Michael Bublé reveals why he turned down The Voice at least 15 times: ‘Most of the singers are better than me’

“I have no place ever judging anyone.”

Michael Bublé had to conquer imposter syndrome before accepting a gig on The Voice.

The Grammy-winner, who is making his coaching debut tonight on the singing competition show, has revealed that season 26 was not his first time being asked to join the NBC series. In fact, he told Today that he had “15-16 years of saying no” under his belt when he finally accepted.

The reason behind his hesitation? Bublé didn’t like the idea of “judging” other vocalists.

“My favorite part about it is, thank god we’re not judges,” Bublé told host Craig Melvin. “The other shows have judges. We are coaches. And the reason I say that is because most of the singers are better than me, and I have no place ever judging anyone.”

Michael Bublé.Andrew Chin/Getty

He continued, “To get to coach them and live the fantasy of having this career that I’ve had and then get to have the fulfillment of helping someone else get that? That’s the cool part.”

Bublé previously appeared on The Voice back in its third season, stepping in as an advisor for Team Blake when nine-time champ Blake Shelton needed some help coaching his team. But this time around, Bublé will have to take hold of the reins alongside fellow newbie Snoop Dogg and veteran coaches Reba McEntire and Gwen Stefani.

While Bublé has beginner’s luck and, of course, his own unique perspective on his side, he isn’t ready to count out his competition just yet.

“My team is really good, but everybody has good stuff happening on their team,” he admitted, before revealing a few flattering nicknames for his fellow coaches. “We call her Reba ‘Magnet-ire,’ because when the chair turns around, it’s like, the people just love her and that smile. And Gwen is ‘Never Ste-phony,’ because she has a stream of consciousness. She’s highly intelligent and just tells it like it is. And Snoop, my uncle Snoop, man. Everybody loves him.”

Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Reba McEntire and Michael Bublé on ‘The Voice’.Art Streiber/NBC

Bublé is facing stiff competition from his fellow judges, especially reigning champion McEntire who is still riding high after scoring her first win as a coach last season. The competitive nature of the show is a huge part of its appeal, but while speaking with Entertainment Weekly for Fall TV Previews, Bublé made a point of stating that he and his fellow coaches take their impact on the vocalists very seriously.

“I know that this is a TV show, and I know that there’s a game involved and that each of us are playing a part, but I can tell you this, it’s not a game for any of us.” he said. “We know that each of these people, this is their life, their destiny, their dream. And we know that we’re a big part of this journey.”

He added, “We are not judges. Who are we to judge? We are coaches and we hope that we can bring our experience and the love we have for music and the passion into making them better artists and helping them in this journey.”

The Voice season 26 premieres Monday, Sept. 23, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.