Blake Shelton: Gwen Stefani 'saved' The Voice

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Blake Shelton thinks Gwen Stefani has "saved" 'The Voice' following Adam Levine's departure.

The 'Hollaback Girl' hitmaker previously coached on three separate seasons of the US singing competition, and after Maroon 5 frontman Adam decided to step down from his role as a coach after 16 seasons on the show, Gwen is returning to fill his place when Season 17 airs later this year.

And now, Gwen's boyfriend Blake - who also coaches on the show, alongside John Legend and Kelly Clarkson - has praised her as the perfect replacement for his good friend Adam.

He said: "Having her there, selfishly for me, made me happy, and I think it kind of saved the show with Adam going away, because there's no way around it: It sucks not having Adam there. I mean, he's just a major part of that show and my favourite person to kick in the nuts."

Blake and Gwen, 49, met on the show back in 2014, and the 43-year-old country star - who is the only judge other than Adam to have coached on all 16 seasons - is pleased with her return because it made him "feel better" to replace Adam with someone who is "familiar" with the programme.

He added during a press conference in Nashville, Tennessee: "She's familiar with it and gets it, and that made me feel better because that show is a complicated thing. When you're a coach on there ... and at the same time you're also supposed to be entertaining the audience at home, it's kind of a juggling act."

Meanwhile, the 'God's Country' singer previously said he was "upset" when Adam announced he was leaving the show.

He said: "I didn't expect it. I didn't expect Adam to pull the trigger like he did. ... We all knew he was getting to the point - it was 16 seasons he had been doing the show, and it's hard to keep him focused on anything. He was ready to move on. ... I was pretty upset that Adam was gone."