Country music duo Dan + Shay join The Voice to coach in the first-ever double chair
Season 25 of NBC’s hit reality singing show The Voice premiered last night (Feb 26) and it is shaping up to be a season of impressive talent and fierce competition. For the first time ever, The Voice has introduced a double coaches chair, which is now occupied by country music duo Dan + Shay.
Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney will co-lead one team and compete against fellow coaches Reba McEntire, John Legend, and Chance The Rapper.
Two chairs, one button
Even though the new coaching pair each has their own chair, they must share one button, and must collectively decide when to turn for an artist during the blind auditions. In a conversation with Billboard, Dan + Shay gave some insight into their strategy for selecting their 14-person team:
“We didn’t realize when they started taping that there’s cameras on you from every angle at all times, you’re miked up. You can’t really talk to each other that much. If one of us is really feeling it, we’ve given each other permission to go ahead and smash that button and turn that chair around. But the two chairs, one button [thing] is an interesting dynamic.”
Dan + Shay are grateful to be in the special position to help artists launch their careers. They shared:
“A lot of these people are coming from small towns and are singing into the back of somebody’s chairs. It’s a pretty high-pressure, nerve-wracking situation. It really is a cool perspective shift to see somebody who wants it so badly.”
RELATED: Ryan Argast Joins Team Dan + Shay With Unique Cover Of “Speechless”
Competing for country music artists
For the first time since The Voice began, two out of four coaches (or coaching pairs) on this season are country music acts. Dan + Shay must battle the queen of country music, Reba McEntire, when contending for contestants (particularly aspiring country artists) to join their team. Shay Mooney reflected:
“I feel like we have really been having to strategize and use our blocks to our advantage. Who doesn’t love Reba McEntire and didn’t listen to her music and watch her show growing up? That’s stiff competition. She’s very competitive.”
Stay tuned to see what happens on Season 25 of The Voice! New episodes air every Monday and Tuesday.