Reba McEntire Will Let Gwen Stefani Know ‘She’s in Charge’ During Season 26 of ‘The Voice’

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Gwen Stefani is back for season 26 of The Voice, but Reba McEntire’s become the queen bee now and everyone on the show is bracing for a catfight because Gwen’s a bit of a diva herself!

“During the last season Reba really found her groove and an in with the bosses, her fellow coaches and the audience and became a behind-the-scenes mentor herself, but don’t let that maternal side fool you,” an insider exclusively tells Life & Style. “She’s extremely competitive and bossy and tends to dominate over her peers and associates.”

The source adds that Reba, 69, “may be welcoming Gwen back on the show with that Cheshire cat grin of hers,” though notes “she’s also letting Gwen know that she’s in charge.”

“Gwen doesn’t have Blake [Shelton] to protect her anymore, and people around them predict it’s going to get nasty because Gwen always liked to be the center of attention before and expects it to be the same going into this season,” the insider reveals.

Gwen, 54, previously served as a coach on The Voice from seasons 7, 9, 12, 17, 19, 22 and 24. Following season 24, the “Sweet Escape” singer announced she was taking a break from the show to focus on her music career.

“I feel sad and excited at the same time,” she told Entertainment Tonight during the season 24 finale in December 2023. “This season has so many incredible singers and I had such an amazing team of amazing people … Everybody was just so inspiring and sweet.”

After explaining she was taking a break to put out new music, Gwen said she was “excited” for the new chapter in her career. “I’ve been working on this for a long time. I’ve finally landed in that place where I’m obsessed, where I can’t stop listening, so I feel like I’m somewhere,” she said at the time.

Reba started serving as a coach during season 24, while the upcoming season 26 will mark the second time she and Gwen will be coaching alongside each other. In addition to Reba and Gwen, Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé will also star on the competition series as coaches.

The “I’m a Survivor” singer joined the show after Gwen’s husband Blake, 48, exited after season 23. “It’s a lot of pressure, because nobody can replace Blake Shelton. He’s a huge personality and a wonderful person,” she told Newsweek in September 2023. “So I’m just getting in there trying to have fun and represent country music as best I can.”

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Reba added that the show was already a “well-oiled machine” when she joined the coaching panel, so starting the series later was a “marvelous” experience. “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,” she added.

She also reflected on initially turning down the opportunity to be a coach when the shoe was in the early stages of its conception. “I can’t be a mean judge,” Reba said. “I mean, when I turned it down 15 years ago, when they wanted me to do The Voice, I said, ‘I can’t tell anybody that they’re horrible.’ I can’t say to somebody, ‘Well is your mama gonna meet you at the bus station? Because you’re going home.’ I can’t do that.”