The singer has been involved with the NBC series since 2019.

The Voice wrapped up season 25, and viewers were all ecstatic to watch Asher Havon win the entire competition. But with the end of a season comes the prospect of change, as fans will encounter with the coaches in the fall of 2024.

The NBC series announced on Instagram on May 13 who the coaches for season 26 will be. Fans learned Reba McEntire and Gwen Stefani are set to return as coaches, with rapper Snoop Dogg and crooner Michael Bublé taking on the role as coaches for the first time. Even though folks are thrilled to see what the quartet will do together, it’s hard to deny people are curious about why John Legend is leaving The Voice for season 26.

Given how John has been a part of The Voice family ever since his first stint as a coach in season 16 back in February 2019, there’s always a chance he’ll return for another go-round at some point in the future. But he did give a good reason about why he chose to step back for The Voice season 26, and it has to do with his own musical career.

When speaking to Entertainment Tonight in May about taking some time away from The Voice, he explained it had to do with him working on his music. As he shared to the outlet, he plans on performing a lot of concerts throughout the rest of the year, even going international in some cases.

“We’ve always got so many things going on. I’ll be doing a lot of shows this summer and traveling overseas this summer,” he told the publication. “I’ll be back … If only I were actually going to take a break!”

Despite the fact he won’t be coaching on The Voice next season, John did disclose how he feels about Snoop and Michael joining the TV family.

“It’s exciting to incorporate some new people into The Voice family. Having Snoop here, he’s been here as a mentor before, but having him as a coach, I think is going to be a lot of fun and reinvigorate the show a bit,” he added. “We’ve been around for 25 seasons and part of how we continue to stay fresh is introducing new coaches to The Voice family, and I think Michael and Snoop will do really well.”

Well, we can’t wait to see how The Voice season 26 fares, but we will keep our fingers crossed that John returns soon!

Adrianna Freedman
Editorial Assistant

As the entertainment and news editorial assistant for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.