Teen 'Voice' contestant has coach Gwen Stefani in tears: 'That was God answering my prayers'

Gwen Stefani is in her fifth Voice season, and she has only made it to the finale twice, with Jeffery Austin in Season 9 and Rose Short in Season 17. Those contestants both placed a respectable fourth, but the latest Team Gwen standout, Carter Rubin, seems like Season 19’s overall one to beat. The teen prodigy closed Monday’s top nine show — the episode determining who will make next week’s final five — with a beloved Muppets classic, and Gwen was already crying happy, congratulatory tears on what already felt like Carter’s finale night.

Here are some reaction shots, because a screen-capture says a thousand words:

Gwen has admittedly made some questionable decisions this season, but having a cherub-faced 15-year-old sing the Paul Williams-penned “Rainbow Connection” was a genius cute-overload move on her part – I mean, who doesn’t love the Muppets? Carter made it look easy being green, channeling his inner Kermit, dedicating the sweet and sentimental song to his autistic brother Jack, and delivering the feel-good singalong moment of Season 19. As adorable as this was, though, it was also a masterful and surprisingly mature performance — not “green” at all — showcasing Carter’s interesting phrasing and pretty, bell-clear tone. Even Gwen’s future mother-in-law, a.k.a. Blake Shelton’s mama, was apparently texting Gwen during rehearsal, telling her, “I hope your boy goes through!” But no one was as hopeful as Gwen herself.

“Oh my God! Your mom is crying. I am crying!” Gwen (who used to sing “Rainbow Connection” to her own sons) sobbingly told Carter, as she attempted to wipe her tears without smearing her makeup or stabbing herself in the eyes with her pointy, bedazzled acrylic talons. “That was flawless. That was God answering my prayers. … I’m so honored that you picked me, and I’m crying, and I’m so happy, and I love this frickin’ show!”

Gwen really should love this show, now that she seems set to finally win it. But which of the other nine semifinalists will join frontrunner Carter on next week’s finale? Let’s assess all of Monday’s performances…

Jim Ranger (Team Blake), “Without You”

Jim’s performance definitely had more in common with Harry Nilsson’s version, if not Mariah Carey’s, than with Badfinger’s more rawkin’ original — which I actually think would have been a better fit for the raspy singer-songwriter. Despite starting off in a tricky lower register, Jim did eventually get up to Nilsson’s great vocal heights, heeding his coach’s dubious advice to “make it as dramatic and huge, as only you can.” But Jim was also literally singing (and sometimes, unfortunately, yelling) from great heights, atop some sort of some Styrofoam rock that looked like a prop from a Flintstones movie. The optics were just weird — and this was a weird risk to take only one week away from the finale, doing adult contemporary/classic rock, when Jim has always been more of a country troubadour. John Legend called this performance “moving, emotional, and flawless,” but I think the risk — and that rock — will hinder Jim’s chances.

Cami Clune (Team Kelly), “The Joke”

Cami has gone dark and theatrical in recent weeks with her Screamin’ Jay Hawkins/Annie Lennox and INXS covers, which hasn’t gotten her the votes (Kelly Clarkson had to save her last week). So I thought this Brandi Carlile hit was a smart stylistic detour, an opportunity for her to showcase her softer side. But all Cami showcased was a bunch of pitchy notes that were hardly soft on the ears. I am baffled by what happened her. Cami hasn’t hit a bum note all season — but she hit plenty tonight. The song seemed far out of her range, especially towards the end. I was rooting for Cami to be this season’s dark horse, but I think the only way we’ll see her in the finale now is if she gets a chance to redeem herself in tomorrow’s Instant Save singoff — which is unlikely.

Ben Allen (Team Gwen), “All About Tonight”

Gwen has always wanted to win The Voice, and to do it with a country contestant — one that she stole from her offscreen fiancé and onscreen friendly rival, Blake — would make the victory all the sweeter, especially since Ben actually covered a Blake song this week. (“I have your guy Ben, and I’m going to beat you,” she teased her other half.) This was a solid and competent performance, but it was very copycat. (Maybe that’s why Gwen liked Ben so much — he reminds her of Blake!) I can’t imagine Ben will get more votes than Blake’s own contestants — or even more than Team Legend’s country contender, Bailey Rae — despite Gwen’s confident prediction of, “I’m gonna win The Voice with [Ben] doing Blake’s song! America’s going to be all over that!” Let’s face it, if Gwen wins this season, it will be with Carter, not Ben.

John Holiday (Team Legend), “Fix You”

This was sure to be an emotional performance, with John H. dedicating the Coldplay weeper to both his coach’s wife, Chrissy Teigen (who recently suffered a heartbreaking baby loss), and to his own grandmother. The opera belter feared he’d be a “mess” onstage, but he held it together like the consummate professional that he is. I do wish he’d kept it simple and stayed at his neon piano for the duration of his somber performance, rather than relying on the predictable big-finish shtick. And I do think his acquired-taste voice crept into a painfully shrill register during those final off-the-rails adlibs. But Kelly loved the “brokenness” that Holiday brought to this performance, and Legend, who semi-joked, “I’m over here crying,” praised Holiday for “letting [himself] not be perfect.” Overall, though, this was close enough to perfect to ensure the fan favorite’s spot in the top five.

DeSz (Team Kelly), “Don’t Let Go (Love)”

I love that DeSz has been doing lesser-covered ‘90s slow jams by the likes of Toni Braxton and Tevin Campbell this season, and this similarly nostalgic En Vogue power ballad was a gauntlet-throwing, go-for-broke tour de force. DeSz did not come to play this week — she came to win! The diva, whom John has nicknamed “The Assassin,” oozed confidence, spat fire, and commanded the stage from start to finish, and she assassinated her competition. Her positively stunned coach declared this possibly the best Team Kelly performance of all time and said, “There’s no way you aren’t making the finale!” I hope Kelly is right, because DeSz deserves that spot — but this is a highly competitive top nine, so we will see.

Bailey Rae (Team Legend), “Georgia on My Mind”

Bailey, who is only 18, has aged herself throughout the season with her ho-hum song choices. While past Voice contestants like Grace Askew or Mary Sarah have successfully branded themselves as old-timey, vintage-country crooners, Bailey has suffered from an identity crisis, failing to fully to commit to that aesthetic and therefore just seeming middle-of-the-road. I don’t think having John as her coach — instead of country specialist like Blake, or even Kelly — helped matters much. Bailey does have talent, but she needed more time to find her true voice, and she probably should’ve waited a couple more years before trying out for this show.

Ian Flanigan (Team Blake), “Angel”

How interesting it was that both of Blake’s country-adjacent contestants went with such unexpected songs tonight. I would not have picked Sarah McLachlan’s sad-stray-dogs tearjerker for the gruff and husky (no pun intended) Ian, but as he connected to its lyrics about addiction, which he has battled in the past, he cut right to the heart of the song. The stripped-down arrangement allowed his pure pain and emotion to ooze through, proving that sometimes, a Voice performance doesn’t have to be all about vocal acrobatics and theatrics. This was lovely. I could see Ian winning this whole thing with a whisper, not a scream, if Carter falters next week.

Tamara Jade (Team Legend), “Let It Be”

Doing any Beatles song is always a tall order on any singing competition, let alone a version inspired by Aretha Franklin’s famous cover. But Tamara was up for the challenge, tapping into the song’s gospel fire and doing both the Beatles and Aretha proud. She didn’t even need that churchy backing choir; if anything, it only stole focus from her own stupendous vocal. I do fear, however, that this season’s two other power-singing soul stars, DeSz and John Holiday, might steal focus, split the vote, and edge out Tamara. But if Tamara has a chance to sing for the Instant Save on Tuesday, I think she’ll run away with it — just as long as she doesn’t have to sing against DeSz.

So now, it is prediction time. I initially thought this season would be like past finale formats (a top four with no team quotas, the bottom three automatically going home, and the middle three vying for the fourth spot), but apparently this show has switched its rules again. This season, it’ll actually be a final five, with one top vote-getter from each team advancing to the finale, and all five of the remaining singers then competing for the Instant Save on Tuesday’s live results show. I’ve therefore had to revise my prediction a bit. I still think Carter Rubin will leapfrog, Kermit-style, right into the top three, along with Team Legend’s John Holiday and Team Blake’s Ian Flanigan, and then Team Kelly will be represented by DeSz. As for the other five contestants, I can’t imagine anyone other than Tamara Jade getting the Save, unless Jim Ranger is very smart about his song selection. See you then.

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