Blake Shelton Says People Want Him ‘Off’ Their Television

Heavy/NBC Blake Shelton

Longtime “The Voice” coach Blake Shelton insists fans are ready for him to get off their television screens.

Shelton has been a staple on the show as a coach since it debuted in 2011. After 23 seasons, the country music star is ready to move on. With “The Voice” wrapping on May 23, Shelton is officially on his farewell tour. And while speaking with Extra, Shelton likened himself to “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak, who has occupied a television timeslot as a gameshow host since 1981.

“I think people are finally going, ‘I’ll finally get that guy off my TV,'” Shelton said. “I’ll start watching the show again.’ I just think it’s time for what’s next in my life. … I’ve been on the show I guess … 12 years, 13 years, but 23 seasons, I don’t think ‘The Simpsons’ have been on that long have they? … I feel like Pat Sajak. I’m Pat Sajak. Me and Pat Sajak have been on TV as much as each other.”

Only five contestants are left on NBC‘s flagship singing competition show. And they will battle it out for the trophy during the two-part finale, which is set to air on May 22 and 23. Shelton isn’t the only coach leaving “The Voice.”

Season 24 will feature Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani, John Legend and current coach Niall Horan sitting in the coveted red chairs, meaning Shelton, Chance the Rapper and Kelly Clarkson will not reprise their roles.

Blake Shelton’s Decision to Leave ‘The Voice’ Is a ‘Life Choice,’ Not a ‘Career Choice’

Shelton said that above all else, he’ll miss the relationships he’s built with “The Voice” family, including those who work on-stage and off-stage. But, he said, it was time for him to move on with his life.

“Just all the friendships,” Shelton said. “The people that you see on camera that I’ve become friends with that if you watch the show, you know who they are, but so many friends that I’ve made — even more behind the scenes. I just won’t see them much anymore, and some of them maybe ever again, just knowing how this business goes, you know? So that’s a tough reality, but we all have to kind of move on and do what we got to do.

“This isn’t a career choice, this is just a life choice for me and it’s just, it’s time for what’s next.”

Since announcing his departure from the show in October 2022, Shelton has said he wants to spend more time on his Oklahoma ranch with his family, including wife Gwen Stefani.

“There’s no way around it. If you’re going to do it and do it right, you have to be 150 percent in,” Shelton told “Access Hollywood” of his role on “The Voice” in January 2023. “And I just feel like those days are behind me for now. I got a more important job.”

“I think being a stepdad has changed my perspective in that I’m not the first person that I think about anymore,” he said.

“It’s a lot of time away from the family, those kinds of things. I think he just got to a point where he just wants time in his ranch, like time to just do the other things that he loves to do,” Stefani told Extra in November 2022.

But just as Shelton is stepping away from the huge time commitment of the show, Stefani announced on May 15 that she’s rejoining “The Voice” as a coach for season 24, starting in fall 2023.

And Shelton’s not just going to be hanging out at home; USA Network announced in March that it was renewing his collaboration with Carson Daly, “Barmageddon,” which brings celebrities to his Nashville bar, Ole Red.

Shelton Feels ‘Undeserving’ of His Hollywood Walk of Fame Star

Shelton, an eight-time Grammy-nominated artist, received a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame this month. But, he told Extra he felt “undeserving” of the honor relative to names like Marilyn Monroe.

“It’s a little bit weird to have the star on the Walk of Fame because, like, literally, I heard names like Lassie and … these names that … you’re born knowing — like Marilyn Monroe and people like that — and so to see my name on that sidewalk is just shocking to me and feels a little bit undeserving, to be honest with you.

“But if 10,000 bad tabloid covers is paying dues, then I’ve earned that damn thing.”