Scheduling conflicts or something more? The real reason Chance the Rapper left 'The Voice' (again)
Chance the Rapper, whose real name is Chancellor Jonathan Bennett, first joined 'The Voice' as a coach in Season 23 alongside judges Niall Horan, the OG judge Blake Shelton, and country singer Kelly Clarkson. He finished in fourth place with contestant Sorell, while Horan secured the win with Gina Miles. Speaking of his debut on the show, Rapper shared, "I love doing the show for a lot of reasons, and I think one of them is just the creative outlet that you get in collaborating with Artists, on re-imagining songs with The Voice band, which is one of the greatest bands and always has the greatest players on TV,'' he told NBC Insider during his time as a Coach.
He continued, "We’re surrounded by great Artists, being with the Coaches is inspiring, and so is the crew. Everybody’s funny! That’s the cool thing, is we’re always joking around, we’re always doing some dumb stuff, and it’s like, whether you’re on camera or not on camera, there are great moments that we have.'' Fans were also thrilled by the Grammy winner's foray into reality television, however, their joy was short-lived as Rapper left the show the following season. Later, in an episode of 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,' the artist revealed the reason for not making it on season 24 was scheduling issues owing to the release of his second studio album, 'Star Line.'
He also shared, "What I’ve been trying to do, and learning to do, is collaborate with visual artists in the process of making my songs,” he said at the time. "I’m having each song have its own visible, like physical, tangible piece of art that goes along with it.” After taking a hiatus of one season, he returned for Season 25, further solidifying his role on the coaching panel. However, when he left the show again in Season 26, viewers couldn't help but raise eyebrows and wonder what was going on. In a Reddit thread titled, 'Why do you think Chance the Rapper suddenly fell off?' a viewer wrote, "He went from rapping about drugs and his come up to rapping about Jesus and his wife, I think people just got bored lol."
Pointing out Rapper's success was just a one-time flick, another viewer said, "After the success of coloring book he started talking and acting like he was Kanye, but unfortunately he didn’t drop a Kanye album after CB," Echoing the sentiment, a netizen also added, "Everyone has their time to shine. Most artists don't stick around forever, it's a few who last in popularity. Where hiphop is a genre that changes, it also winds up being that a guy who was popular a few years ago is now "old" based on the new trends."
However, in April 2024, he released the single 'Buried Alive,' where he addressed personal challenges, referring to his recent divorce from his wife. Additionally, apart from spending time with his family, his involvement in community initiatives through his charity, SocialWorks, and appearance at the Met Gala has kept him outside the realm of television, as reported by NBC. While there is no update on whether the pop singer plans to return to 'The Voice' anytime soon as a coach, he was recently seen gracing the stage during the grand finale of season 27.