Blake Shelton has bowed out of 'The Voice' after 23 seasons as a coach, but he didn't have a fairy-tale ending after Niall Horan's act Gina Miles triumphed in the finale.
Blake Shelton bows out of The Voice after 23 seasons but is defeated in finale
The 46-year-old singer has been a coach on the show every season so far, and despite having two acts, NOIVAS and Grace West, out of the remaining five contestants going into the final, he couldn't add to his previous nine wins.
Gina, 19, beat off competition from Blake's acts Grace, who finished second, and NOIVAS, as well as Chance the Rapper's Sorelle and Kelly Clarkson's D. Smooth on Tuesday night's (23.05.23) finale.
After Gina was announced as the winner, Niall - who is in his debut season as a coach - embraced her and she wiped away tears of joy, before host Carson Daly thanked Blake for his time on 'The Voice'.
As the show ended, he said: "Thank you, Blake for 23 incredible seasons. You've earned it, buddy. And we love you. Congratulations to Gina Miles."
During the show, there were several tributes to Blake, including a video message from his now-wife Gwen Stefani, who met him when she was a coach on the programme in 2014.
She said in the clip: "When I first came on the show, our lives were having this parallel destruction happening and then next thing you know Blake and I start becoming besties and falling in love.
"It’s hard for me to even talk about it without getting super emotional."
Reflecting on the video, Blake told host Carson: "We stop and go, ‘Can you believe that happened?' We met each other on the show and the circumstances? And it’s just been the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me in my life."
Dolly Parton, John Legend, Usher, Camila Cabello, Jennifer Hudson, Nick Jonas, and Pharrell Williams also paid tribute to the departing 'Voice' coach, and all of his previous Team Blake winners reunited to perform 'Good Riddance' by Green Day on stage.
Prior to his last episode, Blake wrote on Twitter: "Can't believe it's been 23 seasons of
@nbcthevoice ... and especially can't believe today is my final episode. It's bittersweet. When we signed up for season 1, I don't think any of us knew what this was going to be.. These past 12 years I have made lifelong friends and memories. I've had the great opportunity to coach some really talented artists, 9 who have taken home #TeamBlake wins (let's make that 10 tonight?), and watch these artists grow so much from the show. Thank you to everyone... the crew, the coaches, the contestants, the fans, and my wife who have made these some really great years. Love y'all!!!!!! (sic)"
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