Kelly Clarkson Says Blake Shelton Leaving ‘The Voice’ Is a ‘Gain for Humanity’

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The Voice is nearing the premiere of Season 23, which will mark Blake Shelton's last season on the show — and Kelly Clarkson is getting excited.

“He’s been doing it a long time, and I think it’s a really cool way that we all know he’s leaving so we get the time to, like — I mean, I can’t stand him, but I also love him," Clarkson says during a recent interview with NBC Insider. “So we get the time to actually, like, lift him up and say how great he is. He is the ultimate coach on this show. Everybody knows that.”

Shelton is, indeed, the ultimate coach on The Voice. He has racked up 9 wins in the first 22 seasons, making him the most successful coach in the show's history. He announced that he intended to depart from The Voice in October of 2022, adding that he would do one more season before leaving to spend more time with his family.

"It’s an incredible thing that he’s done for so many artists. It’s a loss for The Voice," Clarkson adds before joking, "But it’s a gain for humanity because we get to see less of him. So there’s that!”

Shelton told People he'd like to keep his coaching chair from the show.

“I don’t know if they’re gonna offer that or not,”  he said, joking that that he feels like they owe him a chair. “I mean, who else can sit in my chair? It’s like the three bears – I don’t want anybody else sitting in my chair.”

Season 23 of The Voice will premiere on March 6, 2023, on NBC.