Adam Levine is officially returning to The Voice, six years after he departed the show in 2019, and Billboard caught up with the season 27 judges ahead of the premiere.
“It used to get so ugly. You guys don’t even know. We used to scream over each other,” Levine playfully told his fellow coaches — John Legend, Michael Bublé and newcomer Kelsea Ballerini. “I have realized through this process, which has become therapy of some sort, that I was in such a chaotic environment. Me and Blake [Shelton] were slinging hate at each other. Everyone’s yelling and screaming. It was so different. I wouldn’t be able to stomach or handle that at this point. This is the perfect place, I’m in the right place. This is a safe space.
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“He brings up Blake at least once a day,” Ballerini joked, referencing the well-known “bromance” between Levine and Shelton, who were both OG coaches on The Voice when it premiered in 2011. Shelton ultimately left the show in 2023, narrowly missing his reunion with the Maroon 5 frontman.
Elsewhere in the conversation, the coaches rejoiced over the addition of Ballerini, who arrives as a first-time coach but previously served as season 16 battle advisor and filled in as coach during season 20, both instances for Team Kelly Clarkson.
The Voice season 27 premieres Monday, Feb. 3 on NBC. Watch Billboard‘s chat with the coaches above.
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