What If Sheryl Crow Had Kicked Off The Voice With Blake Shelton, Adam Levine And Co. Instead Of Christina Aguilera? The Story Behind What Nearly Happened

The latest episode of The Voice to air on the 2025 TV schedule recapped all of the performances that got us to where we are in this season's competition, and when the show returns April 28, it’ll be time for the Playoffs. The Voice coaches will have some help, as Sheryl Crow and LeAnn Rimes have been pegged as Mega Mentors, and it turns out the “All I Wanna Do” singer almost had a much larger role in the singing competition’s earlier days.

Adam Levine — who has made his comeback to The Voice’s Big Red Chairs for Season 27 — was among the OG coaching panel, along with Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green. However, it seems the lineup almost included Sheryl Crow, who revealed per People that she was offered a spot but had to turn it down due to her family’s circumstances. She said:

Well, one certainly can’t blame her for wanting to maintain the lovely normalcy she was enjoying in Nashville. Now that her kids are older — Levi is 14, and her older son Wyatt is 18 — she was able to answer The Voice’s call.

In my very humble opinion, I think it all worked out for the best. I’m assuming Sheryl Crow would have taken the spot that was ultimately filled by Christina Aguilera, and I absolutely loved how fierce the “Dirrty” singer was as a coach.

Xtina also contributed to one of The Voice’s wildest moments when it became obvious she had a distaste for Season 2 Team Adam member Tony Lucca — who she knew from their days on the Mickey Mouse Club.

Sheryl Crow wasn’t the only iconic musician to turn down The Voice ahead of its 2011 premiere. Reba McEntire was offered first dibs on the chair that ended up going to Blake Shelton. I’d say that worked out OK too, given that Shelton turned into one of NBC’s biggest stars.

Now Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera and Reba McEntire have all come and gone, and Sheryl Crow will make her triumphant debut.

The “If It Makes You Happy” singer will serve as the mentor for Michael Bublé and Kelsea Ballerini’s teams, while LeAnn Rimes will assist Adam Levine and John Legend. All five members of each team will perform in the Playoffs, with the coaches choosing just two apiece to advance to the Live Semifinals.

Adam Levine said the Knockouts are the hardest round of the competition, but the last time he was on The Voice, the Playoffs did not require coaches to eliminate over half of their teams in one fell swoop, so I fully expect him to change his stance on that next week.

Tune in to see if Sheryl Crow and LeAnn Rimes can help Adam Levine and the rest make this tough decision when Playoffs kick off next Monday, April 28, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and streaming the next day with a Peacock subscription.