Blake Shelton doesn’t see himself returning to The Voice.
ET’s Cassie DiLaura spoke to the singer at the grand opening of Ole Red Las Vegas on Wednesday, and Shelton, 47, revealed why he likely won’t come back to the competition series, which he starred on for 23 seasons over 12 years.
“I miss the people. I mean, those people became like family to me, literally from the crew all up to the producers of the show. I was with them more than I was with my family… I miss that,” Shelton said, before noting that he doesn’t “miss the job at all.”
“I totally needed a break from that, because if I wasn’t into it then it wasn’t good for whoever was on my team. I don’t want to be someone who’s just going through the motions. Those artists need somebody fighting for them,” Shelton, who had nine wins over his tenure, said. “The second I started feeling like, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t even remember what season this is anymore. Who are the coaches on this season?’ [I knew that] I needed [to get] away from here.”
Since he departed the series last year, Shelton said that “every day feels a little bit better,” adding, “I feel better about that decision.” Only one thing would bring him back, though — if NBC managed to wrangle a return from the other three original coaches: Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green.
“If they were ever able to put together the original four coaches again, maybe [I’d return] for one season, a one-off,” he said. “That would be fun for me… That would be something I would be interested in doing.”
CeeLo Green, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton pose together for The Voice.
Though he might not step into the coach’s chair again, Shelton is grateful for his time on the show, largely because it’s where he met his wife, Gwen Stefani, who came on board in season 7.
“The first season she was on The Voice we met [but] we really didn’t talk that much,” he recalled. “… If you would’ve told me the first season that we met that what was gonna happen, I would’ve been like, ‘No, we actually don’t even have anything to even talk about. What are you talking about?’ It’s crazy how things work out.”
Since then, the couple has built a life together personally and professionally, much to Shelton’s delight.
“When you find that life partner, that missing piece you didn’t know what was missing… it’s like, ‘Golly, you can go ahead and kill me if this ever goes away or ends or something happens. There’s no going back now,'” he said.
In fact, Stefani was on hand for the grand opening of Ole Red’s latest outpost, taking the stage alongside Shelton in Las Vegas.
“Any time I play anymore, people have in the back of their mind, ‘I wonder if she’s here. If she is here, is she gonna sing?’ I know they’re thinking about it,” he said. “Last night, I barely even mentioned we have a special guest, and, of course, people knew. This place is a big deal for Gwen, too. She had family here last night for the grand opening that she hadn’t seen in a little while, so it’s all in the family.”
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton perform together in Nashville in Feb. 2024.
As for the venue itself, Shelton said it “felt like home.”
“You don’t expect there to be this country music honky tonk right here on the strip, but it’s here and it feels like it’s here to stay,” he said. “… It really does feel like you’ve stepped in through a portal and you’re in Nashville when you come through the doors, which is so perfect for Las Vegas because country music has always had a place here… I think it’s gonna be great for the country music industry to have this home base here in Vegas.”
