With the latest season of The Voice in the rearview mirror, coach John Legend is now focusing on the road ahead of him. After wrapping up the latest installment of the hit NBC singing competition series (congrats again to season 21 winner Girl Named Tom!), the R&B artist has his eyes on his next exciting project. While Voice fans are ecstatic for him, some have started to worry about what this could mean for the show’s future.
To set the record straight, the “All of Me” singer hasn’t mentioned a desire to leave The Voice nor have his fellow coaches Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and Ariana Grande. Viewers may remember John first joining the series in 2019 for season 16 when former Voice star Jennifer Hudson left. Still, John recently announced that he has plans to take his talents to the Las Vegas strip.
Back in December, the 43-year-old father of two revealed on social media that folks who were planning to visit Sin City in the spring could also see him in concert, thanks to his new residency at the Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Currently, John has 24 performances scheduled from April to October, which will showcase his greatest hits. What’s more, he even teased on the radio show On Air With Ryan Seacrest that fans might preview never-before-heard tracks.
After seeing John’s groovy announcement video on Instagram, many followers congratulated him on his upcoming venture. But there were also fans who questioned what this would mean for his longtime gig as a coach. “Does this mean Legend will not be a Judge on the Voice next year?” one person wrote in the comments section.
What’s more, news about The Voice cutting back their traditional two-seasons-per-year schedule to only one in the fall inevitably added more to the theory that John might be on his way out. Deadline first reported this major schedule change in May 2021 shortly before the end of The Voice season 20.
So, is John leaving The Voice?
Though we can’t say for sure, a closer look at his residency dates suggests that he may have intentionally made time to be on the show. After kicking off his Love in Las Vegas residency on April 22, there is a gap from early May through late June and again from late August to mid-October.
As fans may know, The Voice usually starts filming during the summer and if John can squeeze in filming the Blind Auditions, the Battles and the Knockouts in between these gaps, he might just be able to pull off this double duty. Then, John will finish off his residency on October 19 before heading back to Los Angeles and getting in his red chair for the Live Shows that have historically started in November.
All that said, nothing has been confirmed yet, including NBC renewing The Voice for season 22. Here’s hoping the competition series is part of the 2022 fall TV lineup and John is locked in for it.
