NBC The Top 10 contestants on season 22 of "The Voice" (L to R): Brayden Lape, Omar Jose Cardona, Parijita Bastola, Rowan Grace, Kique, Morgan Myles, Justin Aaron, Bodie, Bryce Leatherwood
Even before the top 10 contestants in season 22 of “The Voice” were revealed based on viewers’ votes, the current coaches — Blake Shelton, Camila Cabello, Gwen Stefani, and John Legend — all expected one young contender to make it through eliminations and pose a threat to all of the other contestants: 16-year-old Brayden Lape, who’s part of Team Blake. Here’s why the coaches think the teen has what it takes to win it all…
Coaches Tease Camila Cabello for Calling Brayden Lape ‘Gorgeous’
NBC“The Voice” contestant Brayden Lape
In a press conference held before the Top 10 results show on November 22, 2022, the season 22 coaches were asked which contestant they thought was the “biggest competition” for the singers on their teams.
“It’s just so interesting how different people shine,” Gwen started. “It’s interesting…like an artist like Brayden, who I have loved since the moment he walked on stage. But this last performance that he did? I think his threat is that he is…”
“Gorgeous,” Cabello interjected, before hearing that Gwen was actually going to say “so young.”
Cabello exclaimed, “Oh, sorry!” as Legend and Shelton laughed out loud.
“He is,” Gwen giggled. “I think he’s in your age bracket, too.”
Still chuckling, Legend added, “He’s very handsome.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Cabello said, smiling and pretending the word came out wrong. “Talented! Dang. Something’s stuck in my throat.”
Legend then chimed in, saying it isn’t fair how multitalented Lape is.
“How is it that he’s this tall, this handsome, can play all the sports, and can sing? This is not fair. It’s not fair,” he jokingly lamented.
“And the way he performs is very rare for someone so young,” Stefani added. “He’s just so relaxed.”
Legend said, “Very natural.”
“It’s just very natural, yeah, that’s a good way to put it,” Gwen replied. “So I think that he’s a threat in a way that we don’t even understand yet, but America’s starting to get it.”
Later that night, Lape — the youngest singer in the competition — performed a cover of Kenny Chesney’s “Come Over” and his coach, Shelton, told him he has a future in country music.
“He’s so naturally gifted,” Shelton exclaimed, and then alluded to the other coaches naming him as the biggest threat. “Trust me. Other people on this panel really like you, too, just so you know. Man, you just have that thing. You have a solid country voice that’s different and unique. You have a future in country music, not to mention how far you’re going to go on this show. You’ve got it all, man.”
Inside Brayden Lape’s Journey to ‘The Voice’
Just 15 when he first auditioned for the “Voice” coaches in August, Lape is a small-town, sophomore athlete at Grass Lake High School in Jackson County, Michigan. Though only Shelton turned his chair for the teen, the other coaches instantly regretted not turning around.
Lape is not only a performer, but a triple-threat athlete at his school. According to Michigan Live, the sophomore plays quarterback on the football team — and was just named to the All-Conference team — and is also a baseball pitcher and a forward on the basketball team.
One of his hometown papers, the Holland Sentinel, said he learned to play guitar and began singing during the pandemic, when he couldn’t play sports.
“I started performing in smaller gigs in the last two years,” he said, adding that he hopes to record and release his own music in the next year. “I have written some originals on my own and also teamed up to write a couple more songs.”
Lape decided to audition virtually for “The Voice” earlier this year after his mom, Kari Ann, suggested it.
“My journey began just from a simple conversation with my mom,” he explained. “She asked me if I would be interested in auditioning since it was virtual. I thought, ‘What do I have to lose,’ so I went for it,” he said.
After advancing through a couple of virtual auditions, he and his mom were flown out to Los Angeles to audition for the judges during the Blinds.
“The whole experience becomes hard to remember with all of the nerves and excitement, but seeing Blake turn his chair near the end of my song felt so good,” Lape told the Holland Sentinel.
The teen has cited pop superstar Shawn Mendes, Camilo’s ex-boyfriend, as a big influence, since he had a Number One hit on the Billboard charts at age 16.
“I like Shawn’s story of a normal teen making it big,” Lape said.