LeAnn Rimes is reportedly in the running to join The Voice UK as a coach following Olly Murs’ shock axing from the panel.
The American country music star, 41, is said to be having ‘early’ meetings with ITV to discuss becoming a mentor for the upcoming series.
It comes after singer Olly, 39, revealed he had been dropped from The Voice after six years, and it was then claimed that the show had cut ties with coach Anne-Marie.
Amid the ‘show refresh’, LeAnn is reportedly in the running to be a replacement on the star-studded panel and is said to be ‘excited’ at the prospect.
A source told The Sun: ‘LeAnn is meeting with ITV about possibly joining The Voice UK as a coach, it’s very early days but they think they could carve up a good deal.
‘LeAnn is an incredible talent and her record of awards and record sales speak for themselves.
‘ITV thinks she would make an incredible coach and LeAnn is excited to see if she can make it work with her schedule.’
A spokesperson for ITV said: ‘We will be confirming the line up for The Voice UK 2024 in due course.’
MailOnline has contacted LeAnn’s representatives for comment.
LeAnn, whose full name is Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian, has had more than 40 charting singles since rising to fame as a country music star at the age of 13 with her 1996 single Blue.
LeAnn has collaborated with huge A-list names including Elton John, Stevie Nicks and Joss Stone, and sold more than 48million units worldwide.
The Grammy-award winning singer is now gearing up for an epic performance at London’s O2 Arena to close her The Story So Far… tour on May 8.
Her reported involvement on The Voice UK comes after Olly revealed he had been dropped from the show after six years on the star-studded panel.
In September, the star admitted he was left ‘gutted and shocked’ by the decision and vowed not to ‘bulls***’ fans by saying the choice was his.
He told The Sun: ‘I’m gutted. I got the call last week to say I won’t be back on the show, and it’s a bit of a shock, to be honest. I didn’t really expect that to come…
‘I don’t want to bulls**t my fans or bulls**t people who watch the show, and say, ‘Oh, it was an amicable decision to leave — I’ve got lots of things on next year, I can’t do it any more’.
He added: ‘Did I want to leave? No. Will I still watch the show? Of course, but it’ll be sore thinking that could have been me.’
During his stint on the show, Olly won the competition twice after successfully mentoring his chosen artists.
Since joining in 2017, he has appeared on the panel alongside Will.I.Am, Sir Tom Jones, Jennifer Hudson, Meghan Trainor and Anne-Marie.
Soon after Olly’s axing, it was reported that The Voice had also cut ties with Anne-Marie, 32, ahead of the 2024 series to give the show a ‘refresh’.
It was claimed that bosses wanted to bring in new stars from the industry to appeal to a younger audience.
A source told the The Sun: ‘Anne-Marie has loved being part of the show but producers want to give the series a refresh.
‘ITV wants to ensure that the show pulls in teens, so they are always looking at who is hot in the music world.’
When approached by MailOnline at the time, ITV did not deny Anne-Marie had been axed from The Voice.
A spokesperson said: ‘The Voice UK returns to ITV1 and ITVX for a brand new series on Saturday 4th November at 8:25pm featuring coaches will.i.am, Sir Tom Jones, Anne-Marie and Olly Murs. Details of the 2024 series will be confirmed in due course.’
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
