The singer is stepping back from the NBC series for one major reason.

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John Legend was one of the four coaches on The Voice season 27.
Fans learned John will not be returning for The Voice season 28.
John revealed in March 2025 he’s exiting The Voice for season 28 to go on a world tour through the end of the year.

Although it’s been a month since The Voice season 27 aired its finale, we’re still ecstatic about Adam David winning the competition! But with the end of a new season comes a new beginning, as fans will soon realize when they tune in for season 28 in the fall of 2025.

As we all wait to see which new artists emerge from the NBC series, the network has already alerted viewers to which famous musicians will serve as coaches for The Voice season 28. With Michael Bublé returning to the show as a coach for the third season in a row, fans will also get to see vets Reba McEntire, Niall Horan and Snoop Dogg all come back and sit in the iconic red chairs. And while we’re thrilled to see them work together, we can’t help but think of the coaches who aren’t appearing this go-around — like season 27 coach John Legend.

Given how John’s influence on The Voice has been evident since his debut on season 16 back in 2019, we know there’s always a chance he’ll come back to the show at some point in the future. Regardless of this, viewers are still curious about why John Legend is leaving The Voice for season 28. As it turns out, he already alluded to the reason behind his exit — and it’s something pretty major for his career.

NBC

Earlier in the year, John shared some news about what’s next for his career in the music industry. Posting a surprise Instagram post on March 18, the singer announced he’d be embarking on the Get Lifted 20th Anniversary Tour to mark two decades since his debut album came out. What’s more, the tour was slated to begin in late May in Glasgow, Scotland and end on December 9 in Oakland, California in the U.S.

“I’m so excited to announce that I’m heading back on the road for the Get Lifted 20th Anniversary Tour!” he penned at the time. “Join me and my band for an unforgettable performance of the entire Get Lifted album—the album that introduced me to the world—plus a few favorites from my career that *all of you* know and love … Let’s celebrate 20 amazing years of Get Lifted together!”

When fans learned of John’s plans for the rest of 2025, they immediately bombarded him with words of excitement for what’s to come.

“I’m in there I swear. I’m so excited for this to hear all the old songs,” one person wrote in the comments. “LEGENDARY 💫 [I’m] there ‼️,” another exclaimed. “This my albummmm🔥🔥🔥 definitely gotta go!” a different follower added.

Now, this makes sense as an explanation for why John isn’t returning to The Voice for season 28. But given how he’s popped in and out as a coach over the last few seasons, we’ll keep our eyes peeled to see if he plans to come back to TV soon.