Blake Shelton was ready to leave The Voice several seasons before he went his own way. While visiting The Jennifer Hudson Show Friday, the country singer shared that he remained as a coach on the competition show longer than he anticipated — and he does “not yet.”
“To be totally honest about it, I wasn’t even planning on being there that long,” Shelton told Hudson. “I was planning on wrapping it up around 20 or 21 seasons, and then obviously COVID hit, and then I didn’t want to walk out on the show in the middle of COVID, and them trying to scramble and figure out [what to do].”
“So, I stayed,” he continued. “I didn’t have anything to do anyway, so I stayed a little bit longer. But I stayed too long for me to now miss it, I can promise you that.”
Shelton lasted a total of 23 seasons on the show, more than any other judge. Throughout his time on the show, the musician served as a coach alongside the likes of Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, and CeeLo Green.
And after being on the show for so long? “I got my chair!” Shelton shared. “I told them it was the one thing I wanted — besides a bunch of money. I wanted to take home from The Voice my red chair! So they did, they sent it to Oklahoma.”
Shortly after announcing that he was leaving The Voice, Shelton went on the Today Show to speak to Carson Daly, who also hosts the competition show, and shared similar info.
“I think I was close to calling it a day right when COVID hit,” he said at the time. “And then, because of COVID, I didn’t want to walk away from the show and leave everybody in a bind. I mean, this show changed my life. I’ll stay here until the world kind of gets back to normal again.”
During the interview, Shelton shared that the show had “changed my life” in every way. “I met my wife on this show,” he said, referring to him and Gwen Stefani meeting and falling in love while serving as judges on the show following their respective divorces.
Shelton also joked that he was “the only star they ever found” on the show since appearing on The Voice gave the country singer a much larger platform. “It is what it is, America!” he joked.
Shelton first announced his departure from The Voice in an Instagram post in October 2022.
“This show has changed my life in every way for the better and it will always feel like home to me. It’s been a hell of a ride over these 12 years of chair turns,” he wrote, thanking everyone on the show. “I’ve made lifelong bonds with [host] Carson [Daly] and every single one of my fellow coaches over the years, including my wife Gwen Stefani! Shelton went on to shout out the singers he has welcomed on the competition series. “It would not happen without you,” he wrote to the show’s fans.
