The Voice': Niall Horan Uses Blake Shelton's Voice to Try and Land a Country Singer

In the highly-anticipated season 24 premiere of The Voice, country music icon Reba McEntire made her debut as a coach, taking over the coveted chair vacated by Blake Shelton. Her arrival was met with both excitement and a surprise during the Blind Auditions.

The evening kicked off with singer Jordan Rainer stepping onto the stage to perform Reba's classic hit, "Fancy." Reba was the first to turn her chair, with Gwen Stefani and Niall Horan quickly following suit. John Legend held out but eventually turned as well, marking Jordan's audition as the first four-chair turn of the season.

Jordan explained her song choice, stating, "It was written by a strong woman, it was made famous by a strong woman," referring to songwriter Bobby Gentry and Reba, respectively. She added that the song's lyrics symbolize the resilience of women who do whatever it takes to survive.

The other coaches recognized the tough competition ahead, with Gwen acknowledging, "This is tough. The queen is here, you sang her song, and I'm Gwen Stefani doing ska music from Anaheim, California." Gwen also humorously mentioned her ability to call her husband, Blake Shelton, for song selection advice.

Reba playfully responded by saying, "Is that fair? I'm gonna call Keith Urban!"

However, Niall Horan had a clever trick up his sleeve. While Reba was making her heartfelt pitch to Jordan, Niall pressed his button, and Blake's voice unexpectedly filled the studio.

"Niall is like a son to me," Blake's voice announced. "Niall is a global superstar. Niall is an attractive guy."

Gwen couldn't hide her frustration, exclaiming, "I'm so mad at him right now!" due to Blake agreeing to participate in Niall's antics.

The playful banter between the coaches added to the excitement of the Blind Auditions. To find out which coach Jordan ultimately chose, viewers were encouraged to tune in to the rest of the season.

In an interview with the coaches before the season premiere, Reba mentioned that Gwen, Niall, and John welcomed her warmly to the show, describing their relationship as sisterly. However, she noted that the friendly atmosphere quickly transformed when it was time to compete for the best talents.

"They've helped me, they've guided me and taught me, and then after I learned up to that point, then they say, 'You're on your own,'" Reba humorously recalled.

John chimed in with a laugh, "We still want to beat her."

Fans can catch The Voice on NBC, airing on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. PT/ET.