It’s a round of Voice musical chairs!
Alicia Keys is leaving NBC’s hit singing competition show as a judge next season, and while Blake Shelton is sad to see her go, it sounds like the country star doesn’t believe it’s goodbye forever.
“I’ve looked ahead,” said Shelton during an interview with Entertainment Tonight on Monday. “This is like those Harry Potter movies. Those characters that you think are gone, then they come back. Alicia … I’ve already looked ahead on the script, and they have her coming back.”
“Seeing as I’m his main competition, I’m sure he’s happy to see me go,” added Keys, 36. “So he doesn’t have to feel such a stress and pressure every time he works with me.”
Shelton also sounded off on his girlfriend Gwen Stefani exiting the show next season (Jennifer Hudson and Miley Cyrus are taking a turn in the red chairs instead).
Just “being in the vicinity of her is unbelievable,” gushed Shelton, who had Stefani by his side Sunday night while he picked up the top country artist award at the Billboard Music Awards. “Oh my God, at some point, it kinda builds your ego up when you walk into a room with Gwen. But also it’s a crashing blow to your ego when you realize all the cheers and people shouting at ya. You realize it’s not you, it’s her! But it’s still exciting at the same time.”
Shelton jokingly confessed he’s relieved Cyrus and his pal Kelly Clarkson — who’s joining the show in 2018 — are on different seasons.
“I can tell you that I used to think Miley Cyrus would be the person that talks the most, ever in the history of this show,” he said. “Now that they brought in Kelly Clarkson … oh my God. Oh my God. Thank God they are at least on different seasons because my ears would fall off my head. There would be no oxygen left in the room. Neither one of them can stop talking.”