‘The Voice’: Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson Joke About Adam Levine’s Exit Amid Fight Over Contestant

Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton‘s fun-natured feud continues on Monday night’s episode of The Voice. In a sneak peek from the episode, Clarkson and Shelton battle it out in order to get singer Keegan Ferrell on their team. Of course, as Entertainment Tonight pointed out, the two coaches engaged in some Adam Levine-adjacent banter as they attempted to get Ferrell to join their respective teams.

All of the coaches were impressed by Ferrell’s audition, as he put his vocals on display during his performance of Maroon 5’s “She Will Be Loved.” Although, only Clarkson and Shelton turned their chairs around, meaning that they would have to try to fight it out in order to win over Ferrell. The country singer wasted no time in talking about his connection to former Voice coach and Maroon 5 frontman, Levine, as a way to showcase that he’s the perfect choice of coach for the contestant. He tells Ferrell, “First of all, I happen to be buddies with the guy who wrote and sang that song.” However, Shelton went on to shade Clarkson a bit, as he joked that the talk show host got Levine “fired” since she is currently in his “chair.”

“And I want you to look for just a second at this coaching panel. Take note of who’s missing and who’s in that chair. Now I’m not saying Kelly Clarkson got Adam fired,” Shelton continued. Clarkson quickly interjected, saying, “‘Cause I didn’t! I just would love to be that powerful… You know what? Who do you want to go with? Powerful or weak.” The sneak peek did not show which team Ferrell decided to join. So, fans will have to tune in to The Voice on NBC on Monday night at 8 p.m. ET.

Clarkson and Shelton’s banter about Levine comes nearly two years after it was announced that the Maroon 5 singer would be leaving the NBC competition. In May 2019, The Voice‘s host, Carson Daly, made the announcement about Levine’s future with the show on Today. He said at the time, “After 16 seasons, Adam Levine our beloved coach and friend has decided to leave The Voice. 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.” Several singers have since joined the coaches’ panel in his place, including Nick Jonas and Gwen Stefani.