In a recent interview, the normally fun-loving country star Blake Shelton got a little subdued when he revealed that although coaching on ‘The Voice‘ has opened a few doors for him, it has come at a cost. By doing back-to-back seasons of the show, Shelton feels that he’s sacrificed his music career.

“I’ve sacrificed the peak of my career,” the ‘Honey Bee’ hitmaker told Country Weekly. “I don’t know how long I can stand it.”

While Shelton has admitted that doing ‘The Voice’ has opened a lot of doors for him, he’s been openly critical about producer Mark Burnett’s decision to do two seasons of the reality TV show in one year.

“I’ve been very vocal with the network and Mark Burnett’s production company,” he said during a CMA press conference (according to Rickey.org). “It’s like ‘Man, this sucks,’ because the reason that you want the four of us is because we’re viable artists right now, current. And we can’t do both, if we do back-to-back seasons.”

Burnett told TV Guide that he understands it will be hard for current artists to do the show twice a year and remain at the top of the charts. One viable option is for Shelton, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine to remain the core judges, and have guest judges rotate in and out. That way, everyone can focus on their music and be a part of the show.

It sounds Shelton is ready to get back into the studio, which is a little surprising, considering he has a Christmas album due out in October. Hopefully, he’ll find a way to balance ‘The Voice’ with his country music career–because his fans are always wanting to hear more from him.

In the full interview in Country Weekly (due on newsstands on Sept. 3), Shelton talks more about his career, ‘The Voice’ — and, of course, his sweetie Miranda Lambert. Pick up the issue to read the entire article.

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