It is finally official - after the fourth season, Colombian songstress Shakira will not be part of the mentor team on NBC's "The Voice".
The singing sensation decided to leave her position as a judge on the American reality television singing competition to spend more quality time with her infant son Milan and to accomplish her duties as a mother properly, the 36-year-old confirmed to Us Weekly.
"I'm not going to be able to do next season because I have to get back to my motherhood and also get back to the studio, the recording studio, to finish my album, the one that I started working on before I had to deliver a baby and before I took this gig with The Voice," she told the magazine.
Christina Aguilera, who was replaced by Shakira for the fourth season of "The Voice", will be back to her role as a coach on the show for the fifth season, host Carson Daly confirmed to the magazine.
Later, Shakira elaborated to E! News the reasons that led her to take such a decision.
"It was a hard decision for me to make, because I'm really fond of the coaches, the people in production and everybody around me," she told E! News. "And I really enjoyed 'The Voice', but I also have a musical career and I'm also a mother now and my poor baby's so tired flying such long distances. He already has more miles than any pilot. So I think I have to give him a little break, and we'll see what happens in the future."
"The Voice" is definitely going to miss the presence of one of the leading singers across the whole world.
"Shakira is really awesome at campaigning -- she's smart and intelligent and gives great advice," Christina Milian, social media correspondent of "The Voice", told Us Weekly earlier.
The new mom has also always been successful in creating an image among her co-workers.
"I think your spring girl crush is Shakira -- a lot of people don't know a lot about her and how good she is," Carson Daly told Us Weekly, just before the fourth season was aired in March. "I think America is really going to fall in love with her when the show is on the air."
Milan is the first child of Shakira with her boyfriend, Spanish soccer star Gerard Pique. Shakira's relationship with Pique started during the shooting of her famous song "Waka Waka". It was only after splitting with her longtime boyfriend Antonio de la Rua, oldest son of former Argentinian President Fernando de la Rua in January 2011, that the singer confirmed her relationship with Pique. The couple confirmed pregnancy in September 2012 and welcomed their bundle of joy Jan. 22, 2013, in Barcelona.
According to reports, apart from Shakira, the fifth season of "The Voice" is going to miss another renowned judge - R&B singer Usher.
