‘The Voice’: Why Reba McEntire Turned Down Blake Shelton’s Spot on the Show
Reba McEntire had the chance to be a coach on The Voice, but turned it down. Blake Shelton became the country coach instead and now considers himself the “king” of the show. McEntire talks about turning it down and if she regrets her decision.
Blake Shelton has been on ‘The Voice’ the longest
The Voice started in 2011 with Shelton, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine, and Christina Aguilera. Shelton is the last original coach to continue doing the show.
The country coach has also won the most with seven wins. He gave Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest his theory on why his teams perform so well.
“America they can see it when you have an actual real bond with somebody on your team. People connect to that,” he said. Shelton also thinks the country audience is also more active.
“There is something about the country audience out there. They’re very active. You know from [American] Idol some of yall’s winners,” he said. “The country audience is so loyal and they connect. They follow through, man. They get on the phone. They vote.”
He’s usually the only country coach
There have been many other artists who have come and gone on the show. But Shelton is usually the only coach who is fully into country.
That means he doesn’t get much competition. But in season 19, Gwen Stefani makes it known that she has released country duets with Shelton. Kelly Clarkson also talks about dipping into country when she tries to win over country contestants.
Shelton might be the go-to coach for country contestants. But there was another country singer who was offered his role before he took it.
Reba McEntire turned down the show
The country singer revealed that she could have been the country coach for the competition, but decided against it. She talked about her decision on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.
“It is very true,” she said. “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.”
What does she think about the person who took the job? “Blake is the perfect choice. He’s done a wonderful job,” she said. McEntire admitted that she regrets it after seeing the success of the show. “I’m like shoot, I should have done that,” she said. If she did, Shelton wouldn’t have all of those wins under his belt.
