During The Voice round table, Reba opened up about how afraid she was to meet her hero, Merle Haggard. The Voice judges, Snoop Dogg, Reba McEntire, Michael Bublé, and Gwen Stefani, sat down for what they called “Behind the Mic,” a podcast format video for the show’s fans to get to know this season’s judges.

They started talking about Michael Bublé’s excitement at meeting one of his heroes, Snoop Dogg. The two judges shared a heartfelt moment as they honored each other. Then, they asked Reba about the hero she was honored to meet.

Reba responded:

“I never wanted to meet my heroes because I didn’t want ’em to disappoint me. Ever.”

The rest of the judges nodded in agreement at the sentiment as Reba continued:

“I was doing shows with Merle Haggard, and I did not want to meet him cause I didn’t want to be disappointed cause I looked up to him for so long. When I did [meet him], he was the nicest, most cordial gentleman. I was like phew, okay.”

The late singer made a lasting impression on Reba. Immediately after his passing in 2016, she shared with Entertainment Weekly that her first concert was Merle Haggard and the Strangers. She continued reminiscing about her fondness for the singer, telling a sweet story about growing up singing his music with her siblings.

“Pake sang Merle Haggard songs, I sang Loretta and Dolly songs, and Susie sang Anne Murray songs. Susie and I sang harmony when Pake sang. We all looked up to Merle Haggard. And it was a thrill in my life when I got to work with him on the road.”

Listen to Reba Cover Merle Haggard below!