Exiting coach Blake Shelton didn't congratulate Niall Horan after the pop star won The Voice in his first try via Season 23 champion Gina Miles. As Horan tells it, Shelton's actions were in line with the on-screen teasing that sets the show apart from competitors and not a case of sour grapes.
"When we left the seat, they announced the winner and I stood up, and then he came for a big hug," Horan told People. "I gave him a big hug, and he said, 'I taught you everything you know.' That's all he said, not congratulations or anything."
Horan became a new target of Shelton's good-natured teasing as the two formed a friendship bond on screen and behind the scenes.
"I'm going to miss him," Horan told People about Shelton, who stepped away from The Voice following Season 23. "He is not one of those famous friends, in my eyes. I think if I had met him outside of The Voice, I would have probably been friends with him anyway," Horan said. "Weirdly enough, we've got a lot in common, we're quite similar people. Though not in dress sense."
Horan will return in the fall for Season 24. He'll be joined on the coaches roster by another new friend from the country space, Reba McEntire, as well as series veterans John Legend and Gwen Stefani. The former One Direction member looks forward to bonding further with Shelton's spouse.
"I'm going to miss [Shelton], but I get to work with the other half of that marriage," Horan said of returning for next season. "I met Gwen at the afterparty for this season's Voice. She came and surprised Blake on the last night, and she was so funny and so cool, so I'm excited."
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