The 40-year-old singer, who had been with the NBC show since season 1, previously came under fire when fans accused him of playing favoritism for contestant Reagan Strange.

• May 25, 2019

AceShowbiz - Fans of "The Voice" were sent into frenzy when Adam Levine announced his exit from the long-running NBC singing competition ahead of season 17. A lot of speculation emerged online as to why the Maroon 5 frontman, who had served as the judges for 16 seasons, decided to quit, one of them was that it was because of the backlash he received previously.

The 40-year-old singer previously came under fire last season when fans accused him of playing favoritism for contestant Reagan Strange. Additionally, Adam made headlines after he was seen looking less than thrilled during a performance with his fellow judges at the NBC Upfront presentation on May 13. However, a source reveals that it's not the case.

"Adam's decision was a difficult one for him. It had nothing to do with backlash," the source tells Us Weekly. Meanwhile, another source says that Adam's decision was made as he had "disliked the show for multiple seasons now," adding that he wasn't a fan of the fact that America favors country music.

"Things have been very tense between the judges and everything regarding upfronts was demonstrative of this," the source continues saying. "It was his choice to go but no one was begging him to stay."

Host Carson Daly announced Adam's departure in the Friday, May 24 episode of "Today", saying, "Adam is one of the original coaches that launched the show, winning the competition three times and inspiring many of the artists that he worked so closely with. Many viewers will miss his frenemy relationship with Blake Shelton. He will always be a cherished member of 'The Voice' family and of course we wish him nothing but the best."

Confirming the news in an emotional Facebook post, Levine wrote, "About 8 years ago, (executive producer) Mark Burnett convinced us to sign up for this show where you sit in a big red chair with your back turned away from the singers on the stage. First thank you must go to Mark. We had no idea what we were doing or where it was going."

And saluting his fellow original judge, Blake, Adam added, "I couldn't hide my love for you if I tried. Seriously. I tried. Can't do it. Our friendship is and always will be one for the books. Whatever this whole surreal experience was, Im (sic) just happy I got to experience it with you. You're my brother for life."

Gwen Stefani has been set to return as a coach for the 17th season of "The Voice".