Sam Amico
Blake Shelton is leaving the panel of The Voice, something we’ve known since he revealed the decision late last year.
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So not only will the show lose a coach, but a pretend rival of fellow entertainer Kelly Clarkson.
Their banter will be gone. But Clarkson did her part to keep it alive for another day when asked about Shelton.
At first, of course, she offered praise, with Season 23 about reading to kick off.
“I actually have been talking to Blake a bit about this being his last season. And I’m like, ‘It’s not gonna hit you until afterwards. It’s gonna hit you. It’s been a part of your life for so long. And it’s gonna hit you after,'” Clarkson told NBC Insider. “I think he knows that, but I also think he knows that it’s time. He’s been doing it a long time, and I think it’s a really cool way that we all know he’s leaving so we get the time to, like — I mean, I can’t stand him, but I also love him.”
Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton
Can’t stand him, but love him?
That was Clarkson’s first fun-loving jab, but there was more to come.
“So we get the time to actually, like, lift him up and say how great he is. He is the ultimate coach on this show,” she added. Everybody knows that. He’s won the most, and he, honest to God, helps the Artists afterwards. And it’s an incredible thing that he’s done for so many artists. It’s a loss for The Voice.”
Then came the zinger.
“But it’s a gain for humanity because we get to see less of him,” she said. “So there’s that.”
Season 23 is set to premiere on March 6 on NBC and will be available on the Peacock streaming app. The back-and-forth between Shelton and Clarkson should be worth a watch.
“I’ve been wrestling with this for a while, and I’ve decided that it’s time for me to step away from The Voice after Season 23,” Shelton said in a statement announcing his departure. “This show has changed my life in every way for the better, and it will always feel like home to me. It’s been a hell of a ride over these 12 years of chair turns, and I want to thank everyone at The Voice from NBC, every producer, the writers, musicians, crew and catering people; you are the best.”
