Christina Aguilera Weighs in on Adam Levine's 'The Voice' Exit

Christina Aguilera has had many things to say about why she left The Voice, but when it came time [...]

Christina Aguilera has had many things to say about why she left The Voice, but when it came time to speak on Adam Levine's sudden departure from the show she kept it pretty simple.

The singer, who recently opened her The Xperience residency at the Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, opened up about the Maroon 5 frontman leaving the NBC singing competition ahead of Season 17.

"I think it's gonna be great," Aguilera, who coached six seasons of The Voice since 2011 told Entertainment Tonight. "Yeah."

When she was asked about the decision to bring in Gwen Stefani as a replacement coach for Levine, Aguilera gave a similar response, simply telling the outlet: "I think it's great."

News of Levine's exit first broke in May, when The Voice host Carson Daly announced the exit during an appearance on Today.

"After 16 seasons, Adam Levine, our beloved coach and friend, has decided to leave The Voice," Daly said. "Adam was one of the original coaches that launched the show, winning the competition three times and inspiring many of the artists he worked closely with over the years."

"With Adam's departure you might be wondering, 'Well, who's going to be sitting in that coveted big, giant red chair?'" He added. "And I'm happy to share this morning that Gwen Stefani will be returning for season 17. Gwen has sat in the chair before. She met her current boyfriend, Blake Shelton, through the show and we're looking forward to having Gwen back."

Levine broke his silence on the news on social media a few hours later, writing a lengthy tribute to his 16 seasons on the singing competition series.

"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," he wrote. "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, 'There's some magic here. Something is definitely happening.' It went on to be a life shaping experience that will be close to my heart forever."

"BLAKE F–KIN' 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," he continued.

Levine added, "Whatever this whole surreal experience was, I'm just happy I got to experience it with you. You're my brother for life. Kelly [Clarkson] and John [Legend], 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."

Aguilera has been open about her decision to step away from The Voice. As she promoted her latest album, Liberation, she said the show had become a "hamster wheel."

"I signed on to a show where the blind audition element was something interesting, something genuine. After a while, though, you start to see that everyone is good-looking," she told W Magazine last year. "It wasn't a comfortable place for me to be, where I'm just part of a money-making machine. When I stop believing in something, then it's like, What am I doing here? I think I did choose to, no pun intended, take a chair for so long and do something very commercial for my little ones. But at a certain point I felt like I'm not even doing them a service by cheating myself and what I'm here to do. They should be seeing Mommy live her best life."

The Voice Season 17 will air in fall 2019 on NBC.

0comments