The Voice season 23 finale: Team Niall Horan’s Gina Miles Wins Blake Shelton’s Farewell Season
The Voice season 23 wrapped up on Tuesday night with much of the focus on original and winningest coach, Blake Shelton as he celebrated his final episode as a coach (maybe he’ll return sooner than we thought as his wife, Gwen Stefani is rejoining the coaches panel for season 24). Many of his former team members returned for tribute performances. And he got his jean jacket retired. Wouldn’t winning Season 23 be the cherry on top of everything else? (Read our Recap)
Gina Miles and Niall Horan deny departing coach Blake Shelton’s 10th win
Well, so much for that. Team Niall Horan’s 19-year-old indie pop singer Gina Miles from Paxton, Illinois beat out Team Blake’s Grace West (2nd place) and NOIVAS (5th place) as well as Team Kelly Clarkson’s D. Smooth (3rd place), and Sorelle (4th place) from Team Chance the Rapper.
As Gina and Grace stood on stage waiting for host Carson Daly to declare the winner, he noted that it was THE closest margin of victory in Voice history. Gina could not have been more shocked that she took the crown.
The new coach and former One Direction member might be a new mainstay on The Voice stage, as he will be returning for Season 24, and will likely have a newfound confidence after sealing this win over Blake. A pleasing result, America got it right, as the two most talented singers in the finale ended up as the top 2 with the most interesting singer, Gina, winning.
Monday night, Gina unleashed her pure pop side when she tackled Taylor Swift’s “Style” for her uptempo number. In her package for this number, Carson and Niall noted how she was “peaking at the right time” with her breakout performance of “Wicked Game” during the Playoffs. She picked “Style” to show a “different side” of her artistry. Niall called the song “one of the best pop songs of the last 20 years.” He advised her to be “breezy” with it. The performance wasn’t her strongest vocal, but it showed that she was clearly the most marketable contestant of the season. It was a pop blast.
Gina’s stunning rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U” sealed the deal
The moment that sealed the win for Gina was her finale closing performance of the Prince penned “Nothing Compares 2 U,” the vocal arrangement based on Sinead O’Connor’s cover. She read a letter from her Dad in her package. She said, “My dad is like the biggest person in my life” adding, “I think my dad is proud and I’m happy he feels that way.” In all of Gina’s standout performances, one aspect stands out, her tone. Here, it was especially prevalent as she held out the phrases with a gorgeous modern pop sound. This was probably her best performance of the season besides maybe “Wicked Game.” (Read our performance final recap)
On Tuesday’s results show she sang “New York State of Mind” with coach Niall. The song was an expected but nice fit for the two. They revealed that this song was on her shortlist to perform during the live shows. Had it had been a longer season, she probably would’ve performed this classic number.
That’s a wrap on Season 23. Congrats to Gina and farewell to Blake. It’ll be interesting to see a Blake-less The Voice. Maybe, Niall takes over his reign? Or will it be Reba who is Blake’s country replacement.