Blake Shelton Hints At Quitting ‘The Voice’ And Retiring From Music

Blake Shelton is already confirmed as a coach on Season 14 of The Voice, set to debut on NBC in February, but could the next round of shows be the last for the country crooner? The star appeared to suggest this week that he could actually be stepping away from the spotlight sooner rather than later in a cryptic tweet.

Shelton – who will be on the road for his “Country Music Freaks Tour” between February and March – revealed that he could be planning to leave his revolving red chair and hang up his cowboy boots for the last time on Twitter on January 3, as he said that his retirement will be coming “real soon.”

Blake’s retirement talk came as he congratulated Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians on his retirement from the big game, while also telling the football star that he’ll be joining him in enjoying some lazy days pretty soon.

“Watching @BruceArians life story NFL channel. D**n proud to call you my friend coach. Enjoy your retirement!!!” Shelton tweeted, before then cryptically adding, “I’ll be joining you REAL soon brother!!! #hero.”

Though the 41-year-old didn’t clarify if he was talking about retiring from being a coach on The Voice, music, or even both, the tweet about potentially stepping back from work didn’t exactly sit too well with fans.

A number of the country star’s followers responded to all the talk of retiring on the social media site, urging the country star not to give up his career just yet as his latest single, “I’ll Name The Dogs,” only just hit the top spot at country radio in December.

“No retirement talk. Way too young,” said social media user @ElioneGalvao1 after seeing Blake hint at retiring from show business. “Besides we [are] not ready to let u go. Just get days off more often and it will do it.”

“You CANNOT retire, country music needs you! Love your music!!!” another tweeted the long-time The Voice coach and singer.

But while some encouraged Blake to stick around a little longer after releasing 11 studio albums during his lengthy career and appearing on 13 seasons of The Voice alongside Adam Levine, others actually urged him to step away and enjoy some time with his family while he can.

“Family is what’s important! Enjoy yours!! Now! Don’t wait,” said @npr40, while another responded, “Maybe retirement from busy country touring is the answer to a happy family life… then do so… and so must Gwen [Stefani]. Life is too short… enjoy now, have kids and have fun as they grow up.”

Notably, Shelton’s tweet about retiring came shortly after girlfriend Gwen Stefani shared sweet photos and videos of the musician spending some time with her and her children in his home state of Oklahoma this week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nroLP5OpJM

The mom of three shared various snaps and clips of their family time to her Instagram Stories on January 2, which showed Blake playing around with Gwen’s oldest son, 11-year-old Kingston, as he joked that he was teaching him how to drive his pickup truck before getting it stuck in the mud.

Shelton hasn’t yet publicly followed up on his initial tweet and hasn’t offered up a timeline for when he may retire, though he told Entertainment Tonight last year during a red carpet interview backstage at The Voice with Alicia Keys that his most recent album, Texoma Shore, could be his last.

“I mean, that last album I made was gonna be my last — this next album I’m making is probably gonna be my last album,” Blake said in May, six months before he dropped his most recent release. “So I really gotta decide what I wanna do.”

It sounds like fans may want to make the most of seeing Shelton on Season 14 of The Voice alongside Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, and Alicia Keys when it returns to NBC on February 26.