Alicia Keys explains why she’s taking a break from "The Voice"
Alicia Keys is focusing on new music.
As the "Blended Family" singer continues to coach Stephanie Rice, Vanessa Ferguson and Chris Blue towards "The Voice" top 10, she's also announced that she won't be returning alongside Miley Cyrus for the show's next season. Though Keys hasn't ruled out an eventual return to her big red chair, she told ET on Monday night to expect a follow-up to her 2016 album, "Here," very soon.
"I'm about halfway," she said of the process.
"I'm ready for the next one already, which was kind of the plan the whole time," she said. "I wanted to put out 'Here' where they have a statement body of work, and my next body of work is already in the works. I'm excited!"
"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," she continued. "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."
Blake Shelton, however, seemed skeptical of Keys' exit from "The Voice."
"I know she's not going anywhere," he joked. "It's all just a media thing, a ploy. She'll be back next year and the year after that. They are going to wait and do some, you know, Carson [Daly] is going to be in the Orange Room at the 'Today' show and be like, 'Oh, what? This just in! Wow!'"
