John Legend on Why He Will Not Be Returning as a Coach on ‘The Voice’ for Season 26

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The new coaching panel for The Voice season 26 was just revealed, and John Legend was noticeably absent from the roster. The “All of Me” singer explained why he will not be appearing on the show’s next season, much to the disappointment of viewers.

"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 Entertainment Tonight in an interview published on Tuesday, May 14. "I'll be back … If only I were actually going to take a break!"

Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé will be coaching the contestants in the next season on the show. That means Chance the Rapper and Dan + Shay will also be sitting out of the competition in season 26.

Though John, 45, will be taking a bit of a hiatus from The Voice, he is very excited that the series is ushering in a new era of coaches.

"It's exciting to incorporate some new people into The Voice family,” the Grammy winner said. “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.”

"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,” he added. “And I'm excited that Gwen and Reba will be back too because they're both wonderful coaches."

John Legend not returning to The Voice
John Legend not returning to The Voice

Recently, John got to take his two eldest children, Luna and Miles, to The Voice set to hang out and explore. “My favorite coaching advisors joined me for the first night of #TheVoiceLives!” the doting dad playfully captioned an Instagram photo of his kiddos sitting in his famous red coaching chair.

"They loved it. They really had a blast," he said of the experience. "Their favorite — not being biased, but maybe being biased — was Nathan [Chester] … I feel like my team did well with my favorite advisors."

In addition to Luna, 8, and Miles, 5, John also shares younger kids Esti and Wren with his wife, Chrissy Teigen. John first became a coach on The Voice in season 16 and ended up winning the season with artist Maelyn Jarmon. He previously served as an advisor in season 12.