Keith Urban to Join The Voice as Mega Mentor for Season 25 Before Releasing New Album

Urban will appear on ‘The Voice’ alongside its current panel of coaches: Chance the Rapper, Dan + Shay, John Legend and Reba McEntire

Keith Urban. Photo:Greg Gayne/NBC

The Voice is adding another star to season 25!

On Monday, NBC announced Keith Urban will join the hit reality singing competition series starting April 8 as a mega mentor for the performers who’ve made it through the battle rounds as they prepare for knockouts.

The Grammy-winning Australian country star, 56, will appear on The Voice alongside its current panel of coaches: Chance the Rapper, Dan + Shay, John Legend and Reba McEntire.

Keith Urban.Taylor Hill/WireImage

Urban has previously appeared on The Voice as former coach Blake Shelton’s advisor during season 15. He was also a coach on the series’ Australian version for seasons 1, 10 and 11.

Aside from his duties on the show, Urban is gearing up to release a new album featuring his recent singles, “Straight Line” and “Messed Up as Me.” The forthcoming project will serve as a follow-up to 2020’s The Speed of Now Part 1.

Previous mega mentors on The Voice have included Wynonna Judd, Ed Sheeran, Snoop Dogg, Usher, James Taylor, Taylor Swift and others.

‘The Voice’ Season 25.NBCUniversal

Last year, Urban returned to American Idol as a mentor for the show’s season 21 finale after serving as a judge from seasons 12 to 15. At the time, he spoke to PEOPLE about his excitement toward working with the talented contestants.

“To be able to come in as a mentor, and play as well, is incredible,” he said. “That was home for me for several seasons, and the mentoring part is probably one of the things I always enjoyed the most, getting to work with the artist one-on-one.”

Before season 25 of The Voice officially kicked off in February, Dan + Shay spoke to PEOPLE about the country-heavy lineup of coaches this time around.

Keith Urban performs in Wisconsin in July 2023.Daniel DeSlover/Zuma / SplashNews.com

“This year it’s crazy because we have the queen of country music. I mean Reba is on there, and it’s a very intimidating thing because she’s… Reba,” Shay Mooney, 32, said. “I mean, when you have one name, that’s how you know you really made it!”

“[But] we got a double chair,” quipped Dan Smyers, 36. “That’s twice as cool as having one chair.”

They spoke further about playfully feuding with McEntire, 68, on the series. “We get heated out there on the floor. We’re both country artists. We’re competing for the country acts that come through The Voice,” said Smyers. “Everybody always wants the country acts. I feel like that’s some of the best talent that’s out there.”

Luckily, they’re all friends behind the scenes. “Hanging out with Reba is amazing. She is honestly one of the sweetest people we’ve ever met in our entire lives. I just can’t say enough good things about her. She’s always been so kind to us,” added Smyers.