‘The Voice’: Reba McEntire Chokes Up Over Josh Sanders’ Emotional Connection to Battle Song

Josh Sanders and Donny Van Slee’s performance of an upbeat Luke Combs song sparked some unexpected tears during Monday’s Battle Rounds.

Reba McEntire had an emotional moment during an unexpected song during Monday’s Battle Rounds on The Voice.

The country legend teamed up two of her team’s “good ol’ boys,” Josh Sanders and Donny Van Slee, for a performance of Luke Combs’ “When It Rains, It Pours.” While the song is mostly an upbeat, fun country vibe, Josh admitted to his coach that he was getting a different message from some of the lyrics.

“‘When it rains, it pours,’ that lyric hits me kinda heavy,” he shared. “I’m a dad of four girls. We had a son. He was born and passed away on my birthday.”

“It’s such a fun song, and I don’t wanna take it there,” he added, as Donny and Reba emotionally supported him.

Growing choked up as she spoke, Reba shared, “Before I go onstage, I ask the Holy Spirit to walk for me, talk for me, speak for me, sing for me… Ask him for that: ‘Put me in the right place for this song.’”

Josh certainly wasn’t dragged down with emotion when it came to his performance onstage. His impressive vocals and jaw-dropping runs had Reba’s fellow coaches — Dan + Shay, John Legend and Chance the Rapper — applauding the Battle performance.

And the Queen of Country herself couldn’t help but get choked up once again as she praised the singers, calling Donny’s performance “cute as a button.”

“It was fun, I enjoyed watching you,” she added.

However, between Josh’s emotional pull and impressive vocals, Reba had to name him the winner of the Battle, sending him on to the Knockout Rounds.

“Your runs, when you hit the high notes, everything was perfect,” she marveled. “Whatever you got from this song, it was just right.”

“I feel like I’ve known you forever,” she added to both singers, pausing to collect herself. “I just felt like we bonded, and that was really, really special to me.”

ET spoke with the season 25 coaches ahead of the premiere, where they shared what it’s been like to welcome The Voice’s first-ever coaching duo to the competition.

“They give great notes. They’re really good,” Reba praised. “They’re knowledgeable about the business but they also have a lot of heart and that’s what they’re going for.”

Dan + Shay say they’ve been fans of the show for years — they served as mentors for Blake Shelton’s team back in season 20 and even stepped in to guest coach Niall Horan’s team last season — but getting to serve as full-time coaches for the first time has been a whole new experience.

“It’s changed everything for us,” Shay admitted. “I just really enjoy the process of getting to work with these artists, and you really, you get attached. It becomes heartbreaking when you have to let people go. But it’s been an amazing experience.”

Chance the Rapper makes his return this season for the first time since his season 23 Voice debut, where he joined Blake, Niall and Kelly Clarkson. He told ET that it’s especially exciting to be back with a whole new roster of coaching talent.

“I’ve always just admired John and he’s helped me in so many different ways,” he reflected. “To be working with him and then to be around Reba, and Dan + Shay, and with this amazing crew… I do miss Blake, but it’s just cool to be back in the building.”

Despite the good vibes, however, the coaches are still plenty competitive. With Niall stepping away this season after winning back-to-back titles, the Voice trophy is up for grabs — and there’s a better-than-average chance it could go to a first-time champion, as only John has won the competition before.

“It’s getting heated out there for sure,” Shay revealed.

“That’s why we’re here,” Reba agreed.

The Voice airs Mondays at 8 p.m. PT/ET and and Tuesdays at 9 p.m. PT/ET on NBC, and streaming the next day on Peacock.