Blake Shelton Explains Why He Doesn't 'Miss' Coaching on “The Voice” Just Yet: 'I Stayed Too Long'
"I was planning on wrapping it up around 20 seasons or 21 seasons, and then obviously COVID hit," said the country star on 'The Jennifer Hudson Show'
After 23 seasons as a coach, Blake Shelton was more than ready to leave The Voice.
In a new interview on Friday's episode of The Jennifer Hudson Show, the country star revealed he doesn't miss The Voice just yet, explaining that he stayed longer at the NBC singing competition series than he originally planned.
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Host Jennifer Hudson asked Shelton, 47, if he misses being on the show, and he replied, "Not yet. I mean, I did that for 23 seasons."
The "Nobody But You" singer began coaching on The Voice when the show premiered in 2011 and remained on the panel until the end of season 23 earlier this year.
“To be totally honest about it, you know, I wasn’t even planning on being there that long," said Shelton. "I was planning on wrapping it up around 20 seasons or 21 seasons, and then obviously COVID hit, and then I didn’t want to walk out on the show in the middle of COVID and them trying to scramble and figure out what to do."
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He added, "So, I stayed. I didn’t have anything to do anyway, so I stayed a little bit longer. But I stayed too long for me to now miss it, I can promise you that."
However, Shelton didn't walk away from the series without a keepsake from the set. "I got my chair! I told them it was the one thing I wanted — besides a bunch of money," he quipped, "I wanted my red chair! So they did, they sent it to Oklahoma."
Elsewhere in the interview, the musician opened up about receiving a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in May, noting that he wasn't expecting the honor.
“It’s not something that a country singer dreams of. You know what I mean? Obviously I know what it is and what a big deal it is," said Shelton. "I just never thought something like that was the cards for me.”
He recalled being "in shock" upon learning the organization wanted to give him a star, before attributing the recognition to his time on The Voice — during which he also met his wife, Gwen Stefani.
"It all goes back to The Voice. The Voice connected everything," said Shelton. "It literally changed my life in so many ways. I mean, look at the family right there. That’s the No. 1 way it did.”
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