Getty Singers Blake Shelton and Adam Levine.
Adam Levine left The Voice in 2019, and his exit came as a surprise to many fans. Those behind-the-scenes on the show, however, have hinted at the reasons that may have caused him to leave the show.
TV Line reported in 2019 that Adam Levine and the rest of the coaches on The Voice were set to pre-tape the Semifinals for season 16 on a Sunday, but Levine did not want to go to the taping as he had no artists left on his team. The next day, all four coaches were set to appear and perform at the NBC Upfronts Presentation in New York.
Sources told TV Line that Levine was being difficult and did not want to attend the taping, and he reportedly expressed his frustration openly.
Levine’s Exit From ‘The Voice’ is Tied to Rule Changes
Ahead of the Season 16 premiere, there were some rule changes on The Voice, including one that made it so each coach would not necessarily have contestants going into the semifinals and finals of the show.
That year, the Knockout round was replaced with the “Live Cross Battles,” which ended up cutting Levine’s team down to four contestants. Then, each of his contestants were knocked out of the competition ahead of the semifinals. At one point, Levine spoke with a contestant about the rules.
“I still don’t understand how you’re not on my team,” he said on the episode. “I don’t think anybody does, just because it’s weird how it works now. I’m still learning the rules of the new show.”
During the next-day performance following the early taping of the semi-finals, Adam Levine did not live up to NBC’s expectations, a source told TV Line.
“Adam had been checked out for awhile,” the source said. “But, this was a new low. It was essentially the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Another source told TV Line that NBC was embarrassed about the way Levine behaved at the performances.
Levine Said He Needed a Break
In May 2019, Levine announced that he would be leaving The Voice and Gwen Stefani would step back in as a coach in his place.
Host Carson Daly reported the news, saying, “Of course many viewers will miss watching his frenemy relationship with Blake Shelton. He’ll always be a cherished member of The Voice family, and of course, we wish him nothing but the best.”
Though he has mentioned that he misses being on the show, he also says that he’s happy he took a break from the non-stop lifestyle he’d been living.
On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Levine said, “I miss [The Voice]. I really do miss it. We all know how I feel about Blake. You know, that guy. But I wanted to stop at this point and be with my young family.” About his children, he said, “I’m obsessed with them. I adore them in a way I never thought I could adore another person.”
He said that he would love to return to the show at some point in the future, even though he absolutely loved doing “little more than sitting around the house” more than he loved getting a paycheck from The Voice, which was reportedly around $30 million.
The Voice airs on Monday and Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
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