Since The Voice premiered in 2011, Blake Shelton has reaped the benefits of being arguably the most successful coach. Not only does he boast the most victories (with seven), but he’s done everything from landing endorsement deals to being named People’s Sexiest Man Alive and beyond. But with every successful project, there comes a time where one needs to hang up their hat and spurs, and Shelton recently addressed the reality that he can't stay on The Voice hinted at when he could leave the hit singing competition.
Considering Blake Shelton has become The Voice’s resident old man, with younger coaches such as Nick Jonas and Ariana Grande joining in recent years, fans have wondered if he'll ever make an exit while the series is still airing. The country superstar does seem ready to eventually step aside to go live a more stable life away from a weekly television schedule. As seen in the Today with Hoda and Jenna clip below, The Voice coach said about his coaching time winding down:
I hope that’s not too far down the road. Ten years sounds like way too long to me. I’d like to see that sooner than later.
Blake Shelton spoke on how he and fiancé Gwen Stefani are ready to settle down and potentially both step away from the series. Shelton’s words came as he and Stefani are preparing for their wedding and life together as a married couple. There have even been rumors of the superstar couple planning to start a bigger family at some point, but that'll come with time. As The Voice coach gets older, he seems ready to take time away from the spotlight after some hectic years.
Despite hinting at leaving the long-running competition series during his Today with Hoda and Jenna appearance, Blake Shelton also talked about what he still loves about doing The Voice. As well, he spoke favorably about the show's revolving-door policy for other coaches like Nick Jonas, and talked about the addition of pop superstar Ariana Grande for the show’s 21st season. Check out Shelton's full guest spot in the Twitter video below:
As The Voice is currently in its 20th season, Blake Shelton holds the title of being the last original coach on the singing competition. Shelton has remained a constant staple on the series as original coaches Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, and Adam Levine left in Season 10, Season 5 and Season 16, respectively. Since then, at least one of The Voice's coaching spots each season has become a game of musical chairs, multiple music superstars having filled in at one point or another. That said, the latter-day trifecta of Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend has made for the most stable line-up in years.
But as Blake Shelton pointed out, there’s only so long you can do a competition show such as The Voice before one completely wear out their welcome. As a fan of the series, I have definitely noticed the two-cycles-a-year schedule can be grueling and taxing on the coaches, both physically and emotionally. The country icon and his fellow stars don’t get a whole lot of time to breathe between seasons, and even though not all of the episodes are recorded live, work is still being done behind the scenes.
So, if The Voice's Blake Shelton wants to eventually step away from the show, it's completely understandable, but it remains to be seen if he can successfully pull himself away from the project he's become most synonymous with. While his exit from the series might not be anytime soon, you can catch Shelton and his team on The Voice on NBC every Monday night at 8:00 p.m. ET.
