What ‘The Voice’ Coaches Have Said About Adam Levine Leaving

Meredith Jacobs May 29, 2019, 4:30 pm

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The news that Adam Levine is leaving The Voice ahead of Season 17 may have been surprising, including for fellow coach Kelly Clarkson, but she understands why he made that decision.

“It was a shocking thing,” she told Extra. “But I get it. He’s been doing it for eight years. That’s a long time. He’s got a couple kids. We still have careers. We’re still touring. It’s a very rigorous schedule fitting everything in.”

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Host Carson Daly revealed Levine’s exit on Today Friday. “He’ll always be a cherished member of the Voice family, and of course we wish him nothing but the best,” he said.

The official Twitter account for the NBC competition series posted a message that echoed those sentiments. “We’re going to miss Adam, but The Voice is family and with family it’s ‘see you soon,’ never ‘goodbye.'”

pic.twitter.com/PKUhnED06N

— The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) May 24, 2019

Gwen Stefani, who was a coach in Seasons 7, 9, and 12, will be taking his seat and joining Clarkson, John Legend, and Blake Shelton for the new season.

Clarkson’s comments echo what she wrote on Twitter following that announcement. Though she understood why he “wants to step away” after doing the show for as long as he has, she wrote, “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!”

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!

— Kelly Clarkson (@kellyclarkson) May 24, 2019

Daly also noted that viewers will miss watching Levine and Shelton’s “frenemy relationship,” which Shelton alluded to in his tweet in which he admitted he was “having a hard time wrapping [his] head around” Levine’s exit “after 16 seasons that changed both of [their] lives.”

Though he learned about it the night before the announcement, it still hadn’t “set in” on him the following day. “Gonna miss working with that idiot,” he concluded.

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.

— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) May 24, 2019

Legend’s message was simple when he retweeted Levine’s goodbye: “We’ll miss you, brother.”

We’ll miss you, brother https://t.co/woIegAzboM

— John Legend (@johnlegend) May 24, 2019

Levine posted a lengthy message on Instagram in which he thanked everyone involved with the show. “I am truly honored to have been a part of something I’ll always cherish for the rest of my life,” he wrote. “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.”

He singled out his fellow coaches from Season 16. “I couldn’t hide my love for you if I tried,” he wrote to Shelton. “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.”

To Clarkson and Legend, he wrote, “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.”

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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. Thank you NBC for signing me up. I am truly honored 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. 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. 😂 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. And, BLAKE FUCKIN’ 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. 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. 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

A post shared by Adam Levine (@adamlevine) on May 24, 2019 at 8:12am PDT