Adam Levine will not be turning his big red chair around in Season 17 of The Voice.
After 16 seasons as a coach on the singing competition series, the Maroon 5 frontman has decided to exit after Season 16, and Gwen Stefani will be taking his place.
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The Voice host Carson Daly announced the news on the Today Show, saying it was Levine’s decision to leave the show.
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Daly said Levine “will always be a cherished member of The Voice family, and of course, we wish him nothing but the best.”
Levine was previously announced as part of the Season 17 coaches alongside Blake Shelton, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson.
He posted a tribute to the fans of The Voice and his fellow coaches, explaining that “it was time to move on.”
“About 8 years ago, Mark Burnett convinced us to sign up for this show where you sit in a big red chair with your back turned away from the singers on the stage. First thank you must go to Mark. We had no idea what we were doing or where it was going. After the first day of shooting, I sat there, stunned. I said to myself “theres some magic here. Something is definitely happening.” It went on to be a life shaping experience that will be close to my heart forever,” Levine began.
“Thank you NBC for signing me up. I am truly honoured to have been a part of something I’ll always cherish for the rest of my life. Thank you to every single coach I ever sat in those chairs with. That is shared experience that is singularly ours. We have that for life. Thank you to everyone who supported this long strange and amazing left turn into a place I never thought I’d go,” he wrote.
The Girls Like You singer continued: “Thank you Carson Daly for babysitting the musicians and making sure our shoes were tied and we had our lunch boxes. You are the backbone of this thing and we appreciate you more than you know. Audrey, thank you for being perhaps the most patient person in all the free world. 4 musicians all at once is a lot. Sainthood is imminent. Thank you to Paul Mirkovich and the band for their ridiculously hard work and learning more songs than maybe any band ever.”
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“Thank you to the people behind the scenes who do the real work and make this machine hum. To the amazingly talented vocalists who competed on the show and blew my mind on a daily basis,” he wrote before giving a huge shoutout to coach Shelton.
“And, BLAKE F**KIN’ SHELTON. I couldn’t hide my love for you if I tried. Seriously. I tried. Can’t do it. Our friendship is and always will be one for the books. Whatever this whole surreal experience was, Im just happy I got to experience it with you. You’re my brother for life,” he wrote before addressing Clarkson and Legend.
“Kelly and John, take care of the cowboy and I’m sure I’ll be back to say hi very very soon. So much love to you both,” the Harder to Breathe singer wrote.
“And lastly, to all of the loyal voice fans, there’s literally no show without you guys. For me, it was time to move on. Your support has meant EVERYTHING. And Lastly, I’d like to thank my manager Jordan for convincing me to take that meeting. What an amazing ride. Thank you all so much. – Adam,” Levine concluded.
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During his time on The Voice, Levine’s team took the first-place win three times with Jordan Smith in Season 9, Tessanne Chin in Season 5 and Javier Colon in Season 1.
Stefani was a coach for the singing competition series in Seasons 7, 9 and 12.
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Many fans of the show were upset about Levine’s departure from the show.
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On the day of the season finale, Levine shared a photo of himself and Shelton hugging. “A rare moment of tenderness,” he captioned the photo.
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