Adam Levine to exit 'The Voice,' Gwen Stefani is back for season 17

Laura Galvan
Updated

Adam Levine is out.

Carson Daly announced on the "Today" show Friday morning that the Maroon 5 frontman will not return to season 17 of NBC's "The Voice." This is the first time that Levine as opted out of a season, appearing on the show from the start alongside Blake Shelton.

"After 16 seasons Adam Levine, our beloved coach and friend, has decided to leave 'The Voice.' Adam was one of the original coaches that launched the show, winning the competition three times and inspiring many of the artists that he worked so closely with over the years. Of course, many of the viewers will mis watching his frenemy relationship with Blake Shelton. He will always be cherished member of 'The Voice family,' and of course we wish him nothing but the best," Daly revealed.

Levine won the first ever season of the show with singer Javier Colon, and then again in season 5 with Tessanne Chin and on season 9 with Jordan Smith.

Taking his place is Gwen Stefani who will return for the upcoming season. Stefani met boyfriend and "Voice" co-star Blake Shelton after she appeared on singing competition show from 2014-2016. The No Doubt singer was a coach on seasons 7, 9, 12 and an advisor on seasons 8 and 10.

Shelton, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson are also set to return in the big red chairs.

Hours after the announcement, Levine took to his Instagram to share a heartfelt message about his time on the show, calling Shelton his "brother for life." The 40-year-old singer said "The Voce" was "a life shaping experience that will be close to my heart forever."

View this post on Instagram

About 8 years ago, Mark Burnett convinced us to sign up for this show where you sit in a big red chair with your back turned away from the singers on the stage. First thank you must go to Mark. ❤️ We had no idea what we were doing or where it was going. After the first day of shooting, I sat there, stunned. I said to myself “theres some magic here. Something is definitely happening.” It went on to be a life shaping experience that will be close to my heart forever. Thank you NBC for signing me up. I am truly honored to have been a part of something I’ll always cherish for the rest of my life. Thank you to every single coach I ever sat in those chairs with. That is shared experience that is singularly ours. We have that for life. Thank you to everyone who supported this long strange and amazing left turn into a place I never thought I’d go. Thank you Carson Daly for babysitting the musicians and making sure our shoes were tied and we had our lunch boxes. You are the backbone of this thing and we appreciate you more than you know. Audrey, thank you for being perhaps the most patient person in all the free world. 4 musicians all at once is a lot. Sainthood is imminent. Thank you to Paul Mirkovich and the band for their ridiculously hard work and learning more songs than maybe any band ever. 😂 Thank you to the people behind the scenes who do the real work and make this machine hum. To the amazingly talented vocalists who competed on the show and blew my mind on a daily basis. And, BLAKE FUCKIN’ SHELTON. I couldn’t hide my love for you if I tried. Seriously. I tried. Can’t do it. Our friendship is and always will be one for the books. Whatever this whole surreal experience was, Im just happy I got to experience it with you. You’re my brother for life. Kelly and John, take care of the cowboy and I’m sure I’ll be back to say hi very very soon. So much love to you both. And lastly, to all of the loyal voice fans, there’s literally no show without you guys. For me, it was time to move on. Your support has meant EVERYTHING. And Lastly, I’d like to thank my manager Jordan for convincing me to take that meeting. 😊 What an amazing ride. Thank you all so much. ❤️ Adam

A post shared by Adam Levine (@adamlevine) on May 24, 2019 at 8:12am PDT

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