Adam Levine is happy to be back on The Voice Season 27 — but he misses his old chair.

From the outside, the four spinning red chairs of The Voice might look identical, save for the Coaches’ names. But to longtime and now returning Coach Adam Levine, they couldn’t be more different. In the Season 27 premiere, Levine openly pined for his old chair, and had some choice words to describe his new one.

Adam Levine threw playful shade at Blake Shelton via his old Voice chair

Adam Levine, one of the original four Coaches on The Voice, stayed through Season 16, which means he spent years sitting on the far right hand side of the lineup, in the seat now occupied by John Legend. Returning for Season 27, he admitted that he started walking over to it from muscle memory before realizing he had to make a detour to the opposite end. He now sits far left, in the space where his friendly rival Blake Shelton sat for season after season.

“I miss Blake,” Levine admitted, before throwing a little shade at his pal, joking, “I’m in his mangy, musty chair.”

Between Acts, Levine even visited his old chair and asked Legend if he could have a moment in the seat. Legend politely declined, and for the rest of the episode, Levine made do with what he had.

Adam Levine appears on The Voice Season 27, Episode 1. Photo: Trae Patton/NBC

Blake Shelton wanted to keep his old chair

If Shelton had it his way, Levine wouldn’t be sitting in that chair right now. Not because he’d ever keep the Maroon 5 crooner off the show, but because Shelton wanted the seat for himself.

“I don’t know if they’re gonna offer that or not. I feel like they owe me a damn chair, though,” Shelton revealed shortly after announcing his departure. “I mean, who else can sit in my chair? It’s like the three bears—I don’t want anybody else sitting in my chair. I’m gonna try to get that away from them. Maybe I’ll have to buy it or something.”

Adam Levine Reveals the One Song You’ll “Never” Hear Him Sing

You won’t catch the Maroon 5 rocker and Voice Season 27 Coach belting out this well-known tune any time soon.

Many famous singers have been asked to sing the national anthem at large-scale events, be it the Super Bowl, a presidential inauguration, or the World Series. Everyone from Whitney Houston to Garth Brooks and Lady Gaga has memorably lent their vocals to “The Star-Spangled Banner”—but one singer who will “never” attempt the song? Maroon 5 frontman and The Voice Season 27 Coach Adam Levine.

Despite having one of the most impressive voices in all of pop music, Levine is hesitant to attempt the national anthem. The revelation came out in a roundtable discussion for The Voice between Levine and his fellow Season 27 Coaches Kelsea Ballerini, John Legend, and Michael Bublé. Read more details, below.

Adam Levine is terrified to sing the national anthem

During the roundtable chat, Bublé mentioned watching performances of the Canadian national anthem as a child made him want to be a professional singer.

“Have you ever now done it in public? The national anthem, Canadian or American?” Levine asked Bublé.

“Yeah,” Bublé said, to which Levine replied, “See? It scares the s–t out of me. That’s the one thing you’ll never see me do. I’ll never do it.”

Adam Levine on The Voice Season 15 Episode 8. Photo: Trae Patton/NBC

While we wait for Levine to bless us with a national anthem performance, you can watch him as a Coach on The Voice starting February 3. He was an original Coach from Seasons 1-16 of the show, then took a break for a few years. Now, he’s back.

On why he left the show in 2019, he said in an interview, “I miss [The Voice]. I really do miss it. But I wanted to stop at this point and be with my young family. I’m obsessed with them. I adore them in a way I never thought I could adore another person.”

But Levine’s mastered the art of work-family balance. “I don’t know how you can have a better life. I’m lucky enough to do what I love professionally but also have the greatest personal life and family I could ever ask for,” he told People in 2023. “And having kids and a wonderful wife, and just that life that I cling so much to. I love it so much. It means more than my career. But at the same time, having both is just a gift.”