INDIANAPOLIS — In 2023, Blake Shelton ended his coaching duties on "The Voice" after 23 seasons.
Who could possibly fill his shoes?
Country music superstar Reba McEntire, that's who.
In her second season as a coach, McEntire is joined by fellow coaches John Legend, Chance the Rapper and Dan + Shay, the first double-chair in the show's history.
"They're ornery, they're characters and they have added so much to 'The Voice,'" McEntire said of the country duo. "Shay gives John a run for his money. He doesn't cut John any slack at all. They really added to it. Chance and I are sitting over there, waiting for them all to quit talking so we can give our opinions. They really added a lot. They're a lot of fun."
With the live shows set to begin Monday, May 6 on NBC, McEntire has three artists left: Asher HaVon, L. Rodgers and Josh Sanders.
"I'm thrilled with them. They had some tough competition to get to this point," McEntire said. "They've got great backstories, they're very talented, they're unique, they're different genres of music, so I've got a widely diverse team that I'm very proud of."
And the live shows aren't the only thing on the docket for McEntire this month. She's hosting the Academy of Country Music Awards for a 17th time in Frisco, Texas.
"It's always like a family reunion to get to see all of your buddies and meet new people that I haven't gotten to meet before," McEntire said. "There's a new song that I'm really thrilled about. We've got a lot of music recorded coming out later on, but this is the first one we're going to release out to the public, and we're going to give a little sample on the ACMs."
The Academy of Country Music Awards will stream live on Prime Video Thursday, May 16 at 8 p.m. ET — and a Prime membership will not be required to watch live.
As if May wasn't exciting enough for the Country Music Hall of Famer, her self-titled sitcom, which ran for six seasons in the early 2000s, is coming to Netflix Monday, May 6.
"I think it's going to be a lot of fun hearing the responses from fans. It's a good show — I'm not saying that because I'm on it. I don't mean that egotistically at all. It was great writing, and it always gave a message," McEntire said. "I'm really glad that a new generation is going to be watching."
