John Legend is not returning for Season 26 of The Voice. After being a judge for multiple seasons, the names of the judges were released, and Legend’s name was not on it.

The Man, The Myth, The John Legend

John Legend is a singer/songwriter and pianist. Legend is well-known for his song, ‘All of Me.’ The popular musician was the first African American man to win all four major North American entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT).

Legend is married to model Chrissy Teigen. Together, the couple has four kids. Their first child and daughter, Luna, was born in April 2016. They had their first baby boy, Miles, in May 2018. Teigen, unfortunately, had a miscarriage in 2020.

However, they got their second daughter Esti in January 2023 and their youngest son Wren was born from a surrogate in June 2023. The family is very close as Legend’s newest album is inspired by his wife and kids.

Legend is also well known for being a judge on The Voice. The legend first joined the series as a judge in 2019 for Season 16 and won the competition. Moreover, he was a judge every season after that except 23. He became the senior judge for Season 24 after Blake Shelton left.

Is This Goodbye?

The judges returning for Season 26 of The Voice are Reba McEntire and Gwen Stefani. Furthermore, they will be joined by first-time judges, Michael Bublé and Snoop Dogg. Fans were disappointed that Legend would not be returning this season.

Legend won’t be on the show because he wants to focus some more on his music. Despite his long run with the show, he is choosing to do more performing and traveling. Additionally, the performer said he is going to do a lot of live concerts this year. He has a lot of shows planned in both the US and outside of the US.

Thus, he wouldn’t be able to fully commit to the upcoming season of The Voice. Legend is happy with the judges chosen for this season. He always believed that new judges should be introduced throughout the seasons and with his leave of absence, it’s the perfect time to introduce judges with different backgrounds and opinions.

The EGOT winner believes the changes brought by introducing new judges will prevent the viewers from finding the show boring. Moreover, he believes the variety of different coaches will allow for new plans, methods, and feelings. Thus, improving the experience and guidance for the hopeful performers.

The famous singer is not saying that he will never come back. Hopefully, this means fans will get to root for Team Legend sometime soon.

Until his return, fans can watch this season of The Voice on NBC starting Monday, September 23rd at 8 pm. Additionally, the series will be available for next-day streaming on Peacock.

What do you think about John Legend’s leave of absence? Will he return? Let us know in the comments below.