Blake Shelton is currently on his final season as a coach on The Voice, a farewell that is bittersweet for him. The Oklahoma native is grateful not only for his time on the reality TV talent show, but the way The Voice has opened up avenues for other aspiring singers, avenues that weren’t available to him at the beginning of his career.
“That’s what I love about it,” Shelton says on the Today Show. “Artists like me who’ve been doing this for a million years, there’s just never really been a path to pass along all the stuff I’ve learned over the years to younger people and now I’m able to pass along some things that I’ve learned along the way — especially mistakes I’ve made along the way. So that’s been, probably, my favorite part about being a coach on here. And the reason I would say, ‘Come try out, you know, give it a shot.’”
Shelton recently revealed that his decision to leave The Voice after 23 seasons was in large part because of his wife, Gwen Stefani, and his desire to be more present in the lives of his three stepsons, from her first marriage to Gavin Rossdale.
“If I walked away from my career at this time, the only thing that I run the risk of is having regrets that I’m missing out on some more important things in life,” Shelton tells People. “For now, that’s our kids. This isn’t about me anymore and never will be again.
“Even though I’m a stepparent, I take that job very seriously,” he continues. “The kids see me as a very important person in their life. [When they ask], ‘Why isn’t Blake here?’ I take that stuff to heart. I’ve made plenty of money, but you can’t buy time back. I don’t want any regrets.”
Still, while the 46-year-old is resolute in his decision to leave The Voice, he is already anticipating the wave of emotions he will feel during this season’s finale.
I don’t think it’s really gonna hit me until the last episode, because when you’re in it, you’re in it,” Shelton tells Entertainment Tonight. “But there’s been a few moments, especially in the Blind Auditions, it dawned on me, ‘That’s it. I’m never gonna beg somebody to be on my team again. I’m never gonna hit this button again.’ I didn’t cry or anything.”
“It’s probably going to be an emotional night, that last night,” he adds. “I mean, my God, it’s been 23 seasons, 12 years. I met my wife on there. Everything good that could come from something like that, I maxed it out.”
The Voice airs on NBC on Monday nights at 9:00 PM ET and Tuesday nights at 8:00 PM ET. Shelton has a few more dates on his Back to the Honky Tonk Tour, with Carly Pearce and Jackson Dean. Find music and tour dates at BlakeShelton.com.
Read ‘Blake Shelton: 11 Things To Know About the Country Music Superstar’ here.
