Season 19 of ‘The Voice’ Delayed, Blake Shelton Addresses Tour Refunds

Tough break!

Written by Chris Parton
Season 19 of ‘The Voice’ Delayed, Blake Shelton Addresses Tour Refunds
THE VOICE -- "Live Finale Performances" Episode 1720A -- Pictured: (l-r) Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, John Legend -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC)

Producers of NBC’s The Voice have pushed “pause” on Season 19, reportedly delaying the star-studded reality singing competition for at least a few weeks.

Originally intended to return in September 7, Deadline reports that coaches Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and Gwen Stefani will be replaced for the time being with American Ninja Warrior. And according to Variety, the delay is happening because the show just won’t be ready on time.

The sad news isn’t a total surprise, since Season 18 of the show was finished up remotely and Shelton has publicly expressed his concern.

“It’s on my calendar still, but every day seems like a new world we wake up in,” he told SiriusXM’s The Highway. “I still hope we can get it in and I know they created a safe situation for us, but we will see what happens.”

Meanwhile, Shelton is also dealing with the fallout of his canceled Friends & Heroes Tour, which still had five cities to go when he was forced to pull the plug. There’s confusion among fans because even though Shelton plans to play those cities eventually, it won’t be as part of the Friends & Heroes Tour. Rumors are swirling that tickets won’t be honored for the new shows, and that the refund window has already closed, but Shelton has put minds at ease with a personal video message.

“If you want a refund for your Friends & Heroes ticket … you can go to Ticketmaster and I guess there’s a link page where you can get your refund,” he said, looking saddened by the whole situation. “But if you want to hang on to your ticket, when I come back to that market there’s your ticket, you’ve already got it.”

Shelton went on to say he has no idea when that will be, or who will join him on the bill, since the run with Trace Adkins, Lauren Alaina and the Bellamy Brothers is officially over. But all tickets will be honored at the to-be-announced rescheduled dates in 2021, and for his part, Shelton is just as anxious to get back to normal as his fans.

“This is all terrible, and I hope to get back out on the road again and get all this stuff behind us,” he said. “But you guys stay safe, and if you want that refund from Ticketmaster, it’s there. Go get it.”