‘The Voice’: Gwen Stefani Speaks out About Replacing Adam Levine

It wasn’t long ago that The Voice announced that Gwen Stefani would be replacing Adam Levine on the hit singing competition, but since then, she’s remained silent until now.

Stefani was a guest this morning on The Talk and finally broke her silence.

“I have not even posted, I haven’t talked about it yet, because it was such a shock,” Stefani said respectfully. “I wanted to come back so bad. I mean, the show is so fun. And, Adam’s actually the first person to reach out to me when they were trying to pitch me the show, he texted me out of nowhere, and I didn’t even really know him.”

“To think that he’s not gong to be there is like bittersweet. And plus, being between him and Blake [Shelton – her boyfriend], the amount of laughter, I would have to like stop and massage my face, because it would hurt,” she continued. “But it’s going to be fun, it’s going to be exciting. I mean, Blake’s my best friend, so I get to hang out with him at work.”

“I’m happy for Adam, because he’s been doing it 16 seasons…. He has his baby. He’s going to be able to go on tour and do music in a different kind of way. It’s exciting for me though.”

The Voice initially announced the exciting news via Twitter, posting, “Our friend and coach Adam Levine made the decision not to return next season. We’re going to miss Adam, but The Voice is family and with family it’s ‘see you soon,’ never ‘goodbye.’ Gwen Stefani returns with Kelly, John and Blake on the Voice stage this fall. Join us in welcoming back Gwen, and sharing our heartfelt gratitude to Adam!”

It didn’t take long for Levine to open up after the news was announced. He took to Instagram to share his feelings with fans so they weren’t left in the dark.

“About 8 years ago, Mark Burnett convinced us to sing 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. [Heart emoji] We had no idea what we were doing or where it was going,” it started off.

After a long and heartfelt post, he ended with acknowledging his good buddy Shelton.

“And, BLAKE F—IN’ 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 meant EVERYTHING. And Lastly, I’d like to thank my manager Jordan for convincing me to take that meeting. [smiley face emoji] What an amazing ride. Thank you all so much. [Heart emoji] Adam.”