May 2023 marked the end of a Voice era, when the series’ most popular coach, Blake Shelton, finally exited the show after 23 consecutive seasons (nine of which he won). Actually, the instant that Blake announced his Voice retirement, way back in October 2022 — and then shamelessly milked his long goodbye for much of Seasons 22 and 23 — speculation began running rampant regarding which A-lister, presumably from Nashville, could possibly fill his big boots (or his big spinning chair). Eventually, country mega-star (and last season’s Mega-Mentor) Reba McEntire was cast as Blake’s replacement — and on Monday’s The Voice Season 24 premiere, the redhead finally, officially ascended to her red throne.
Reba’s addition to the rotating (no pun intended) Voice cast was exciting for many reasons, not the least of which being the fact that at age 68, she made history as the series’ oldest and most experienced coach. After so many early seasons when The Voice was dominated by alpha males Adam Levine and Blake’s bromance (it took until Season 11 for the show even have more than one female coach on the panel at the same time), and more recent seasons featuring Gen Z/millennial-baiting castings like Ariana Grande, Chance the Rapper, Camila Cabello, Nick Jonas, Miley Cyrus and even reigning champ Niall Horan, to see a talent-show judge who’s been in the business since before even Star Search was on the air was refreshing indeed.
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