‘The Voice’: Niall Horan Says He’s Not Coming Back After Tough Decision

Is Niall Horan ready to call it quits on The Voice? A new preview of a Team Niall Battle shows Michael B. and Ryley Tate Wilson performing an impressive rendition of Giveon’s “Heartbreak Anniversary” that leaves the rookie coach in a troubling situation. “That was one of the best performances we’ve seen in the Battle Rounds,” Chance the Rapper remarks. “Michael, I don’t know how you weren’t a four-chair turn,” Kelly Clarkson adds, and Blake Shelton replies, “I don’t think I was here that day.” However, their coach has to decide who wins and loses the Battle or utilize his Playoff Pass. Horan is in a state of indecision. “If they ask me to come back, I’m not coming back,” he quips. “Because I cannot tell you how hard this is.” Horan calls the duo’s performance “off the charts” and praises them for the song before lamenting how tough it is to choose a winner.

All the season 23 coaches shared their excitement about being on the show for Shelton’s final season with Entertainment Tonight ahead of the premiere. “I texted him,” Clarkson said. “If he was gonna do a last season, I wanted to make sure I was there.” Even so, she insists she won’t let sentimentality get in the way of her competitive spirit. “If [Blake] wins, I am very happy for him, because that is super cool to win on the last season, and he’s literally the show, from its conception,” she admitted. “But, like, I’m not, like, rooting for him to win. I’ll be happy for him if he does, but I’m obviously trying to win myself.”

The show’s new coaches, Horan and Chance, said they were ready to work hard against Team Blake. Niall comes into the competition with a huge social media presence — the former One Direction singer has over 30 million Instagram followers. Despite that fact, according to him, the goal is to help “nurture” young talent going through a similar process to what he went through on The X Factor UK. “I know exactly what it’s like to be [on a show like this], especially for the younger ones,” he shared. “Like, I was on that show when I was 16, so I know exactly how it feels… I just want to nurture them a little bit and kind of make sure [they] enjoy it. I think that’s the biggest thing for me.”