Dan + Shay on 'The Voice' as Coaches and 'Strategizing' to Beat 'The Queen of Country' Reba McEntire

when The voice it was the perfect time for Dan + Shay to join as the first 'double chair' talent show coaches.

Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney had just celebrated their 10th anniversary as a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning country duo, but they had also hit it big. “The last couple of years have been a bit of a rollercoaster,” says Smyers. “We were going through our own personal battles, rebuilding our relationship — and you throw in COVID, and it was just a wild time for us.”

But as the couple worked through their issues and came back from the brink of separation, they were filled with a new gratitude. “We changed our perspective from 'We have to do this' to 'We have to do this,' and that it's amazing that there's anyone willing to pay their hard-earned money to come see our show or to buy an album or a T-shirt,” Smyers continues. “The voice it came to us at such a perfect time where that gratitude is at an all-time high.”

The country duo, who served as mentors on season 20, will make their coaching debuts on the show on Monday, February 26, as the 25th season of the NBC singing competition kicks off. They are joined by returning coaches Reba McEntire, John Legend and Chance the Rapper.

This marks the first time two of the chairs will be occupied by a country act, paving the way for some intense competition for country contestants between Dan + Shay and McEntire.

Ex-coach Blake Shelton never puts up with McEntire and “didn't have to compete with the queen of country music. He had it pretty easy,” Mooney jokes. “I feel like we really had 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? This is tough competition. She is very competitive.”

Just like The voice by exposing Shelton to a much larger audience, Dan + Shay are well aware that the show could broaden their reach. “This is a huge opportunity for us,” says Mooney. “We've had some crossover success, but this opens you up to a whole different audience. Being on TV every week definitely expands the people who listen to your music. We don't really know what to expect.”

As the first set of double coaches, Dan + Shay must share a button as they select their 14-member team in the blind competition, which has already been filmed. “When we were flying out [to L.A.] for the first time, we looked at each other like, “Do we have to come up with some kind of strategy, like yeah two knee strikes?” We didn't realize when they started filming that there are cameras on you from every angle at all times, teasing you. 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 break that button and turn that chair. But the two chairs, one button [thing] it's an interesting dynamic.”

Seeing contestants so eager to start their careers was a powerful reminder of how lucky the two are to have seen their musical dreams come true. “Seeing these people pour their heart and soul into that microphone, honestly, I can't imagine being in their shoes,” says Smyers. “A lot of these people come from small towns and sing on the backs of somebody's chairs. It's a pretty high-pressure, nerve-wracking situation. It's really a nice change of perspective to see someone who wants it so badly. I feel like you lose perspective when we and many of our friends have a seat at the table. These people are working to earn their place at the table.”

Like the other judges, Dan + Shay have to juggle the daily demands of their coaching careers, and also have to commute from Nashville to Los Angeles each week. They continue to promote their fifth Warner Music album Nashville, Bigger Houses, which was released in September and debuted at No. 9 on the Top Country Albums chart. The first single “Save Me the Trouble” reached No. 2 on the Country Airplay chart. Their Heartbreak on the Map tour, named after a song on the album, kicks off February 29 in Greenville, SC

Spending more time in Los Angeles has a big plus. “I get more sleep out here, which is really nice,” says Mooney, who has three young boys. More seriously, he adds, “It's definitely a challenge to be away from our families. It is too difficult. But they're excited for us.” Legend, who is based in Los Angeles, brings his kids to the studio, and Mooney hopes his kids can join him on some trips.

Even though they haven't finished their first season, Smyers says they'd like to come back for more seasons. “It's just a really exciting, mind-blowing experience for us as coaches when the lights go out, not knowing what's going to fall into your ears,” he says. “I hope they invite us back, because I'm having too much fun to give up now.”

Mooney even has a suggestion for future seasons: “We conspire with Reba — now that she's three [country] coaches against two [non-country] coaches — to take the show to Nashville,” he says with a laugh.