After sixteen seasons as a panelist on the singing competition show, Adam Levine is leaving The Voice. Developed in the wake of American Idol’s explosion in popularity, The Voice arrived on NBC in 2011. The show, based on the Dutch series The Voice of Holland, features a unique format where celebrity panelists critique the various contestants and then guide the chosen few through subsequent rounds until a single winner is ultimately crowned.
The first season of The Voice featured a four-person panel made up of Gnarls Barkley’s CeeLo Green, Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine, country star Blake Shelton and R&B singer Christina Aguilera. Various other coaches have circulated through over the years, including Shakira, Usher, Gwen Stefani, Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys. Only Levine and Shelton have stuck it out the whole way, developing a friendly on-screen rivalry over the years.
But now The Voice is in for a huge shake up as Levine is getting set to exit the show, host Carson Daly revealed on the Today Show Friday. Former panelist Gwen Stefani will return to fill Levine’s shoes for the upcoming 17th season, Daly also announced. The four-person panel for season 17 is made up of Stefani together with returning stars Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend. In an Instagram post, Adam Levine said goodbye to the show he helped make popular. Levine’s co-star Blake Shelton also expressed his regret over Levine’s departure. See both posts below:
Though both messages express upbeat sentiments, it appears Levine’s exit was actually somewhat acrimonious. As reported by TV Line, Levine angered NBC brass when he made a disinterested appearance alongside his Voice co-stars at the NBC Upfronts presentation on May 13 at Radio City Music Hall. A day before that, Levine was said to be “very difficult” during a taping of the season 16 semi-finals, reportedly expressing frustration over having to show up for the taping even though he had no singers left in his stable. In previous seasons, all coaches were guaranteed to have singers remaining in the race by the semi-final round, but a change to the rules left Levine with no competitors left to coach.
Behind-the-scenes drama is of course nothing new for reality competition shows, and indeed that drama often makes it on-air as well, as it’s usually good for ratings for judges to be at least a little hostile toward one another as the contests play out. In this case, however, it seems the drama got a little too real for everyone involved. Though Adam Levine is now officially gone (and seems like he will be happy to be gone), The Voice will indeed carry on for a 17th season on NBC.
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Source: Today Show, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, TVLine
