Blake Shelton: ‘I’ve decided that it’s time for me to step away from ‘The Voice’’
Blake Shelton will leave the NBC’s “The Voice” after next season, he revealed on Tuesday.
“I’ve been wrestling with this for a while and I’ve decided that it’s time for me to step away from ‘The Voice’ after next season,” he announced Tuesday on Instagram. “This show has changed my life in every way for the better and it will always feel like home to me.”
The next season will be the NBC show’s 23rd and Shelton’s last.
“This show has changed my life in every way for the better and it will always feel like home to me,” the country music star said in a statement Tuesday night. He said he had been “wrestling with this for a while.”
When it premiered in 2011, Shelton was joined by Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green. Celebrity judges like Pharrell, Shakira and Miley Cyrus rotated in and out for subsequent seasons, but Shelton had been the constant.
“I have to give a huge shoutout to the singers — the ‘Voices,’ who come on this stage season after season and amaze us with their talent,” Shelton said, adding “a special thanks to those who chose me to be their coach.”
The show is also where Shelton met his wife, Gwen Stefani. The pop star and “No Doubt” frontwoman joined the show in 2014 for its seventh season and the pair began dating the next year.
“I am so proud of you and so blessed to have found you. Your talent brings joy to the hearts of so many people, and I am so lucky to be part of your life’s journey,” Stefani commented on Shelton’s Instagram post announcing his departure.
“The Voice,” hosted by Carson Daly, is in the midst of airing its 22nd season. Both Stefani and Shelton are serving as judges, alongside John Legend — in his seventh season on the show — and Camila Cabello.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.