Keith Urban has kicked off his role as a Mega Mentor on this season of The Voice. The father of two was eager to do be part of the popular reality TV talent show for multiple reasons, including the chance to work with his good friend, Reba McEntire.
“I love Reba. I love her,” Urban said while on the set of The Voice with McEntire. “She’s everything you’d want. A pro, easy, professional, super chill. All the balances that you want. Almost like the contributions of being completely on, completely loose, pro, relaxed, all that balance.”
What an absolute joy it was to have my friend @keithurban come mentor #TeamReba and give them some incredible advice. Knockouts start tonight on @nbcthevoice 🌟 pic.twitter.com/ILtXIAV4gA
— Reba McEntire (@reba) April 8, 2024
Urban has been vocal about his love of appearing on The Voice this season, helping not only McEntire, but the other coaches as well.
“It doesn’t matter which part of the journey you’re in, whether you’re at the beginning like a lot of these artists are, or whether you’re Chance the Rapper or Dan + Shay, John Legend, anybody. And Reba, who’s really had the longest career of everybody. ” Urban tells People. “So you’ve got every part of an artist’s journey represented within this one show. It’s extraordinary.”
The 56-year-old has been churning out hits for more than 20 years, but he still gets excited — and inspired — when he encounters new talent and rising stars.
“I love being around new artists and artistry, period,” Urban shares. “Very inspiring to be around. And I also think for me personally, so much of the advice that I might give to somebody, I’ll drive home afterwards and I’m thinking, ‘Do I do that myself? I’m saying that they should do this thing, but am I doing that?’
“And I end up helping myself too because I’m like, ‘OK, well if you’re going to preach it, make sure you practice it as well,'” he adds. “It’s a bit of accountability as well.”
In spite of Urban’s busy schedule, which includes getting ready to release a new album, Urban accepted the invitation to be part of The Voice as soon as it was issued.
“When The Voice here in the States asked me to come and be a mentor and now a Mega Mentor, whatever that means – I feel like a Transformer – I jumped at the opportunity, because the mentoring part I particularly love,” Urban said. “I love that the most. I love being able to try and help an artist navigate some things they’ve got to work on and try and be constructive and helpful but also do it in a supportive way. Nobody wants to get humiliated in front of people, but you do need honest advice as well, so I love that opportunity.”
It was Urban’s own experience with singing competitions when he was just getting started that inspired Urban to want to help others in any way possible, including by being on The Voice.
“Just getting good advice and honest advice was something I really loved and needed, so it was a no-brainer when I got asked to do it,” Urban shared. “The first one I got asked to do was be a coach on The Voice in Australia on their first season, and I did it. I loved it. Then I did quite a few seasons of American Idol, as a judge on American Idol, and loved it.”
Find all of Urban’s music and upcoming shows at KeithUrban.com.
The Voice airs on Monday and Tuesday nights at 8:00 PM ET on NBC.