“It’s a bit nerve-wracking” (Exclusive)

“We’re handing it over to America,” McEntire tells PEOPLE ahead of the two-part live finale of the NBC singing competition series on May 20 and 21

As season 25 of The voice comes to an end, Reba McEntire becomes sentimental.

NBC’s hit singing competition series will crown its latest winner in this season’s two-part live finale on May 20 and 21, and the country icon – who serves as a coach on the show alongside Chance the Rapper, Dan + Shay and John Legend – has two contestants still in play.

“I’m a little emotional,” McEntire, 69, tells PEOPLE as Asher HaVon and Josh Sanders of Team Reba battle for the public’s vote to win The voice“It’s a little nerve-wracking because we’re leaving it to America – America is voting now.”

“We don’t decide who moves on, so we are very protective of our nominees and our artists,” the Grammy winner adds, “and we will be there for them whether they move on or not.”

This season is McEntire’s second as coach on The voiceand it was recently announced that she will return to her red chair for season 26 alongside Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé.

Working on the music-centric show has influenced the “Fancy” singer’s approach to her own material, including her latest single “I Can’t,” which is being taken from an upcoming new album by the Reba Star.

“We’ve been working on it for a while now, preparing the songs and recording with Dave Cobb. We’re not sure when it’s coming out yet. We’re waiting for the climate to be right, for the time to be right,” she tells us about the project.

When it comes to writing or selecting new pieces, McEntire says she looks for “a song that just touches my heart.”

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“If it gives me a feeling of happiness, sadness, a reminder of a situation in my life or a good memory, it must trigger emotions. I tell the children that on The voice – choose a song that makes people feel something,” she explains.

“If I’m at a concert and I sing songs but nobody feels anything, I’ve missed it. I just haven’t done my job,” says the experienced artist. “That’s what music is about: emotions, about feeling something.”

The voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. EST on NBC.

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