Blake Shelton shares he almost left The Voice a few years ago.

Tonight (3/6) is the premiere of season 23 of the hit show. It is also the final season for Blake as a coach. He is the winningest coach on the show with nine wins. He is the only coach that has been on every season up and including this season.

Blake appeared on the Today Show last week with fellow season 23 coaches Kelly Clarkson, Niall Horan, and Chance the Rapper. Blake told Today Show co-host and The Voice host Carson Daly that he almost stepped away from the show a few years ago.

“I think I was close to calling it a day right when Covid hit. And then because of Covid, I didn’t want to walk away from the show and leave everybody in a bind. I mean, this show changed my life. I’ll stay here until the world kind of gets back to normal again.”

Blake also shared how much being a part of the show has meant to him.

“When I came on as a coach on this show, I mean … Everything in my life turned upside down, in a good way. This has been incredible, but it’s time. It’s time for… not even for what’s next. A little bit of nothing would be nice.”

Season 23 of The Voice premieres tonight (3/6) at 7 p.m. central time (8 p.m. eastern time) on NBC.

By: Buck Stevens