Tuesday night's episode of The Voice saw the crowning of another winner, but there was another momentous occasion hanging over the night: Blake Shelton's final departure from the show. Shelton announced in October 2022 that season 23 would be his last as a coach after serving on every season since the show's inaugural episode in 2011. Of course, the show had to send Shelton off with a proper goodbye, and the night included tributes from former coaches in a pre-recorded video as well as an emotional live performance from many of Shelton's former contestants.
The performance began with an air of mystery as the group of unidentified singers looked towards a screen showing a montage of Shelton's show moments while the intro of Green Day's "Good Riddance" played. Shelton's latest winner, Bryce Leatherwood (season 22), was the first singer to take the stage as he sang the first few lines of the song. From there, the surprises kept coming as the contestants continued revealing themselves as the song went along. Next was season 2 winner Jermaine Paul, followed by The Swon Brothers, who took home the trophy in season 4. Season 2 winner RaeLynn then stood up to sing her part.
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In the second verse, winners Danielle Bradbery, Craig Wayne Boyd, Sundance Head and Todd Tilghman took turns singing the tune. Cassadee Pope, Dia Frampton, Ian Flanigan and Xenia were also included the performance. Shelton looked genuinely surprised and overjoyed when each singer took to the stage to sing.
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The singers began walking down the stage closer to Shelton as sound bites and video clips from his time on The Voice played above the song. They then came together to sing the last few choruses as a group while clips of the singers choosing Blake as their coach played behind them. At the end of the song, the contestants said, "We'll always pick you, Blake," in unison.
Shelton cheered happily at the end of the performance, saying, "That's it! I'm finished."
Shelton will be replaced by fellow country star Reba McEntire for season 24. The rest of the coaching staff will be comprised of returning coaches Niall Horan, Gwen Stefani and John Legend. Shelton leaves a legacy as the winningest and longest serving coach in the history of the show.
