Adam Levine Has No Problem Still Teasing Blake Shelton, But Won't Return To The Voice

Adam Levine performing Tiny Dancer on The Voice

Adam Levine may not be a part of NBC’s The Voice anymore, but he did keep busy in 2020. The Maroon 5 singer collaborated with his partner Behati Prinsloo and Ferrari and Save the Children to raise money that went toward education this year. David Dobkin is also making a documentary about Maroon 5 that is out next year, and the band has new music on the way. As it currently stands, it seems like he won’t be returning to the singing competition series anytime soon, but he still is having fun teasing his Voice co-star Blake Shelton.

The two always had notable back-and-forth banter on The Voice. Blake Shelton and Adam Levine were longtime mentors on the NBC show and spent years filming together, so it’s no real surprise that they are comfortable enough to give it to each other a little bit. It happened on air all the time and Levine recently could resist taking a couple of shots at Black Shelton while doing an Instagram Stories Q&A.

In fact, a couple of separate fan questions asked Adam Levine if he missed spending time with his former co-star Blake Shelton, to which he amusingly responded, “Blake who?” A separate question about Blake's music also led him to basically repeat the joke, noting of Shelton, “Who is this Blake you speak of?” I just wish Shelton had been around for the Q&A to give him a little bit of flak back.

The former The Voice judge was also asked about the possibility of him returning to the show, to which he responded, “No thank you,” adding a question mark at the end to obscure his answer a little. The comment complements what Adam Levine has said previously about the series. He was on the show for a long time and now it’s time for him to spend time at home as a dad and working on other things -- though perhaps the door won't be closed forever. He said last year (also mentioning Blake Shelton!):

I really do miss it. I love the people that I met and worked with, and obviously we all know how I feel about Blake. I do miss it, but I also don’t miss how much I had to work. I was just constantly working for so many years; very lucky, very fortunate, very blessed, and all that. But just to be able to stop in this moment to spend time with my new young family, and just have the greatest time ever. Now, I'm just like a stay-at-home dad. I just stay home and do very little. It's great.

Adam Levine was a part of The Voice during its launch in 2011 and stuck around for 16 seasons -- The Voice traditionally produces more than one season per year -- before ultimately leaving the show back in 2019. Since then, as noted prior Maroon 5 has been recording new music and Adam Levine has kept busy in other ways during the pandemic. While it’s clear he does miss the series, it may be sometime before he admits he misses Blake Shelton, though I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Meanwhile, The Voice is expected to return for Season 20 this spring, with Jonas Brothers' Nick Jonas back on board and more. We'll keep you posted when that gets a premiere date, but for now feel free to peruse our full winter TV schedule.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.