Kelly Hansen Explains Why He Is Leaving Foreigner

05-24-2025

Longtime Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen surprised fans with the big news that he will be leaving the group after their summer tour, and he explained the decision during an appearance on Entertainment Tonight.

Kelly explained, "It's just time for me to do other things in my life while I still can. And it's been a great experience for me and I have nothing but love for this organization and all the guys in the band. But I have other things - I have other fish I wanna fry.

"The band's gonna continue on with Luis and I'm probably gonna pop in here and there and say hi. I've got a fairly new family I wanna spend time with. I've got a lot of projects I wanna complete. I do some cooking stuff, so who knows what's gonna come out in the future with some cooking stuff."

Hansen made the announcement of his retirement from the legendary band during their appearance on the season finale of The Voice on NBC and introduced his replacement in the group, Luis Maldonado.

"Being the voice of Foreigner has been one of the greatest honors of my life," said Hansen. "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 leader and founder, Mick Jones had this to say, "In 1976, my goal was to assemble the finest group of musicians I could find. Results have shown that it worked! About thirty years later, Jason Bonham encouraged me to do it all over again and create a brand-new Foreigner, and the magic was still there. I was especially fortunate in the choice of lead singer. 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. His boundless energy and flawless talent has helped us climb the mountain and set up the opportunity for Foreigner vocalist and guitarist, Luis Maldonado, to bring us home. I wish Kelly great happiness in his next endeavors after our summer tour, and I look forward to welcoming Luis to his new position. Luis was my choice as a guitarist and he has already shown us what he can do on lead vocals by fronting the band in South America to incredible reviews. He will soon lead the charge that will carry us forward to new heights."