Blake Shelton was at the peak of his career, but it was coming at a great personal cost. Shelton was a judge for all 23 seasons of The Voice when he walked away two years ago. At the time, Shelton was still making music, still working on his Ole Red franchise, and part of one of the biggest TV shows ever created.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Shelton didn't realize how much he needed a break, until his wife, Gwen Stefani, booked a trip for them to Italy last year, along with her three sons.
"It was incredible," Shelton recalls to American Songwriter. "But to get burned out in this business, I think you got to be super lucky and blessed. I have been, but at that point, it was like, 'Golly, I just feel like I'd just been on this hamster wheel.'"
At the time, Shelton had never even been overseas. Looking at the pictures now, he is amazed at how burned out he seems, which is why the trip was so necessary for him.
"For a few years there, I was having a pretty hot streak in country music, and I happened to also be on the No. 1 television show at the same time," Shelton concedes. "Trying to bounce back and be sure you don't lose momentum in this lane, but you have to do this job. You signed up to do it. And eventually, it did do a number on me."
Blake Shelton Leaving 'The Voice'
Shelton's decision to leave The Voice wasn't as hard for him as it might have seemed. Or perhaps, in hindsight, as it should have been. When he left, Reba McEntire gladly took his spot, where she stayed for three seasons.
"If I can't even be happy being able to be lucky enough to do this, it is time for someone else to have this chair," Shelton says. "I think Reba took my spot."
Shelton's real reason for leaving The Voice is multi-facted. One of the reasons was to be able to spend more time with his three stepsons. Without the rigors of a weekly TV show, Shelton also found free time to pursue his hobbies, including hunting.
