Blake Shelton Jokes It’s ‘Unacceptable’ That Nick Jonas is Replacing Gwen Stefani on ‘The Voice’

Nick Jonas is set to step in as the fourth coach on The Voice for Season 18 in the spring, and current coach Gwen Stefani will vacate her chair for the season when Jonas arrives to coach alongside Blake Shelton, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the CMA Awards in Nashville on Wednesday, Shelton joked about Jonas stepping in to fill Stefani’s place on the show.

“He’s going down!” the “God’s Country” singer exclaimed. “He replaced my girlfriend and that’s unacceptable.”

“We’re gonna settle this on the stage, coach to coach,” he added. “He’s going down.”

Shelton previously joked around with Jonas when the 27-year-old announced his new gig during an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

“Nick Jonas! How you doin’ buddy?” Shelton said in a video message. “I heard you’re going to be a new coach on The Voice and I wanted to say congratulations, I guess. But second of all, voice some concerns that I have. I have to look through the rules because this is my TV show. I’m not sure that you’re even old enough to be a coach on The Voice, but I’m certain that you’re going to get your butt kicked.”

Jonas playfully clapped back, “As weird as it is, Blake, that I’m so young, it’s exciting to now have a 20-year career.”

As of this week, Jonas will be joining two of PEOPLE‘s Sexiest Man Alive winners when he becomes a coach. Shelton won the title in 2017 and Legend was announced by Shelton as this year’s winner during Tuesday’s episode of The Voice.

“As you may remember, I was the 2017 PEOPLE Magazine Sexiest Man Alive,” Shelton told the audience. “Because of that, it is my duty to formally introduce the next Sexiest Man Alive, and he just so happens to be here tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, the man, the myth, the legend! 2019 People Magazine Sexiest Man Alive, John Legend!”

“You already came into this show as an EGOT,” he continued, referencing Legend’s Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony wins. “Then you won The Voice so it became a VEGOT. Now you have a ‘VEGOTSMA.’ You’re the only one.”

Legend proudly accepted his gift and offered his sincere thanks to both PEOPLE and Shelton.

“I don’t know what to say. I want to thank, of course, PEOPLE magazine, but mostly I want to thank Blake Shelton, because I sat next to him for the last few months and I learned his sexy ways,” he said. “I observed every move he made, every utterance that came from his mouth and I think some of it rubbed off on me. I think that has everything to do with why we’re here today.”

Photo Credit: Getty / NBC