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Kelly Clarkson Weighs In On Adam Levine’s The Voice Exit Drama

Photo: Courtesy of NBC.
Last week, Adam Levine announced that he was leaving The Voice after 16 seasons and people immediately began speculating. Rumors swirled that his departure was in response to a bunch of rule changes that went down behind the scenes, including one that was implemented after season 15 that stopped coaches from automatically going to the Live Playoffs with the same number of team members. That particular rule change left Levine without any singers by the semifinals and made him “very difficult” during the taping, according to Page Six. However, Kelly Clarkson suspects there's a different, more benign, reason Levine is leaving: his family.
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The singer spoke to Extra before the Indy 500, saying that she "found out the night before everybody else found out" and that it was "kind of a shocking thing."
"But I kind of get it," she continued. "He’s been doing it for eight years — that’s a long time. He’s got a couple kids. Still has a career. Still touring. It’s a very rigorous schedule fitting everything in."
As for Clarkson, "it’ll be weird going to work," but she'll likely have just a great of a time with Levine's replacement, Gwen Stefani. After all, she's not a new face to the program. In addition to dating fellow coach Blake Shelton, she also coached seasons 7, 9 and 12.
In a lengthy goodbye to the show on Instagram, Levine called the show a "life shaping experience that will be close to my heart forever" and thanked everyone involved.
"To all of the loyal Voice fans, there’s literally no show without you guys," he continued. "For me, it was time to move on. Your support has meant EVERYTHING."
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

Season 17 of The Voice returns later this year with Clarkson, Stefani, Shelton, and John Legend as coaches.
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