'The Voice' finale: How Clarkson pulled off an upset to beat Shelton
ON TUESDAY night, 16-year-old country singer Chevel Shepherd of Farmington, New Mexico, was crowned the champion of “The Voice” Season 15; she’s now the proud owner of US$100,000 and a recording contract with Universal Music Group. She won over fellow country singers Kirk Jay and Chris Kroeze, along with teen pop/R&B singer Kennedy Holmes.
While Shepherd’s victory was somewhat surprising, as Jay and Holmes were considered front-runners, it also ties into one of the show’s big story lines: Shepherd was on Kelly Clarkson’s team, which means for the first time in the show’s history, a winning country singer was not on Blake Shelton’s team.
Why is this a big deal? Over the past few seasons, the celebrity coaches have become increasingly angry that country contestants — who typically do very well on reality singing competition shows — routinely flock to Shelton’s team. Not only is Shelton one of Nashville’s most powerful superstars, but he has won the show six times, four times with country artistes: Cassadee Pope (Season 3), Danielle Bradbery (Season 4), Craig Wayne Boyd (Season 7) and Sundance Head (Season 10).
This season, Shelton went into the finale with two contestants: Jay and Kroeze. (Holmes was on Jennifer Hudson’s team.) And yet, Shepherd won. So how did someone finally beat Shelton with a country singer?
The first step was actually persuading Shepherd to choose a different team. Shepherd appeared on the third episode of the blind auditions in October and introduced herself as a high school junior and Carrie Underwood superfan who grew up singing country music. “If I saw Blake’s chair turn around, I would freak out,” she said excitedly. “Just be like, ‘Hey! He’s country, I’m country.’”
Sure enough, as Shepherd performed The Band Perry’s “If I Die Young,” Shelton spun his chair around — as did Clarkson and Hudson. “It’s no secret I’ve been dying to get a female country singer,” Clarkson said, comparing Shepherd to Dolly Parton and Sarah McLachlan. “One main reason why I do want to work with you, after turning around and watching, is I was just like you when I was young, and you’re in your head a lot .... but I would love to work with you, I just think you’re so great.”
Clarkson then ran over to Shelton’s chair, and tried to physically block him from Shepherd’s view. She boasted that she also had Nashville connections: “I don’t know if you’ve heard my new duet with Dan + Shay. Other people are in country music!” The other coaches settled in for a good fight. “I turned around because your voice is so pure and so beautiful, and I just wanted to watch the battle between Kelly and Blake,” Hudson admitted.
At first, it seemed like Shelton was the inevitable choice, as Shepherd lit up when he started talking about his experience with 15 seasons on the show. Clarkson looked resigned. “I know I’m going to lose you, but I’m a fan,” she told Shepherd.
In a decision that shocked everyone, Shepherd made her choice: Clarkson! “I had to go with Kelly. I liked what she said,” Shepherd explained. Clarkson was stunned, and started gloating: “You lost a country singer!” she told Shelton. Even Adam Levine joined in, doing a dance in front of Shelton’s chair. “How does it feel to lose?!” he crowed.
Throughout the season, Clarkson mentored Shepherd with a wide range of contemporary and classic songs: George Strait’s “You Look So Good In Love,” Little Big Town’s “Little White Church,” Kacey Musgraves’ “Space Cowboy,” and in her strongest moment, LeAnn Rimes’ “Blue.” On Monday’s performance episode, each contestant had to sing an original song: Shepherd’s “Broken Hearts” (written by Shane McAnally, Ashley Arrison and Aben Eubanks) rocketed to the top of iTunes, and stayed in the No. 1 spot for most of Tuesday.
Speaking of McAnally, Shepherd’s victory proves that Clarkson’s frequent boasting about her country credentials (she’s Reba McEntire’s daughterin-law, she once sang a duet with Jason Aldean) wasn’t just talk. During the auditions, Clarkson mentioned that she’s friends with McAnally, who is one of Nashville’s most influential songwriters. “Broken Hearts” was apparently a song that Clarkson wanted to record in the past, but she decided to give it to Shepherd; in other words, a nice parting gift that certainly helped catch the attention of voters.
This is Clarkson’s second season on “The Voice,” and her second win — while the show is technically about the singers themselves, the coaches can have a big influence one way or another. (See: Levine’s disastrous endorsement of Reagan Strange.) Clarkson is clearly popular with viewers, and combined with a talented country singer who was destined to go far this season, it was truly no match for Shelton.
While Tuesday’s finale ended too quickly for Clarkson or the other coaches to brag in Shelton’s face, on Monday, host Carson Daly asked Clarkson why she wanted Shepherd for her team so badly. “Did you see a little bit of yourself in her?” Daly asked.
“I think she’s way cooler than me. She is authentic country,” Clarkson said. Of course, she couldn’t resist one more dig: “And I just was so excited she didn’t pick Blake.”
It’s no secret I’ve been dying to get a female country singer. One main reason why I do want to work with you (Chevel Shepherd), after turning around and watching, is I was just like you when I was young, and you’re in your head a lot .... but I would love to work with you, I just think you’re so great. Kelly Clarkson, country singer and coach on ‘The Voice’