After 16 seasons as a coach on NBC's "The Voice," musician Adam Levine is leaving the show, host Carson Daly announced Friday morning on TODAY.
Daly also revealed that singer Gwen Stefani will return to the red chair for season 17 of the show. Levine had previously been announced as part of the season 17 lineup of coaches along with Blake Shelton, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson.
Daly said it was Levine's decision to leave the show and added that "he'll always be a cherished member of 'The Voice' family and of course we wish him well."
Hours after the announcement, Levine opened up about leaving the show in a lengthy Instagram post in which he thanked the shows producers, NBC and the other judges for the "life shaping experience that will be close to my heart forever," but said it was also "time to move on."
"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. 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 'theres some magic here. Something is definitely happening'...I am truly honored to have been a part of something I’ll always cherish for the rest of my life," he wrote.
The show hinted in a tweet Friday that you may not have seen the last of Levine on "The Voice."
"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,'" the post on "The Voice's" official Twitter account said.
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It continued, "Gwen Stefani returns with Kelly, John, and Blake on the Voice stage this fall. Join us in welcoming back Gwen, and sharing out heartfelt gratitude to Adam!"
Viewers will miss watching his frenemy banter with fellow coach Shelton, the most-winning coach in "Voice" history. Shelton's reaction to news of Levine's departure was indicative of their love-hate relationship.
"Having a hard time wrapping my head around @adamlevine not being at @NBCTheVoice anymore. After 16 seasons that changed both of ours lives. I only found out about this yesterday and it hasn’t set in on me yet. Gonna miss working with that idiot," he tweeted.
Levine reciprocated those sentiments in his Instagram post, calling Shelton his "brother for life."
The Maroon 5 frontman was one of the original coaches that helped launch the singing competition show in 2011. The "Sugar" crooner won the first season of "The Voice," when Team Levine's neo-soul singer Javier Colon beat out Dia Frampton. Levine went on to coach two more winners during his tenure on the show.
"The Voice" season 17 will return to NBC this fall.
