Why Blake Shelton is Leaving The Voice
Blake Shelton is leaving The Voice after the 2023 spring cycle, but he’s gearing up for more stiff competition on his new USA Today series Barmageddon. The country singer opened up with Extra about the timing of his The Voice exit and the role his wife Gwen Stefani played in the decision.
Barmageddon co-stars Carson Daly and Nikki Bella who were also on hand to chat about their new venture.
Blake made the decision to leave The Voice “a couple of years ago”
“I made the decision to leave The Voice probably a couple of years ago,” Blake confessed. “Then, it was just actually doing it.”
He continued, “I knew it was time. I knew that I needed to take a step back. [The Voice has] just completely taken over my life!”
But Blake isn’t exactly complaining about the all encompassing pull of The Voice. “It’s been the greatest thing for my career ever. It’s been a blessing,” However, he added, “It was just time.”
Feeling a commitment to The Voice team, Blake found it hard to finally make the decision. “The trouble with it is walking away from this team that has counted on me for all these years to be there. I just wanted to be sure I did it at the right time where I didn’t leave people hanging.”
The COVID-19 pandemic also influenced the timing of his exit. “That would have been a bad time to walk away,” he said.
Wife Gwen Stefani knew before anybody about Blake’s decision to leave. “I had to clear it through Gwen. I didn’t tell Gwen, I had to clear it!” But in all seriousness, Blake added, “She was OK with it.”
“It’s a lot of brain power. It’s a lot of time away from the family”
In a separate interview with Extra Gwen explained that husband Blake was ready for a break. “I think he just wants more time. I don’t know if people realize if he’s doing two seasons a year, in between that he’s touring. So he actually has two teams at the same time at a certain point, they overlap. It’s a lot of brain power. It’s a lot of time away from the family. Those kinds of things, he just got to a point, he just wants time at his ranch time to do the other things he loves to do.”
How does Carson feel about his pal Blake leaving the show? “I secretly hoped that he was going to leave sooner,” Carson laughed. “He’s a lot at this point.” Carson went on to compare Blake to a hard-of-hearing grandpa who’s always screaming “huh?” when Carson asks him questions.
‘”I think that has more to do with the sound of your voice, Blake quipped in return.
Blake told People magazine that with Barmageddon the team was aiming for a “real-life The Hangover. We wanted to try to capture that in a TV show with people that we know.”
The games begin on ‘Barmageddon December 5 on USA Network at 11 pm.
