The Voice Season 22 came to an end Tuesday night (Dec. 13) as it crowned a winner, Georgia native Bryce Leatherwood The Voice Winner is from Team Blake Shelton. (Read our Recap)
Bryce was saved multiple times this season and faced tough competition from the other finalists including Team Blake teammates bodie (runner-up) and Brayden Lape (5th place), Omar Jose Cardona from Team John Legend (4th place) and Morgan Myles from Team Camila Cabello (3rd place).
On Monday’s performance episode, the 22-year old performed Travis Tritt’s “T-R-O-U-B-L-E” for his up-tempo number and the classic Keith Whitley country ballad “Don’t Close Your Eyes.” Both were smart song choices appealing to both classic country fans and Blake’s fan base.
Bryce Leatherwood The Voice Winner, First to need the Instant Save!
Bryce also makes history as the first winner to need the Instant Save during the Live Playoffs But vote splitting and the strength of Blake’s team overall probably led to the Bryce’s predicament. Also, Blake saved a weaker team member (Rowan Grace) banking on Bryce surviving the sing-off. The coach’s gamble paid off.
It didn’t help that Bryce’s playoff performance (I’m Gonna Be Somebody by Travis Tritt) was his weakest of the entire season. He rebounded afterward, winning over fans as Blake helped him strengthen his emotional connection to the audience.
Coach Blake saved Bryce in the Battles
Bryce sang mostly classic country every week including George Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning” and Morgan Wallen’s “Sand in My Boots.” He secured a spot in the finale after a moving duet with Morgan Myles of the Whitney Houston classic “Saving All My Love for You” and a solo performance of Justin Moore’s “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away.”
In his blind audition, Bryce earned a three-chair turn for his rendition of “Goodbye Time” by Conway Twitty in the style of Blake Shelton. He went on to perform a rousing cover of “Red Dirt Road” by Brooks & Dunn in the Battle Round, which earned him a last-minute save by Coach Blake and won his Knockout Round with a performance of “Colder Weather” by Zac Brown Band.
Season 22 was a true toss up
This season was a true toss-up going into the finale as Bodie and Morgan were very popular and consistent throughout their runs, but Bryce always appealed to the core audience.
Looking at Blake’s history as the mainstay on The Voice, he has now won 9 out of 21 seasons. The storyline going into next season will be, can he win his final season as a coach and make it 10? Or will Kelly Clarkson be crowned victorious again, making her percentage even higher than her current 50%-win rate? She’s always the best bet to take Blake down as she has done it often. I was so sure that newbie Camila had a shot with Morgan, but she fell short.
Carson Daly skipped didn’t announce the the first and second runner-ups on live television
Looking at the rest of results, while host Carson Daly went straight to announcing the winner on live television after revealing the fifth and fourth place finishers. Bodie confirmed on social media that he ended the season as runner up (NBC later confirmed in a press release). “Second place ain’t so bad,” he confessed in an Instagram reel.
The results were a bit shocking as Morgan seemed destined to at least finish as runner-up. But at the same time, Blake’s voting power has always been insane. In another surprise, Omar improved from last week, when he had to sing for the instant save, placing fourth ahead of fifth place finisher Brayden, who sailed through the entire season, never needing a save.
Morgan and Bodie may be relieved they didn’t win as they have strong artistic identity and most likely want to pave their own paths. A younger singer like Bryce can be molded a bit more. And since he’s country, he probably won’t end up on Republic Records (A record deal with the label is part of the prize package). Blake and Kelly have been known to support their artists post-show, so it’ll be interesting to see if Blake helps Bryce out. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him performing at Blake’s bar ‘Ole Red.
