Adam Levine Leaves ‘The Voice’ After 16 Seasons

Fans of “The Voice” are in shock today after it was announced that judge Adam Levine would be leaving the show after sixteen seasons.

Fox News reported that the reality television singing competition’s host Carson Daly made the announcement on “Today” on Friday morning.

“After 16 seasons, Adam Levine, our beloved coach and friend, has decided to leave ‘The Voice,'” Daly said. “Adam was one of the original coaches that launched the show, winning the competition three times and inspiring many of the artists that he worked so closely with over the years … He’ll always be a cherished member of the ‘Voice’ family and, of course, we wish him nothing but the best.”

Levine then took to Instagram to post a lengthy statement explaining his decision to leave the show:

About 8 years ago, Mark Burnett convinced us to sign up for this show where you sit in a big red chair with your back turned away from the singers on the stage. First thank you must go to Mark. We had no idea what we were doing or where it was going. After the first day of shooting, I sat there, stunned. I said to myself ‘theres some magic here. Something is definitely happening.’ It went on to be a life shaping experience that will be close to my heart forever. Thank you NBC for signing me up. I am truly honored to have been a part of something I’ll always cherish for the rest of my life. Thank you to every single coach I ever sat in those chairs with. That is shared experience that is singularly ours. We have that for life. Thank you to everyone who supported this long strange and amazing left turn into a place I never thought I’d go. Thank you Carson Daly for babysitting the musicians and making sure our shoes were tied and we had our lunch boxes. You are the backbone of this thing and we appreciate you more than you know. Audrey, thank you for being perhaps the most patient person in all the free world. 4 musicians all at once is a lot. Sainthood is imminent. Thank you to Paul Mirkovich and the band for their ridiculously hard work and learning more songs than maybe any band ever. Thank you to the people behind the scenes who do the real work and make this machine hum. To the amazingly talented vocalists who competed on the show and blew my mind on a daily basis. And, BLAKE F–KIN’ SHELTON. I couldn’t hide my love for you if I tried. Seriously. I tried. Can’t do it. Our friendship is and always will be one for the books. Whatever this whole surreal experience was, Im just happy I got to experience it with you. You’re my brother for life. Kelly and John, take care of the cowboy and I’m sure I’ll be back to say hi very very soon. So much love to you both. And lastly, to all of the loyal voice fans, there’s literally no show without you guys. For me, it was time to move on. Your support has meant EVERYTHING. And Lastly, I’d like to thank my manager Jordan for convincing me to take that meeting. What an amazing ride. Thank you all so much.

Levine’s fellow judges were quick to say how much they’ll miss him, with his longtime friend and rival Blake Shelton paying tribute to him on Twitter.

“Having a hard time wrapping my head around @adamlevine not being at [The Voice] anymore,” Shelton tweeted. “After 16 seasons that changed both of our lives. I only found out about this yesterday and it hasn’t set in on me yet. Gonna miss working with that idiot.”

Judge Kelly Clarkson also took to Twitter to weigh in on Levine’s departure.

“Found out last night about [Adam] leaving The Voice & while I get that he’s been doing the show 4 a while & wants to step away, it will be weird showing up 4 work & he’s not there To start an amazing show from the ground up is a big deal!” Clarkson wrote.

While Levine will be dearly missed on “The Voice,” this decision will give him more time to focus on his music career. We can’t wait to see where Levine’s career in music takes him next!