NBC
Battle rounds of NBC’s The Voice are nearly over, but they’ve already got the coaches on the show at their breaking point. One Battle actually had Gwen Stefani threatening to quit the show altogether.
Following the battle of Larriah Jackson, 15, and Carter Rubin, 14, Stefani had a hard time choosing between contestants. The two sang Meghan Trainor and John Legend’s “Like I’m Gonna Lose You,” and they absolutely killed it.
They were both nervous because they were going to be performing a John Legend song in front of the artist himself.
“Oh, so John Legend is going to be right there,” Rubin said in the package before the performance. “It’s intimidating to be one of the younger ones here because everyone here is so insanely talented.”
Stefani Threatened to Quit ‘The Voice’
All of the coaches were impressed with the young singers.
“That was so well done,” Kelly Clarkson told them. “Like, you are 14 and 15!”
Blake Shelton told his future wife that she was “screwed” and reminded her that she was “contractually obligated to pick” one of the two singers.
“I’m going to quit now!” She said, jokingly walking away from her chair.
John Legend, for his part, told the group that he was “thoroughly impressed” with their take on his song, and he said that he originally wanted Rubin on his team but wasn’t chosen. Shelton and Legend both said they were leaning toward Jackson for the winner of the battle. When it was finally time for Stefani to choose, she couldn’t really do it. The host, Carson Daly, even had to hurry her along.
“Oh my gosh, Carson!” she replied. “That’s rude!”
Stefani did end up picking Rubin as the winner of the Battle Round.
“I love both Carter and Larriah so much. That was the worst thing ever, to have to choose,” Stefani said later. “They were equally so deserving to move forward. Ultimately, Carter has a little bit more of a unique sound in his voice, and a unique gift being so young and a male, and he has such a beautiful tone.”
Stefani kept both of them on her team, however, by picking Rubin and choosing to save Jackson to keep her on the team as well.
“You have so much to give to the world, I just feel it,” Stefani told Jackson after pressing the save button.
Gwen Stefani Joked About Leaving, But it Appears She’ll Be Gone Next Season
It appears as though Stefani will be leaving the show next season, as today The Voice released a new promo for Season 20 that showed that Season 18 coach Nick Jonas will be returning to the show alongside coaches John Legend, Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton.
Unless the show ups the number of coaches to five instead of four, that means Stefani will be leaving the show once again for the next season.
Either way, Stefani has this current season to finish up before she goes anywhere, and with the two young, talented artists on her team, she could still walk away with a win.
The Voice airs on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
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