TV New The Voice coach Reba McEntire jokes her rival coaches are 'devious' and 'real mean' "Especially Gwen," McEntire says with a laugh in EW's first-look preview of the upcoming season 24. By Sydney Bucksbaum Sydney Bucksbaum Sydney Bucksbaum is a writer at Entertainment Weekly covering all things pop culture – but TV is her one true love. She currently lives in Los Angeles but grew up in Chicago so please don't make fun of her accent when it slips out. EW's editorial guidelines Published on September 18, 2023 12:00PM EDT Niall Horan, Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani, John Legend . Photo: Tyler Golden/NBC The Voice coaches are not taking it easy on Reba McEntire! EW has an exclusive sneak peek at season 24's blind auditions, where new coach McEntire faces her rivals Niall Horan, Gwen Stefani, and John Legend for the first time. "Am I supposed to like y'all? Be mean to you?" McEntire asks them before the blind auditions begin. "Is there something that I need to know to let me win?" "You're supposed to direct all the artists my way," jokes Legend. "That's the rule." Then Horan jumps in to say, "And my way." "And for sure my way," Stefani says. "We want to beat each other!" Legend adds as McEntire growls. Later on, McEntire admits that the blind auditions were so much harder than she expected. "They block you, and it's just so devious," she says. "They're real mean." She laughs as she adds, "Especially Gwen." Check out EW's exclusive behind-the-scenes sneak peek in the video above. This isn't McEntire's first time on The Voice, but it is her first time sitting in a coach's big red chair as she replaces longtime country legend Blake Shelton. The Queen of Country was offered a coach position for season 1 but turned it down, which led to Shelton joining the series. She eventually made her debut in season 1 as a battle advisor to Team Blake. Since then, she's appeared multiple times as a mentor, and as a mega mentor on season 23 during the knockout rounds. She will also be a coach for season 25 with Grammy-winning country duo Dan + Shay, Chance the Rapper, and Legend. The Voice premieres Monday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and streaming on Peacock. Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more Related content: The Voice season 23 winner revealed as Blake Shelton takes his final bow The Voice's Blake Shelton surprised by former winners on his last show Joe Jonas cried when Nick Jonas booked The Voice coach role over him: 'I was so jealous'