Heavy/NBC A season 23 judge is leaving "The Voice."
Country star Blake Shelton is preparing to say goodbye to “The Voice” after 23 seasons as a coach on the singing competition show.
On the March 28, 2023, episode, Shelton got a bit sentimental following a performance by contestants ALI and D. Smooth, from Team Kelly.
“That was just great music,” Shelton said, according to Entertainment Tonight. “That’s what I love about this job. That’s what I’m going to miss the most, is just sitting here with a front-row seat to some of the best concerts that anybody’s ever seen. That was one of them right there,” he added.
Later on in the show, coach Kelly Clarkson weighed in on Shelton’s upcoming departure from the series. “He is the ultimate coach on this show, everybody knows that. It’s a loss for ‘The Voice’, but also, it’s a gain for humanity, because you get to see less of him,” she joked.
Here’s what you need to know:
Blake Shelton Wants to Take His Coach Chair Home After the Season Wraps
As Shelton takes in his last season on “The Voice” and gets ready to close out an impressive run in reality television — at least for now — there’s one thing that he’s hoping that NBC will make happen for him.
Perhaps half joking, Shelton shared a video to his Instagram feed on April 4, 2023, in which he said that he’d like to take his large red chair home.
“You hear that @NBC?! You know what I want.. #TeamBlake,” he captioned the post. Sitting in that seat since 2011 has certainly left a big impression on the show — and on Shelton. Fans took to the comments section of Shelton’s post to react. With nine wins for #TeamBlake over the past decade plus, many feel Shelton has earned the right to keep his chair.
“The throne should go with the KING!” one Instagram user said.
“Come on NBC!!! Give Blake that chair!!! He deserves it!!!! GIVE BLAKE HIS CHAIR!!!!!” someone else wrote.
“NBC how about giving Blake Shelton the chair that he had for 23 .seasons, he earned it ,even if you cell it to the him .Blake is the voice , please let him keep the chair,” another fan added.
And it seems like Shelton may actually get to keep his chair, based on a comment from the official “Voice” Instagram account. “it’s a nice chair 👀,” the comment read.
Blake Shelton Announced His Decision to Leave ‘The Voice’ in an Instagram Post & Is Hoping to Spend More Time With His Family
In October 2022, Shelton took to Instagram to share his decision to leave “The Voice” after the current season.
“I’ve been wrestling with this for a while and I’ve decided that it’s time for me to step away from The Voice after season 23. This show has changed my life in every way for the better and it will always feel like home to me,” he wrote.
“It’s been a hell of a ride over these 12 years of chair turns and I want to thank everyone at The Voice from NBC, every producer, the writers, musicians, crew and catering people, you are the best,” he continued.
In December 2022, he told People magazine that part of the reason he’s leaving the show is because he wants to spend more time with his wife, Gwen Stefani, and her kids.
“It’s time to push some of this stuff out and let more family and personal life in,” he said.
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