The Great Debate: Is Reba McEntire the Right Choice to Take Over for Blake Shelton on The Voice?

Blake Shelton may have left The Voice, but he left the show in good hands. So far, Reba McEntire has proven a worthy replacement on the show, and one gesture proves it.

In a behind-the-scenes video for the show, McEntire shows off her dance moves, especially one dance in particular. McEntire struck an awkward groove that host Carson Daly instantly recognized. According to Daly, it bore a very close resemblance to how Shelton dances.

He told her, “That’s exactly how Blake [Shelton] dances.” McEntire disagreed with the similarities. “It’s an Okie dance!” McEntire said explaining the origin of the dance. “That’s the Blake Shelton dance,” Daly remained firm. So, McEntire and Shelton at least have that in common.

Reba McEntire Talks ‘The Voice’

McEntire has been quite vocal about her time on the show. So far, McEntire has really enjoyed working with contestants and encouraging them to grow on the show

“Working with the contestants, hanging out with the coaches. I’ve had so much fun. And the crew is wonderful. I’ve gotten to meet so many people that I’ll never forget,” she said.

It may be surprising then that McEntire had to be convinced to join the show. It turns out that Shelton himself played a deciding factor in McEntire ultimately joining the show as a coach.

“There were lots of little times where I thought this would be a lot of fun to get to do,” McEntire told NBC. “I’d gotten to do it before with Blake [as a Mega Mentor and Battle Advisor]. When we were filming with Blake’s team [in Season 23], he said, ‘You really ought to come on and do this. You’d have fun.’ He was really encouraging me to do it.”

“It’s a well-oiled machine, so getting in at this time is marvelous,” she told Newsweek in a recent interview.  “Everybody knows the game plan, from the crew, the producers. Everybody on the show is so nice, so sweet, and have been so helpful. I’m loving it.”

In fact, she keeps in contact with Shelton, saying the two have texted.”[We’ve done] just a little bit of texting,” she told NBC Insider. “No advice yet. I’ma pick his brain about it later. Once I’ve kinda gotten my feet wet.”

As for Shelton, while John Legend doesn’t think he will return, the country singer agreed he would return to the fold for a very specific reason. He would come back to be a mentor for Gwen Stefani.