Christina Aguilera Calls ‘The Voice’ ‘Stifling,’ Hints She May Not Return

Christina Aguilera is speaking out about her various stints as a coach on The Voice over the years and appears to be hinting that she may not be too willing to return to her red spinning chair anytime soon — at least not for more than one season at a time.

Christina spoke about her former role on the NBC show in a candid new interview with Paper, where she referred to her six non-consecutive seasons as a coach as being a little too “stifling” for her.

Speaking of her past coaching stints, she told the magazine, “I can’t stay in a stagnant place for too long, which is why I think the position I was in with television just became very stifling.”

Aguilera then added that she needed a little more freedom than that that came with appearing on the series, appearing to suggest that it’s looking unlikely that she’ll return to her position for too long if she ever does decide to make a comeback with NBC.

“I need movement,” Christina, who is the first ever female coach to win the U.S. version of the talent search, continued. “I need to go explore, be an artist, create and transform.”

Aguilera was one of the four original coaches on the show when it first began airing on NBC way back in 2011.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6-vaJF4mfE

Christina first rounded out the coaching panel alongside Blake Shelton and Adam Levine – who continue to appear on every single season – as well as fellow former coach CeeLo Green.

The foursome made up the panel for the first three consecutive seasons, after which Christina — who the Inquisitr previously reported shocked fans last year after looking “unrecognizable” in a selfie posted to social media — began appearing intermittently in her red spinning chair, only doing single seasons in 2013, 2015, and 2016.

Xtina last appeared on the show for its tenth anniversary season two years ago, appearing with Blake, Adam, and Pharrell Williams, but has not headed back to the show as a coach since.

But while it’s as yet unclear if Aguilera will ever return to the panel – even if just for a single season – she admitted in 2016 that she wanted to return for Season 10 because she desperately wanted to win at least once, which she did with contestant Alisan Porter.

“I’m trying to make it different by winning this year … I’ve been taking notes,” Christina told Parade before returning to The Voice two years ago. “Every year it’s different; the talent is different. At the end of the day, it is the talent that wins. It’s not like we go home with, like a Voice trophy.”

Xtina also called leaving the popular singing series after taking a break in 2012 “bittersweet,” though Christina also noted at the time that she needs time to be an artist and to try other creative things which is why she doesn’t like to do consecutive The Voice appearances.

“In order to be the best coach I can be on that show is to go out and be able to have the experience as an artist [to] create new experiences for myself so that I can then come back to the show and share that much more,” Aguilera told E! News at the time.

NBC is expected to announce the coaches for Season 15 of The Voice in the summer of 2018.

The Voice Season 14 – with Blake, Adam, Alicia Keys, and Kelly Clarkson as coaches – airs on NBC Monday and Tuesday nights.