Queen Reba has her fellow coaches shaking in their rotating chairs this season on The Voice. The country queen is already looking like the coach to beat this year, despite it being her first season. After all, how do you compete with a living legend and Country Music Hall of Famer when it comes to coaching a country singer? Even Gwen Stefani who's scored a couple No. 1 country hits of her own with her duets with husband and former coach Blake Shelton, has come up short when it comes to winning over country hopefuls.
In the season premiere, Stefani referenced her two No.1 country hits in a pitch to get country singer Jackson Snelling on her team.
"I've had more than two," McEntire jokingly said in response to Stefani. "Next!"
Contestant Ruby Leigh yet again had the coaches at odds with one another. After a four-chair turn for her performance of Patsy Montana's "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart," second-year coach Niall Horan, who won his first season with contestant Gina Miles, was clearly worried he'd lose Leigh to McEntire. Horan even briefly traded in his Irish accent (dubbed "cute" by Stefani) for an exaggerated southern accent.
"That's the worst southern accent I've ever heard in my life," McEntire said, laughing.
Horan didn't stop there; he pulled out a southern colloquialism that he may have learned from either McEntire or her fellow Oklahoman Blake Shelton.
"That dog won't hunt with me, Reba!" Horan shouted, cracking up the coaches and the audience.
In the end, Leigh chose to join Team Reba.
Horan has already developed a bond with McEntire, as showcased in the pair's banter during rehearsal sessions for last season, during which McEntire served as a mega mentor.
"I'm working with him to try to come out of his shell," McEntire joked. "Nah, I'm kidding. He is a sweetheart. We clicked immediately."
