The Voice: Battle of Champions is underway on the 2026 TV schedule, with Season 29 featuring just three coaches. Kelly Clarkson may have thought she was only going up against Adam Levine and John Legend, but she got quite the shock when Reba McEntire made a surprise appearance in the premiere. The queen of country popped in with an interesting message for this season’s contestants, and I can’t even believe she did her former daughter-in-law so dirty.
With no country music coach like Blake Shelton or Reba McEntire on this season’s panel, Kelly Clarkson admitted that she felt entitled to country artists like 19-year-old Julia Golden, who impressed both Clarkson and John Legend with her rendition of “Strawberry Wine.” Legend may not be as closely associated with the genre as his Texas-native colleague, but he sure did have a secret weapon. None other than McEntire herself popped up on the screen to deliver the following video message:
Hey, I’m Reba McEntire. People have asked me, ‘Can John Legend coach a country artist? Heck yeah! I wish he’d coach me. He’s absolutely fantastic. He’s a genius. He can do anything. He plays, he sings, he mentors. I know. I’m the Queen of Country Music, and I endorse John Legend. I approve this message.
The disrespect is astonishing. Not only are Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire longtime friends who have performed together multiple times, they are family, with Clarkson having been married to McEntire’s stepson Brandon Blackstock.
The American Idol champion seemed to have the same thoughts, as upon seeing her former mother-in-law on the screen, she stood up and shouted:
Oh no, she did not!
No offense to John Legend at all, because of course the EGOT winner could do extremely well with a country music artist, but I’m just not buying the fact that Reba McEntire would go against Kelly Clarkson like that. Even host Carson Daly seemed to be in disbelief, saying:
I don’t know. Wow. That was like A.I. or something.
Believe me, I watched the video back a few times to see if it was, in fact, a deepfake, and I'm still not fully convinced. Speaking to its validity, though, was Kelly Clarkson then getting Reba McEntire on the phone. The “Fancy” singer answered, though she kept her video turned off as Clarkson literally screamed:
You made him a video?! I can’t see you, but I know you hear me, girl!
Reba McEntire can be heard over the speakerphone telling The Voice coach to “Calm down, girl!” and ultimately agreed that, yes, Kelly Clarkson would also be an excellent coach for a country music artist. They ended the call by exchanging “I love you”s, with Clarkson saying:
I love you so much, but I hate that video.
In the end, the big swing by John Legend and Reba McEntire didn’t pay off, as Julia Golden decided to go with Kelly Clarkson anyway. The artist was in tears for pretty much the entire ordeal, in tearful disbelief as she asked, “Is Reba on the phone?” You can see it all play out below:
Even if Kelly Clarkson wasn’t more than qualified to coach a country artist, I think having Reba McEntire on speed-dial was enough to win Julia over.
With no Blocks available to the coaches — and therefore no way to keep Kelly Clarkson from raking in country artists — I don’t blame John Legend for calling in a pro, and I can’t wait to see what other twists are to come in The Voice’s revamped 29th season. Tune in for new episodes at 9 p.m. ET Mondays on NBC and streaming the next day with a Peacock subscription.
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