It was a blink and you missed it moment.
On the red carpet before The Voice Top 11 show, coaches Blake Shelton and Alicia Keys spoke with Entertainment Tonight‘s Sophie Schillaci about their upcoming projects, why Keys isn’t returning to the show, and of course, the fierce competition.
Keys revealed to her fellow coaches that this season of The Voice would be her last, much to their surprise.
“This is my last season,” she said. “Who knows what the future holds, but I know this one is my final season…I am excited for this; it’s like a finale for me. That’s why I’m so passionate about my team.”
Since she spilled those beans, fans have been wondering what her next project will be and we finally found that out during her ET interview.
“I can’t wait for you to hear new music, and so that’s one of the reasons why I won’t be able to come back next season,” Keys said. “But I love writing. It’s just the most beautiful, exciting things, and every time I get better. That’s the blessing and magic of writing.”
Her next album, which she is about halfway through, will need her full and undivided attention, noting that writing and recording a new album does take a lot of time.
Just as he was surprised to hear about Keys’ final season on The Voice, she was just as shocked to hear Shelton talk about his career coming to an end, but was he just teasing?
“That last album I made I said that was going to be my last album. This next album I’m making is probably gonna be my last album. So I really gotta decide what I wanna do,” he said. “This is probably gonna be my last season on this show. I don’t do entertainment anymore, kids.”
“Why though?” she asked. “Why would you ever have a last record?”
His last album, If I’m Honest, went No. 1 on the country albums charts and produced the No. 1 singles “Came Here To Forget” and “A Guy with a Girl”, and “Every Time I Hear That Song”, which is currently rising the country charts.
Keys joked that he could just “live off the land” while he’s “weedin’ and hoein'” after his country music career is over.
While we hope that his claims about recording a final album are untrue, he has had an incredible career – 10 albums, five of which went No. 1, 23 No. 1 singles, and is the most successful coach on The Voice with five wins.
Fox reached out to Shelton’s rep and The Voice for a comment, but have not heard a response yet.
Watch the interview below. Start at 2:45.