Adam Levine Talks ‘The Voice’ Return Without Blake Shelton (Exclusive)

Adam Levine is excited to make his grand return to The Voice, but knows it’ll feel a little different without his best buddy, Blake Shelton.

Still, that won’t prevent the Maroon 5 frontman from making some jokes at Shelton’s expense.

“The best part about being back with The Voice Family is that I don’t have to deal with Blake Shelton,” Levine, 45, quips while chatting with PEOPLE in this week’s issue about his return to the NBC hit series. “I just don’t like him. So, it’s been great not having to be around him. He’s a bad friend…”

“I’m just kidding,” he clarifies. “Of course, I love Blake. And I had to open with a Blake joke because he’s not on the show anymore, yet they still continue.”

Levine and Shelton, 48, were among the four original coaches when The Voice premiered in 2011. The Maroon 5 frontman remained on the show until 2019 when he left after 16 seasons, and Shelton followed a few years later in May 2023 after 23 seasons. During their tenure on the show together, the two became close friends while also poking fun at one another with playful insults and jokes.

Now, Levine is back for season 27 — and he tells PEOPLE he’s been welcomed into the fold again with open arms.

“It’s really great to be back, because I had plenty of time to not be on the show, and to do my thing, and to not have that define me, for lack of a better way of saying it,” he explains. “It was nice to go and just be with my family, and go tour, and do music, and do what I was originally in my mind intended to do: make music and play music.”

“But it’s so nice because now here I am, and it’s totally enjoyable because I’ve had that time,” he continues. “It was such a whirlwind when it started, that all of a sudden it was eight years in and it was just nice to be able to take a break. So, coming back has been fantastic. The family has embraced me with loving arms… A lot of the same people that are working on the set that I’ve missed, and seeing their faces, and doing the work. And it’s been really fun.”

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For the upcoming season, Levine will be joined by fellow coaches Kelsea Ballerini, Michael Bublé and John Legend. But, he says, none of them can replace Shelton and the frenemy banter they displayed each week.

“No. No, no, definitely not. There’s no replacing [Shelton],” he says. “The thing that happened with Blake and I, it was so organic, and it was based on our friendship.”

“Because nobody really realizes that we were thrown into this thing that wasn’t a thing yet. Our friendship was based on this not knowing what the hell was happening, and being silly, and stupid with each other,” he explains.

“And that became something that people love to watch. It was very organic, and very unplanned and spontaneous. And all of a sudden we realized people loved watching us talk s— to each other. So, we thought to ourselves, ‘Let’s just do it. And hey, is there such thing as too far?’ And he’s like, ‘No.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, probably not. Let’s just go at it.’ And we just had fun with it.”

As for what he’s bringing into season 27, Levine says he has a renewed idea of his purpose on the show.

“I don’t really see it as a competition anymore, and I know they’re not going to like that, but that’s not what it is. It’s an opportunity for us to share our experiences with the people on the show. And it always has been that,” he shares. “I mean, you definitely get competitive that those juices flow for sure. But I don’t see it as a competition and I don’t think that I can bring anything other than what I have just from life and a career. And I think that’s really valuable for the people on the show that are needing that experience, or that push that help. And that’s what I think we’re there for.”

“I’ve never liked to think of it in terms of a competition, because it’s kind of a ridiculous concept,” he adds. “It’s music, and we’re all supposed to help each other out, and get each other’s backs, and make each other better. So, that’s kind of what it’s really about. The competition, you get lit up by that part of it, especially in the beginning. The blind auditions are very competitive because you really want these really talented singers on the team, and then after that it becomes about something more.”

Season 27 of The Voice premieres Monday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

For more from Adam Levine, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.