"The Voice" season 24 ended Tuesday night (Dec. 19) with Team Niall member Huntley as the winner. It paid off a sweet story arc that began with Huntley's 6-year-old daughter, Stella, helping him choose Niall Horan as a coach following the eventual champ's four-chair-turning audition. Horan fans basked in the coaches' second win, following Gina Miles' triumph in season 23.
These developments capped off a two-hour broadcast filled with live performances by coaches, contestants and even Earth, Wind & Fire. Although stretching things out is typical of reality TV season finales, many on social media critiqued the wait for an announcement.
"Why?! Every year we suffer through this drawn out and boring finale," wrote one Twitter user. "All we need is a one hour finale! Please, just get to the winner."
"Come on now, it's my bed time, just tell us who won," read another tweet that knocked the format.
Despite scattered complaints on social media, "The Voice's" two-hour finale dominated network television ratings on Tuesday, drawing 6.6 million viewers for NBC.
Horan entered rare air after Huntley's win. Team Niall's Gina Miles won Season 23, which was Horan's first as a coach. With the repeat, Horan joins Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson as the only coaches to win "The Voice" in consecutive seasons.
The only nine-time winner as a coach, Shelton coached three consecutive winners early in the series' run: Jermaine Paul (Season 2), Cassadee Pope (Season 3) and Danielle Bradbury (Season 4). Horan won't return as a coach when Season 25 premieres on Feb. 26, 2024, so Shelton's seemingly untouchable record is safe for the time being.
As for the rest of season 24's Top 5, Lila Forde finished fifth, Jacquie Roar finished fourth, Mara Justine finished third and Ruby Leigh finished in second place.
For Season 25, returning coaches Reba McEntire and John Legend will be joined by Chance the Rapper and the first-ever joint coaches: country duo Dan + Shay.
