Following Blake Shelton‘s exit from The Voice at the end of Season 23, John Legend is now the longest-tenured coach on the NBC singing competition series. But could the country star ever return to the hot seat?
“I feel like Gwen [Stefani] is the only chance we have. I don’t think Blake is coming back,” Legend said with a laugh when speaking with Entertainment Tonight. “He is staying on the farm; he’s enjoying himself.”
“I’ve talked to him and he’s, like, picking corn. He sent us some fresh corn from the farm, he sent us some fresh peaches from the farm, we made peach cobbler,” the EGOT winner continued. “I don’t think he has any desire to come back to Hollywood and film The Voice.”
Even though a Voice reunion seems out of the question, Legend said he still regularly keeps in touch with his former co-stars.
“We have different group chats for each combo of coaches, and then Chrissy [Teigen, Legend’s wife], Gwen, and Blake and I have a group chat where we’re just couples talking,” he shared. “We usually stay in touch with each other and we’re friends. It’s just a good vibe with all the other coaches.”
The Voice has seen several departures in recent years, with Shelton, Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, and Niall Horan all exiting as coaches. But Legend remains committed to the show as he now coaches alongside Reba McEntire, Chance the Rapper, and Dan + Shay.
“I love coaching on The Voice,” he stated. “I love working with our artists, just seeing people’s dreams come true through this show, giving them all the advice I’ve gotten over the years, helping them learn from all the experiences that I’ve had over the years. It’s a lot of fun for me.”
Legend is the only current coach with a win to his name, but he knows the competition is strong.
“[Reba’s] obviously very seasoned in her career, she’s done everything from television to many, many, many, many, many hit songs over her career and performing on every stage you can imagine,” the “Ordinary People” singer said. “She just brings such a wealth of experience and expertise to our show. We’re so lucky to have her.”
Meanwhile, he said Dan + Shay bring that “new coach fire,” explaining, “They’re trying to win. We definitely battled back and forth when it came to the blind auditions, and yeah, they’ve got the fire. They want to win.”
The Voice continues with the Battle Rounds tonight, Tuesday, March 19.
The Voice, Season 25, Mondays, 8/7c & Tuesdays, 9/8c, NBC (Next day on Peacock)
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