Adam Levine Dethrones Blake Shelton as ‘King of Country’ on ‘The Voice’: ‘I Can Feel Blake’s Ridicule’

Adam Levine Blake Shelton

Move over, Blake Shelton! Michael Bublé declared Adam Levine the new “king of country” on The Voice after the Maroon 5 frontman helped two singers put a country spin on an Avril Lavigne song.

Team Adam singers Trevon Dawson and Tyler Kae sang a unique country rendition of Avril’s tune “I’m With You” for their battle round during the Monday, March 24, episode of The Voice season 27. Following the captivating performance, Michael, 49, said he had “no idea that Adam Levine would be the new king of country.”

“Who knew?” he added as Adam, 46, chuckled to himself. “Who saw that coming?”

Coach John Legend chimed in to joke that it was the chair that Adam is sitting in, as he took over Blake’s seat after the country singer let the NBC singing competition in May 2023.

“It’s rubbing off on you,” coach Kelsea Ballerini told the “Sunday Morning” singer.

Adam joked, “This chair does smell of him.”

While the coaches and the audience loved the performance, Adam later lamented that Blake, 48, would mock him for selecting a pop-rock song for country cowboy Trevon, 17, to perform.

“I just want to thank you guys for trusting me, especially Trevon. ‘Cause I feel like when he saw the song choice, and he started doing it, he was like, ‘What?’ I can feel Blake’s ridicule all the way from Oklahoma. ‘What are you thinking? How dare you? This kid’s gonna get beat up at school. He’s singing Avril Lavigne,’” he said.

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However, Adam thought that Trevon “killed it” in the final execution of the song and chose the young artist as the winner of the battle.

Adam was able to secure Trevon as the last member of his team during the blind auditions earlier in the season. While he was excited to start working with the teen, the longtime Voice coach — who returned to the show in season 27 after previously appearing in seasons 1 through 16 — Adam admitted that he might need some help from his pal Blake due to his lack of experience in the country genre.

“I’m going to call my friend Blake Shelton and I’m going to be like, ‘Hey stupid. Help me,’” he said, explaining that country artists typically chose to join Blake’s team when the “God’s Country” singer was on The Voice.

“I can’t wait to coach country. We’re gonna kick ass,” Adam said of himself and Trevon.

Blake, who was the longest-running coach on The Voice and the last remaining coach from the first season, announced in October 2022 that he was leaving the show after season 23, which concluded in May 2023.

“I’ve been wrestling with this for a while and I’ve decided that it’s time for me to step away from The Voice after next season,” he wrote in a statement on social media at the time. “This show has changed my life in every way for the better and it will always feel like home to me. It’s been a hell of a ride over these 12 years of chair turns and I want to thank everyone at The Voice from NBC, every producer, the writers, musicians, crew and catering people, you are the best. It takes a lot of work, passion and adult beverages (Ha!) to pull off a live show twice a week.”

Blake continued, “I’ve made lifelong bonds with Carson [Daly] and every single one of my fellow coaches over the years, including my wife, Gwen Stefani. I want to give a huge shoutout to the singers – the ‘Voices,’ who come on this stage season after season and amaze us with their talent and a special thanks to those who chose me to be their coach. Lastly, it’s about y’all, the fans, who watch and support these artists, us coaches and everyone at The Voice who are chasing their dreams.”