‘The Voice’ Coaches Say Season 28 Has Best ‘Level of Talent’ They’ve Seen: Everyone Has ‘Standouts’

Alyssa Norwin September 22, 2025, 10:08 am

THE VOICE -- The Blind Auditions Season Premiere Episode 2801 -- Pictured: (l-r) Snoop Dogg, Niall Horan, Reba McEntire, Michael Buble — Trae Patton/NBC

Reba McEntire, Michael Bublé, Snoop Dogg, and Niall Horan are all back for Season 28 of The Voice, and they all agree that the talent this season is on another level.

“I think the competition this season is better than I’ve ever seen,” McEntire told TV Insider and other outlets ahead of the Monday, September 22, premiere. “It’s incredible.” Horan added, “Usually there’s been, like, a standout, [but] everyone’s got some standouts.”

Bublé added that all four coaches “have multiple people on our teams that literally could [win],” while Snoop jumped in to admit, “I haven’t seen this much talent on one show before, and I’ve watched many episodes and seasons of The Voice. This seems like all four coaches have strong teams.”

The foursome has never appeared on the show all together before, but in their previous seasons, Horan and Bublé have two wins, McEntire has one, and Snoop has yet to take home the trophy. Of course, he’s hoping to change that this time around.

“I’m trusting my spirit, but to be honest with you, the win is the relationship I get with these singers,” he shared. “That’s the win. Regardless of if they win on the show or not, I think the relationship we built and we become friends and I can help them in their careers outside of this, that’s the real win.”

As experienced coaches, they all know what they’re looking for when they hear an artist hit the stage during the Blind Auditions. “I have to feel it,” McEntire admitted. “It’s not specifically if they can do the best runs or they got the highest note only dogs can hear. But if I can feel it…” She also revealed that her strategy changes each season. “The thing is you can’t really go off of anybody else and if they’re going to turn because that might not be who you’re really looking for,” she explained. “So I try to be really focused on what really touches my heart.”

The other coaches praised McEntire for being able to make it far with artists who were one-chair turns, with Snoop even noting, “I actually stole that technique from you this year. That one-chair thing. I looked at my team and that’s the one thing I did change. … I need to find artists that no one hears or feels but myself.”

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For Horan, there are “two things” that make him turn his chair. “One, if it’s something that moves me,” he said. “Second, even if I don’t think I’m going to get them and I think they deserve a chair turn and it’s an undeniable voice that maybe won’t choose me because of genre or whatever, I still have to turn my chair. That’s why we have a lot of four-chair turns. It’s curiosity. You have to turn around and see what’s going on there.”

The “This Town” singer said he loves a “singer/songwriter” vibe in his artists. “I always end up with girls and guys in their mid-20s and they kind of do what I do,” he shared. “I feel like I can coach that journal of writing, which I do myself.”

For Snoop, there’s not one “musical lane” he’s looking for, since he’s comfortable with “all genres of music.” He added, “I’m just looking for something that feels good.”

The Voice, Season 28 Premiere, Monday, September 22, 8/7c, NBC