Adam Levine’s new show debuts days after 'The Voice' exit: What he said about 'Songland' (Exclusive)

Jennifer Drysdale‍
Updated

Just days after his shocking exit from The Voice, Adam Levine's new show is premiering on NBC.

The Maroon 5 frontman is an executive producer on the new reality competition, Songland, in which songwriters are given the chance to work with producers and well-known recording artists to create a hit.

Unlike The Voice, the show won't have any viewer voting or live shows -- or appearances by Levine, who is keeping his role more behind-the-scenes this time around. But while speaking with ET's Sophie Schillaci in January, the singer said his new show "sells itself."

"It's so authentic," he said of the series, which will show producers Ryan Tedder, Ester Dean and Shane McAnally collaborating with songwriters each week. "It's a fascinating look in to how it goes down, and I can assure you that is how it goes down. At least major aspects of it are represented on the show, and it's amazing."

"It's very real. It's very special, because there's really nothing like it, and I think people are going to really enjoy it because they've never seen it from this particular angle before," Levine added.

A famous guest artist will make an appearance each week, and on the first episode, it's Voice alum John Legend. "They had some songwriters come in and pitch me songs," he recalled of the experience. "We worked with the songwriters to kind of hone the songs, and then I picked a final song to record and I can't wait for everyone to hear it. I thought it came out great."

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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

Weeks before his Voice departure, Levine said Songland holds a special place in his heart as an artist.

"I think that shedding light on who the songwriter is in all of this is a really fascinating thing. I don't think people understand what it's like being a songwriter, what they go through, what their process is, how they do it, the process of them finding an artist to connect it to -- which is something that was relatively new for me," he told ET earlier this month. "I didn't really go there until halfway through our fourth album or something, then I started collaborating on stuff."

"But once I started delving into it, I realized this is an amazing world and it's a beautiful way to shed light on that process that almost nobody sees," Levine shared.

Voice host Carson Daly announced on last Friday's Today show that Levine would be exiting the singing show after 16 seasons -- despite him being previously confirmed to return. Levine said on Instagram that it was "time to move on" and Daly appeared to shed more light on the situation this week.

"We knew our coaches would leave," he explained. "[Levine] been on for a long time, but hey, he's got children now, Maroon 5 tours a lot."

Levine's wife, Behati Prinsloo, also seemed to hint that maybe more kids were in her and Levine's future during her Tuesday appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The pair are already parents to 2-year-old Dusty Rose and 1-year-old Gio Grace.

"Adam wants five," Prinsloo said. "I thought I wanted five, but now I think maybe like three or four."

"Adam can't have everything," she added of changing her mind on how many kids she wants. "I'm carrying them."

Songland premieres Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. See more on Levine in the video below.

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