Niall Horan on Missing Blake Shelton & His ‘Voice’ Competition (Exclusive)

Niall Horan is back on “The Voice” Season 24 as the reigning champ!

“Extra” sat down with Niall to chat about the new season, which also marks the first ever without Blake Shelton.

Niall is “of course” missing Blake, saying, “He’s such a big miss around the show. He’s a big loss, but he had a great time while he was here for 29 billion seasons. He’s a big personality loss, but Reba McEntire makes up for him, so we’re in good hands.”

“We have a little bit of Blake still here with Gwen [Stefani],” Niall noted about Shelton’s famous wife.

While it “feels good to be back as the reigning champion,” Niall is focused on the new season, saying, “Let’s make more dreams come true.”

Calling it a “really good season,” Niall dished, “The blind auditions were incredible.”

Along with sizing up the competition from John Legend, Gwen, and Reba, Niall gushed, “The chemistry’s been great… I’ve really enjoyed it. Obviously, I had to make loads of new friends again… It felt like the first day of school again.”

Due to his win, Niall joked, “They’re all coming after me. They know who’s the boss around here now that Shelton is gone.”

Horan admitted that he does his “fair share of cheeky trash talk,” so much so that John Legend and him “go at it.”

Niall also opened up about how his own experience on “The X Factor” is an asset, saying, “I can have empathy... because I’ve been in that position before and I know exactly what it is like to stand up here in an audition scenario where you’re scared and nervous… It’s a nervy experience, and I’ve been there, so I know exactly what it feels like to be up there every week, picking songs, getting to know them as an artist.”

“I actually didn’t realize how much it would come into play, like how much they wanna hear from me, what they wanna learn,” Horan added. “I’ve been very lucky with the types of people I’ve had on my team this season and now. They wanna learn. They realize I’ve been there before and we can use that to their advantage and get the best out of them and understand them as a recording artist, too.”

Raving about his team of 14, Niall is confident that he’s “got the winner again.”

“The Voice” aside, Niall is busy, getting back out on the road and touring for the first time in years. He commented, “I’ve been on three continents this week, which is nuts to say and it can be tough on the body, but I try to manage the schedule as much as I can… I love going to the day job, traveling the world, playing to thousands of people, and then pop back here every few weeks and shoot a different element [of ‘The Voice’].”

As for his tour, Niall noted, “There’s no better feeling. I’ve obviously been away for a few years there, the pandemic, making a record. This is kind of my first year back doing shows again and traveling the world, seeing the fans for the first time in four or five years and it’s an amazing experience.”