It wasn’t hard to see in Blake Shelton’s final seasons on The Voice that the country music star was getting frustrated by some aspects of the show, but we may not have known the extent of what he was going through. He recently revealed it took him quite a while to get moving again following his exit after Season 23, so now that he’s got a new singing competition in the works, it’s so good to hear how motivated he sounds.
Blake Shelton Says He Was Burned Out After Leaving The Voice
Blake Shelton and Yellowstone mastermind Taylor Sheridan are combining forces for The Road (coming to the 2025 TV schedule as part of CBS’ fall lineup), which will give contestants the opportunity to open for Keith Urban on tour. It’s somewhat surprising that the cowboy would sign onto another singing competition after he’s made it pretty clear he’s not returning to The Voice. Shelton got real with People about just how exhausted he was after 23 seasons on NBC, saying:
It took about a year before I even was open to the idea of, 'What's next?'
Blake Shelton said he really — “and I mean really” — indulged in not being on television after giving up his spot as one of The Voice coaches. So should we be worried that he’ll face the same kind of burnout with The Road?
Blake Shelton Has Regained His Motivation To Help Up-And-Coming Singers
Leaving the NBC singing competition allowed Blake Shelton to focus on his wife Gwen Stefani and her three sons as they spent time on his Oklahoma farm. And while he’s still doing his own music, he said he’s been really mindful about the projects he agrees to. The “God’s Country” singer told People:
I don't really feel like I'm in the race anymore. I don't feel like I have anything to prove anymore, and it's just fun for me. If young up-and-coming artists ever look to me for advice or something, I damn sure have plenty of it to give.
It’s so good to hear that Blake Shelton is feeling less pressure and having more fun with his music, and I absolutely love to hear how important it is to continue helping budding artists. That’s especially true given that his sentiment above is exactly the opposite of what he was saying in his final seasons of The Voice.
When giving feedback to his team members, he would say he had run out of advice to give after 23 seasons, and Gwen Stefani echoed those words when explaining the reason Blake Shelton left, saying, “there's only so many times you can repeat yourself.”
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I absolutely love how motivated he sounds, especially knowing how far he’s gone to help his Voice team members even after their season had ended. That’s clearly a passion for him, and while it’s tough to hear how much he struggled to get back out there after The Voice, this makes me really excited to see what he can do for the hopefuls on The Road.
CBS’ singing competition with Keith Urban is set to premiere at 9 p.m. ET Sundays on the network and can be streamed the next day with a Paramount+ subscription.