Spoiler alert! This story discusses Night 2 of the Battle Round on The Voice Season 24, which aired October 23.
Reba McEntire always knew she didn’t have what it took to be a “mean judge” on The Voice, which is part of why she turned down the gig back when it was originally offered to her at the start of the series. Her stance on that hasn’t changed over a decade later, now that she’s replaced Blake Shelton on the coaching panel, but she never said she was going to lie to anybody either. The queen of country didn’t hold back when it came to a couple of the battles that she heard on the latest episode, and I’ve got to say, I found her honesty really refreshing.
In her first pairing of the night, Reba McEntire gave team members Alison Albrecht and Angelina Nazarian — who had impressed the country icon by auditioning with a Kelly Clarkson hit — the song “You Say” by Lauren Daigle for their duet. After their initial attempt, McEntire praised the singers’ vocal abilities but spoke to them about the emotion she wanted to hear. The second time through, Albrecht and Nazarian brought the “Fancy” artist to tears, and McEntire hoped to hear a repeat of that performance when they took the stage. Unfortunately that’s not what got, as she told them afterward:
Emotion, to me, means a lot. If you can’t portray an emotion to your audience, it’s [just] a song. Y’all did that in rehearsals. You were still. You were meaningful. You saw what it did to me. I was crying. Today you went back to the way you did it the first time. I know you’re a little nervous. I totally understand that. You’re both great vocalists, and I’m very proud of you.
I love that Reba McEntire didn’t just cherry-pick the best parts of their duet and instead was honest that they hadn’t been able to recapture the same feeling they’d portrayed during rehearsal.
To me, the Battle Round is the best time in the competition for The Voice coaches to give that constructive criticism, because the teammates are battling each other. Team Reba isn’t going up against John Legend, Niall Horan or Gwen Stefani’s teams yet, and there’s no vote from America, so at this stage there’s no benefit to falsely inflating the singers’ egos rather than helping them to improve.
She didn’t stop at just her own team members either. Reba McEntire had some words of wisdom for Niall Horan’s teenage contestants Olivia Eden and Julia Roome, too, after they sang “KIss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer, as she told them:
You gals really were great. I’m so proud of you. If I could give you a little advice — stay in the moment of the song. When you’re not singing, stay in that moment, smile. Making contact with the audience is very important, because they came to see you.
Reba McEntire is proving to be really good at giving genuine critiques while also ensuring that the singers understand that they are talented and worthy of being where they are. I really appreciate this aspect of her coaching. Gwen Stefani calls being on The Voice a boot camp, where they can learn from successful artists and then take those lessons into the real world, so honesty is definitely key.
My favorite coaches on The Voice have always been the ones who will not only point out areas the artists can improve but also have practical suggestions or specific advice on how to do that. So far I’m impressed with what Reba McEntire has brought to the Battles, and I can’t wait to hear more of her wisdom being dispersed among the Season 24 contestants.
The Voice returns at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday, October 24, on NBC, and be sure to check out our 2023 TV schedule to keep up with all of the upcoming premieres.