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Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé are bringing fresh wisdom to their teams on The Voice.
On Thursday, Oct. 23, NBC announced Zac Brown is joining season 28 of The Voice as a mega mentor. Speaking with PEOPLE ahead of the announcement, the “Chicken Fried” singer says he felt right at home.
“Some of those singers are way better singers than I am,” the Zac Brown Band frontman, 47, says of the contestants. “But that’s the great thing about music is somebody can be like an X-Men. They have these superpowers, but they have to figure out all the life skills, business skills, discipline, perseverance, and learn all these things too.”
He continues, “I mean, I think in the best case, we’re all expanders for each other. As humans, we try to sharpen each other, we try to help each other. But I was definitely inspired, and it makes me want to be a better singer.”
On The Voice, a mega mentor is a special guest that provides guidance to contestants during the Knockouts — and he’s doing that for the Canadian crooner, 50, and the “Gin and Juice” rapper, 53.
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“I really love the wisdom that they were sharing with everybody because most of it resonated perfectly with me and what I felt and what I was thinking,” he says.
During the filming, Brown says he also “learned a lot of Snoopisms.”
“Like sharp as a mosquito’s needle. I don’t know. There’s a hundred that I’ve heard today,” he says, adding, “So I think just really seeing their heart, both of them, Michael and Snoop. Those are my people.”
Going into the experience, Brown says he didn’t have many expectations — and instead walked in with an open mind.
“The older that I get, the less expectations that I try to have. Because then if it’s not exactly what you think, then you might be disappointed,” he says. “I’m trying to re-engineer my thinking so that I can live in the flow of whatever’s happening.”
“So coming here and just flowing with everybody, it’s been a great day,” he adds. “It was an inspiring day. I got to hear some amazing talent and got to work with some incredible artists.”
As a father of five, Brown — who’s also gearing up for the release of the band’s upcoming studio album Love & Fear in December — says stepping into a mentorship role came natural to him.
“I teach my kids things all the time, like working at summer camp. I was a camp counselor for a lot of years, and then on staff for three years,” the “Free” singer says of his kids, whom he shares with ex-wife Shelly Brown. “I love anything that I can do to add value to them… it feeds me.”
In addition to Brown, Joe Walsh of the Eagles will join the singing competition show as a mega mentor for Team Reba and Team Niall.
Watch Brown on the Monday, Oct. 27 episode of The Voice, which airs on NBC at 8 p.m. ET.
