voice.
The country singer, 68, currently serves as a judge alongside veteran panelists John Legend, Gwen Stefani and Niall Horan. So far this season, McEntire has had a tough time getting contestants to join her team, with six of her 13 team members being recruited by default.
McEntire’s apparent onscreen struggles have come amid reports that she’s frustrated with her costars, fueling rumors that she’s unhappy in her new gig.
In a new interview, however, McEntire clarified the situation, saying that she’s actually having “the best time.” While attending the Bring Change to Mind gala on Monday, October 9, McEntire spoke with Extra about her experience on The Voice.
“We’re having a blast,” she said. “It is competition, it’s fun rivalry, but we have the best time on that show. And what blows me away is the amount of talent [that] keeps coming on. We’re in season 24 and the talent is unbelievable. I hope everybody watches.”
When asked who she goes “head to head” with the most, McEntire quipped that she and former One Direction member Horan, 30, are ”always kind of sparring.”
McEntire also said that she found Stefani, 54, “so intimidating” at first. “I thought she was being mean to me, and then she said, ‘I just want you to like me,’ and I said, ‘Well, that’s all you had to say,’” McEntire recalled. “And we’re best friends.”
McEntire went on to squash rumors that she plans to exit the show before the season ends, saying, “Well, not right yet, we’re not through!”
McEntire has already been confirmed as a judge for season 25, which is set to premiere in spring 2024. Her fellow coaches will include John Legend, Chance the Rapper and the show’s first-ever coaching duo, country pop artists Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney (who record as Dan + Shay).
McEntire announced in May she was joining the competition show following fellow country star Blake Shelton’s exit. Shelton, 47, had served as a coach on The Voice since it premiered in April 2011.
“I’m looking forward to being here with all of y’all,” she told The Voice host Carson Daly during a season 23 episode in which she served as a mega mentor. “You’ve treated me so nicely. I appreciate the hospitality so much that you showed me earlier. And to be able to come in and form my team? I’m so looking forward to it.”
