Adam Levine is officially leaving The Voice after 16 seasons as a coach. According to Entertainment Tonight, host Carson Daly made the announcement on this morning’s Today show, and he also revealed who will be replacing Adam in the coach’s chair next season.
“Adam is one of the original coaches that launched the show, winning the competition three times and inspiring many of the artists that he worked so closely with,” Carson said. “Many viewers will miss his frenemy relationship with Blake Shelton. He will always be a cherished member of the Voice family and of course we wish him nothing but the best.”
Having a hard time wrapping my head around @adamlevine not being at @NBCTheVoice anymore. After 16 seasons that changed both of ours lives. I only found out about this yesterday and it hasn’t set in on me yet. Gonna miss working with that idiot.
Found out last night about @adamlevine leaving The Voice & while I get that he’s been doing the show 4 a while & wants to step away, it will be weird showing up 4 work & he’s not there 👀 To start an amazing show from the ground up is a big deal!
Carson shared that former coach Gwen Stefani will be returning to the show to fill Adam’s coaching chair. “Excited to have her back,” Carson said of the singer’s return. (Gwen appeared on Season 7, 9, and 12 of the show.)
Blake Shelton is probably excited to have her back as well, since they met and started dating when they appeared on the show together. However, he’s clearly not too excited about Adam leaving. The country star tweeted that he was having “a hard time wrapping my head around” the news, adding that he would “miss working with that idiot.”
NBC
Why Is Adam Leaving?
Although there doesn’t seem to be any official word yet on what Adam’s reason behind the decision was, this news isn’t too surprising. In fact, Talent Recap has been questioning his continued role on the show in recent weeks.
Adam has been on The Voice every season since it started, but his performance in recent years has left a lot to be desired. He’s only won the show three times in total, and not since Season 9. He hasn’t had a contestant in the finals in the past three seasons, and this season he had no artists in the Top 8.
Although The Voice recently announced that all four of this season’s judges would be back next time, Adam clearly changed his mind.
It will be interesting to see what the coaches’ dynamic is like without Adam (and if Gwen Stefani finally pulls out a win) when Season 17 of The Voice premieres this fall on NBC.
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Jill O'Rourke Jill O’Rourke is a contributor at Talent Recap, writing news stories and recaps for shows like ‘AGT,’ ‘The Voice,’ and ‘American Idol.’ She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and Film Studies, and has been writing about pop culture since 2012, with previous bylines at Crushable and A Plus. Jill spends her free time binge-watching sitcoms and daydreaming about life as a hobbit