The former One Direction band member won’t be a judge on the NBC series in 2024.

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Just months after Huntley was crowned as the winner of season 24, folks are tuning in to see the newest batch of artists vie for the chance to make their musical dreams come true. With Reba McEntire, John Legend, Chance the Rapper and Dan + Shay sitting in the iconic red chairs as this season’s coaches, there is no doubt they will find the best singers to mentor throughout the competition. What’s more, we can’t wait to see what hilarious dynamics play out, now that the show is debuting the first double chair for the coaches and incorporating new unexpected twists for the season.

While fans are ecstatic to see what the new installment will bring, many are saddened not to see Niall Horan as one of the coaches for season 25. After all, he helped lead both Huntley and Gina Miles to victory after debuting as a coach during season 23. Given his success rate, it’s hard to imagine why he’d decide to step away and leave The Voice for season 25. Turns out there’s an exciting reason behind his exit, and it has to do with Niall’s own successful music career.

Although Niall didn’t explicitly state the reason why he decided not to join The Voice for season 25, he’s currently on tour for his third album The Show. Niall kicked off The Show Live on Tour in Belfast, UK on February 21, and his schedule is packed with concert dates around the world through September 2024.

“I am beyond thrilled to announce The Show Live On Tour 2024!” Niall announced on Instagram back in May 2023. “It’s been far too long and I can’t wait to see your beautiful faces.”

At the time of Niall’s big reveal, fans were ecstatic to see him back onstage. “Omg we have to go!!” one person exclaimed on Instagram. “He’s finally going on tour 🥲,” another declared. “Seems as if we have a concert to plan,” a different follower added.

Even though his job on The Voice seems to be on hold for now, Niall still takes his role as former mentor seriously. When Huntley spoke to Entertainment Tonight in December 2023 about his rapport with his coach, he shared how appreciative he is to have Niall on his side.

“Whenever I feel like I’m too busy or complaining about this process, I kind of just think back and I’m like, this dude’s literally flying around the world and still messaging me back on my emails,” he stated at the time. “It’s pretty cool — I respect it very, very much.”

We obviously need to see how The Voice season 25 shakes out, but we hope Niall returns to a red chair someday soon!