CeeLo Green Opens Up About ‘Voice’ Departure: It Was ‘Taxing And Tiring’
CeeLo Green was an original judge on The Voice, making waves for, among other things, his penchant for using animals as accoutrements. He officially announced his departure from the program in February, stating his desire to return to music and pursue other projects.
In January, he’d expressed some hesitation at returning, saying: “I’m human and I have other ambitions that I want to see through that will require my undivided attention.”
Now, he’s telling US that although the split from The Voice was indeed amicable, there were other reasons that led him to call it quits, apart from his desire to do different things:
It easily and quickly became a job. Very, very obligating… Taxing and tiring… I still tip my hat to Adam [Levine] and Blake [Shelton] and those guys who continuously do it, but I think I ran my course there just naturally.
CeeLo, Blake, Adam and Christina Aguilera were the program’s original hosts; in the six seasons since the show’s April 2011 debut, Shakira and Usher have also taken turns in the big red chairs. When season 7 debuts this fall, Shelton and Levine will be joined by “Happy” singer and Daft Punk producer Pharrell Williams and No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani.
CeeLo offered some advice to the new judges, via the US interview:
Just kind of pace yourself. Find a happy space… Just find it enjoyable, and as long as you’re passionate about discovering new talent and really helping people and encouraging them to be themselves and live out loud and follow their dreams, then you should have no problem.
CeeLo took some time to promote his new reality show, The Good Life, which debuted June 23 on TBS. According to the show’s official site, it’s a “tongue-in-cheek” look behind the scenes as CeeLo and his collaborative talents re-launch the Goodie Mob, CeeLo’s hip-hop group that had lapsed under a long hiatus during CeeLo’s solo career.
According to its AllMusic biography, the version of Goodie Mob that included CeeLo released three albums between 1995 and 1999, when Green departed to embark on a solo career. The other three original members, Khujo, T-Mo and Big Gipp, released a record under the Goodie Mob moniker in 2004. CeeLo, for his part, performed with two other musical incarnations: CeeLo Green and His Perfect Imperfections, and Gnarls Barkley.
CeeLo’s other projects keep him close to his Voice family. He has a role in Adam Levine’s film debut, Begin Again, where he plays – surprise, surprise – a hip-hop recording artist. That’s not too much of a stretch for CeeLo Green.
[Image: Google]
