Gwen Stefani Hails Reba McEntire The 'Queen Of Oklahoma'
By Kelly Fisher
October 4, 2023
Gwen Stefani said it’s “surreal” to see Reba McEntire sitting in one of the iconic red chairs on The Voice as the beloved country music icon appears for her inaugural season as a celebrity coach.
Stefani dished about the experience with fellow coach Niall Horan — who hailed McEntire “the Queen of Country” — during a recent appearance on the Jennifer Hudson Show. The pair are returning to coach this season alongside McEntire and fellow returning coach John Legend. McEntire is stepping in after Blake Shelton, country superstar and Stefani’s husband, marked his final season of the smash-hit competition show earlier this year.
“It’s beyond a bucket list, because you just never would think that that would happen in your life,” Stefani told Jennifer Hudson, who reflected on a previous interview with McEntire earlier this year. Stefani added that she and McEntire share a connection to Oklahoma, where McEntire was born and raised, and where Stefani lives part-time with Shelton and her three children from her previous marriage. “It’s just kind of interesting because she’s like an Okie and we went on a little road trip recently in Oklahoma with the boys, and we rolled up to some Dairy Queen…then she’s like, ‘you should go over and see Reba’s Place, it’s right around the corner.’ …It was everywhere. She’s the Queen of Oklahoma, as well.”