Why did Niall Horan miss Knockout rehearsals? Dan + Shay take over 'The Voice' Season 24 amid coach's absence
UNIVERSAL CITY, CALIFORNIA: From promoting his album 'The Show' to shooting episodes of 'The Voice' Season 24, Niall Horan's 2023 summer was jam-packed. With so much on his plate, schedule issues were unavoidable — which is why viewers won't see him in a few Knockouts rehearsals.
But don't worry, two equally talented musicians are standing in for Horan while he's on tour.
Niall presented his team to his interim replacements in the Tuesday, November 7 episode, who emerged from behind masks of Niall's face.
"I know you're coming on here for season 25, so it's good practice for you guys," Niall says in the video to his replacements.
He added, "I'll send you all the info on the team. I'll send videos, I'll introduce you to them all so you can get to know them before you rock up here."
"This is gonna be so much fun, obviously, man, we're always here for you," Shay Mooney said, "I heard you got a stacked team, so we're pretty excited."
In tonight's rehearsals, the duo was joined by newly crowned super mentor Wynonna Judd.
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Dan + Shay to make debut as full-time coaches in 'The Voice' Season 25
Coaches Dan and Shay from 'The Voice' Season 25 will take over for a few episodes of Knockout rehearsals.
Dan + Shay were introduced as the first-ever coaching tandem on 'The Voice' in June 2023. They will make their debut in Season 25, which will premiere in the spring of 2024, and will be joined by returning Coaches Chance the Rapper, John Legend, and Reba McEntire.
The group's appearance on 'The Voice' will not be their first. During Season 20, Dan and Shay acted as Battle Advisors for previous OG Coach Blake Shelton.
"Dan + Shay, they're both great guys," Blake said to Stage Right.
Adding, "But Shay is one of the funniest human beings I’ve ever been around in my life. So it’s no wonder to me that they went on to be the big stars that they are now."
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'The Voice' Season 25 coaches Dan + Shay won Grammy Awards three times in a row
Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney are two close friends who established the country combo Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney in 2013.
Since then, they've had immense success, amassing over 10 billion global lifetime streams and having nine singles hit number one on country radio charts.
Among their successful tracks are 'Tequila', 'Speechless', and 'All to Myself'. They also won three Grammy Awards in a row for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.
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'The Voice' Season 24 airs on Mondays at 8 pm ET and Tuesdays at 9 pm ET on NBC