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Dan + Shay loved every part of being coaches on Season 25 of The Voice, but the best part was the chance to get to spend time with Reba McEntire. The duo, made up of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney, worked alongside her, along with John Legend and Chance the Rapper as coaches for last season, giving them plenty of opportunities to get to know the Country Music Hall of Fame member even better.
“Getting to hang out with Reba McEntire was a dream for us,” Smyers says on Audacy’s Katie + Company. “She’s just the coolest person in the world. We’ve gotten to know her a little bit over the years. We really got to spend time in L.A., and she’s just such a professional. There’s a reason why she’s had so much success. She still shows up five minutes early to every meeting. Just a pro, sweet to everybody. What you see on TV is who she actually is.”
Dan + Shay might have been a bit starstruck with McEntire on The Voice, but they still fought hard until the end to be crowned the winning team. It was McEntire who won Season 25, with her contestant, Asher HaVon, although Dan + Shay’s teammate, Karen Waldrup, landed in the Top 5.
“We get heated out there on the floor. We’re both country artists. We’re competing for the country acts that come through The Voice,” Smyers previously told People. “Everybody always wants the country acts. I feel like that’s some of the best talent that’s out there.”
Even amid the last season of The Voice, both Smyers and Mooney were still in awe of the 69-year-old, while they were also trying to beat her on the reality TV talent show.
“Hanging out with Reba is amazing,” Smyers said. “She is honestly one of the sweetest people we’ve ever met in our entire lives. I just can’t say enough good things about her. She’s always been so kind to us.”
McEntire will appear on Season 26 along with Gwen Stefani and two new coaches: Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé. Neither Dan + Shay nor McEntire will return for Season 27, but country music will still be represented well, thanks to the addition of Kelsea Ballerini as a coach, along with Adam Levine, John Legend and Bublé.
“Just approach everything with a little bit of patience, for yourself,” Smyers said he would advise Ballerini. “I feel like it’s a learning curve. She’s done a lot of it before. I feel like she was maybe a fill-in judge for The Voice, so she’s probably an old pro. She’s probably better at it than we are at this point … I just think go into it and have fun. We didn’t know a lot about TV going into it. We just try to be ourselves and I think when you’re able to be yourself and feel really comfortable in that moment it comes across on TV.”
Dan + Shay revealed that they have already finished two more albums since the release of Bigger Houses last September. They are currently headlining their Heartbreak on the Map Tour. Find music and tour dates at DanandShay.com.