Coming into her third season as a coach on NBC’s The Voice, the Queen of Country, Reba McEntire, looks to secure another victory. Last season, Reba claimed both the first and second-place artists on her team. As the only female coach during Season 25, she proved to everyone why she is “the Queen” as she guided superstar artists to victory against nine-season veteran, John Legend; returning coach, Chance the Rapper; and the first coaching pair, Dan + Shay. This year, she is competing against Gwen Stefani, whose appearance for a total of eight seasons has earned her the nickname “The Vet;” Michael Bublé, whose first-time presence on the show and status as the first Canadian coach identifies him as “The Rookie;” and Snoop Dogg, whose spirited personality and pitches dubbed him “The Wildcard.” From Episode One, it was clear that the camaraderie and musical experience of the coaches will make for an exciting season and supportive environment for all contestants.
One indicator of how coaches are faring against their competitors is the number of “four-chair turns”—or artists that all four coaches vied for—that a coach has won. As these artists force all coaches to deliver their best pitches and showcase their potential to help each artist grow, four-chair-turn victories grant helpful insight into the coaches’ standing against each other.
With an exceptional number of four-chair turns this season—seventeen, according to Gold Derby writer, John Benutty—the coaches are going head-to-head often in Season 26. Gold Derby keeps fans updated on the events of the season so far, including the number of four-chair turns each coach prevailed in. As the first round of the show, the Blind Auditions, came to a close, Gwen Stefani surfaced as the four-chair-turn victor with a total of six artists secured against the efforts of the other three coaches. Michael Bublé followed with four artists won against the other coaches—an impressive feat for “The Rookie.” Snoop and Reba secured three each.
Though she doesn’t hold the record for four-chair-turn victories for Season 26, the very first artist of the season, Jake Tankersley, revealed that Reba’s recent victory is still very much on the minds of the other coaches. All four coaches turned for Jake, who stunned everyone with his beautiful version of country singer Zach Bryan’s, “Something in the Orange.” Debuting with a fantastic country cover, it was no surprise that The Queen wanted him. Even before Reba turned, though, Gwen anticipated her move and used her “Block” feature—which she can only use once—to prevent Reba from competing for the up-and-coming country singer. After stopping Reba from pitching for Jake to join her team, Gwen joked that blocking The Queen was “criminal,” revealing the prowess Reba holds even amongst the other coaches. Following last year’s victory, the other coaches will clearly be pulling out all the stops to sway artists away from Reba’s natural appeal.
Reba says that in this season’s Blind Auditions, she continued to search for artists that stirred her emotions through their performances. This criterion allowed her to secure the second and fourth-place artists in her first season on The Voice (Season 24), followed by her top-two victory in Season 25. Choosing artists by emotional connection to their music has clearly served her well. Reba herself is known for very passionate and emotionally-stirring music, so it’s no surprise that she was such a successful coach for aspiring artists with similar musical tendencies.
Reba’s few four-chair-turn victories compared to the other coaches show that, following last season’s win, The Queen will have to fight even harder to maintain her streak. With all four coaches’ teams now full, it remains to be seen whether Reba’s prowess and experience in the music industry will carry her talented artists through the next rounds of the show into a victory—or at least a place on the podium. All eyes are definitely on The Queen following her success in her first two seasons, and her fellow coaches are taking no chances at letting Reba slide easily into another victory.
The curtain is up.
The show has begun.