Blake Shelton shared an intimate moment with The Voice season 23 contestant NOIVAS while bonding over a shared hardship.
As the Playoff Round kicked off during the Monday, May 1, episode, Shelton, 46, helped NOIVAS (real name Savion Wright), 31, prepare for his performance of the Beatles tune “Come Together.” During the rehearsal session, the musicians discussed what it’s like to lose a brother at a young age.
“We’re both two tall guys, pretty good looking, if I say so myself,” NOIVAS said. “And, even the fact that we’ve both lost brothers.”
The Texas native explained that when he was 21, his brother Alfred — a physical therapist and father — died. The “God’s Country” musician, for his part, was 14 when his older brother, Richie, died in a car accident.
“The last thing he told me, was to just do me,” NOIVAS recalled of his late sibling, sharing how the loss motivated him to pursue a musical career. “It wasn’t until I lost my brother that I started to become fearless.”
Shelton, meanwhile, lamented the fact that Richie never got to see him succeed as a musician.
“My brother, he would have freaked out if he had known what I went on to do. He was such a huge music fan. You’d hear him coming six blocks away, the stereo blaring out of his truck,” he shared. “That’s cool, that your brother got to see you do it.”
The touching exchange comes amid the country artist’s final season of the NBC series. Shelton, who has served as a coach since season 1 premiered in 2011, confirmed his forthcoming exit from the show in October 2022.
“I’ve been wrestling with this for a while and I’ve decided that it’s time for me to step away from The Voice after season 23,” he said in an official NBC press release at the time. “This show has changed my life in every way for the better and it will always feel like home to me. It’s been a hell of a ride over these last 12 years of chair turns and I want to thank everyone at The Voice from NBC, every producer, the writers, musicians, crew and catering people, you are the best.”
The “Honey Bee” artist added that he’s made “lifelong bonds” with host Carson Daly and “every single one of my fellow coaches.” Shelton met his wife, Gwen Stefani, on the reality series in 2014 and the duo exchanged vows seven years later.
The “Sweet Escape” songstress, 53, opened up to Extra in November 2022 about her husband’s upcoming new chapter.
“I’m excited for him because, you know, we have lives outside of work, and it’s a really good life. … It’s gonna be great,” she shared.
Stefani isn’t the only one supporting Shelton through his career transition. The Oklahoma native’s fellow judge Kelly Clarkson told Entertainment Tonight in March that she is “so glad” to be part of the eight-time champion’s swan song.
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“One, I kind of want to be the one to kick him out the door, but also I want to hug him while he’s going,” the American Idol alum, 41 — who has coached four contestants to victory herself — teased. “I love him, but I’m like, ‘I get it.’ He’s been doing this so long and there’s a time that you want to move on or do something different. … He’s part of the reason why The Voice is The Voice, you know?”
The Voice airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
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