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Kelly Hansen announced during the The Voice season 27 finale on May 20, 2025, that the summer would be his last with Foreigner. He introduced guitarist Luis Maldonado as the band’s incoming lead vocalist; Maldonado then sang lead on “Juke Box Hero.” Hansen did not announce an immediate departure during the broadcast.
What Kelly Hansen announced on The Voice
Foreigner performed on the season 27 finale, which aired May 20, 2025. After “Feels Like the First Time,” Hansen told the audience that it was his last year with the band and that Maldonado would sing the songs after the summer. The set also included “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
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Foreigner: Complete Greatest Hits | $21.81 | Buy on Amazon |
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The Very Best and Beyond | $13.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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No End in Sight: The Very Best | $14.57 | Buy on Amazon |
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Playlist: The Very Best of Foreigner | $5.00 | Buy on Amazon |
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Foreigner | $10.49 | Buy on Amazon |
The date of the televised announcement is distinct from the date of the band’s press-page post: Foreigner’s official page displayed a May 22 headline about Hansen’s departure, while contemporaneous coverage appeared May 21. The official page corroborates the announcement’s framing and displayed date, but its current page has no announcement body. Foreigner’s official announcement page
Who will take over as Foreigner’s lead singer?
Hansen named Luis Maldonado, then a Foreigner guitarist, as his successor on lead vocals. Maldonado took the lead on “Juke Box Hero” during the finale as Hansen stepped back. The announcement concerned the planned transition after the 2025 summer; it was not a statement that Hansen had already left the band.
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What Hansen and Mick Jones said
“Being the voice of Foreigner has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Hansen said, according to The Independent’s May 21, 2025 report. “But it’s time to pass the mic. Luis has the voice, the energy, and the soul to carry these songs into the future. I couldn’t be prouder to hand this off to him.”
Foreigner founder Mick Jones praised Hansen’s tenure: “Kelly Hansen is one of the best front men in our business and over the last twenty years he has breathed new life into our songs,” he said in the same report. Hansen joined Foreigner in 2005.
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What is—and is not—confirmed about the transition
Contemporaneous reports described an end-of-summer 2025 transition, but the exact date of Hansen’s final performance is not established here. Nor do these reports establish Hansen’s present-day status in the band. The announcement should therefore be understood as the plan Hansen stated during the May 2025 broadcast, not as confirmation of a later final show or current lineup.
BroadwayWorld’s May 21, 2025 coverage also reported the planned transition and named Maldonado as the incoming vocalist.
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