After 16 seasons on the singing competition show, Adam Levine addressed his decision to leave “The Voice” in an Instagram post on Friday, saying that “it was time to move on.”
NBC announced to the media a week ago that Levine, Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, and Blake Shelton, would return for the fall installment, Season 17. The decision by Adam Levine to leave his long-standing post on The Voice came as a surprise to many fans, but Levine allegedly had been speaking on set about leaving the singing show for a while.
Levine was not a fan of some of the updates made for season 16 to The Voice, notably the Live Cross Battles that debuted in April, according to the source. Two coaches go head to head in this new round in a “live schoolyard pick” by selecting each one of their team’s artists to go up against the artist of another team. An individual song is performed by each artist and their fate is decided by a vote of the viewer.
Levine said the round made the show feel like “the wild west out there now” in a preview of the Live Cross Battles — and that wasn’t a good thing. His team took a huge hit, leaving only four contestants to the musician. The whole team of Levine had been eliminated by the time the show arrived at the Top 8.
The singer posted a 2012 cover for Rolling Stone featuring Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, and Blake Shelton as coaches at the time. The four stars were the first three seasons ‘ original coach panel.
Levine remembered in the caption how he landed the gig for the first time, which lasted for eight years and 16 seasons.
“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 “there’s some magic here. Something is definitely happening.” It went on to be a life-shaping experience that will be close to my heart forever.”
Since its inception in 2011, Levine has been a coach on the show. Gwen Stefani will replace him next season. Carson Daly, the host of “Voice,” announced the switch on “Today” of NBC News on Friday morning.
