Reba McEntire Gets Real About Toughest Part of Being ‘The Voice’ Coach

When Reba McEntire decided to leave The Voice after Season 26, fans, fellow judges, and contestants were rightly disappointed. She truly cared about the artists, which Season 25’s winner, Asher HaVon, can attest to.

She “really cultivated me like a mother with a son and just really walked me through some great trials and really bringing me out on the other side as a mentor, as a coach and as a mother,” HaVon told The Selma Times Journal.

Those bonds also caused McEntire to worry significantly about the aspiring artists once the season had ended.

Reba McEntire Weighs in on Tough Realities for Aspiring Artists

“The thing I worry about is for the people that make it to the finals or win, how do they continue on after that?” McEntire told Variety. “I hope that they grab this as a learning experience, like a course they took in a college, instead of expecting the doors to open up and now here they go, they’re a superstar.”

“It takes so much work,” she went on. “It takes luck. It takes that right song. It takes being at the right place at the right time and a huge team around you to make sure you don’t fall off the pedestals.”

McEntire has more than four decades under her belt; she knows a thing or two about the struggle it takes to gain recognition in the music industry. She also understands the importance of building a fan base and keeping them satisfied.

“I thank God for the fans,” she said. “Because they are people who travel, spend their hard-earned money to buy tickets, to buy albums. They’re faithful.”

If you don’t have the fans, you might as well be singing in the shower, because they’re the ones that put food on our tables,” she added.

Reba McEntire Shares How Cowboy Work Ethic Shaped Her Music Career

McEntire and her siblings grew up on the rodeo circuit, touring with their three-time world champion steer roper father, Clark McEntire. She was discovered at the age of 19 while singing the national anthem at a rodeo competition. She worked hard to gain recognition and establish herself in the business.

“When I started out in the music business, I didn’t know anything about it,” the country singer said. “What I did know is that in rodeo and ranching, it’s a man’s world: You insert yourself, you work your [expletive] off; you don’t [expletive] about it, you don’t complain, you just work harder. When I got into the music business, that work ethic was still there.”

She may not be returning to The Voice anytime soon, but her new show, Happy’s Place, was picked up for Season 2. She admits it’s been a while since she starred in her own sitcom. The presence of her partner, Rex Linn, and former Reba costar, Melissa Peterman, has made it easier.

“That muscle memory kicks back in,” she revealed. “And it’s like any other muscle, you’ve got to strengthen it.”