The Voice Accident Update! What Really Happened to Finalist Wendy Moten—And How Her Surgery Went!
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Update August 8, 2022: We last heard from Wendy Moten last December regarding the surgery she underwent following her fall on The Voice stage during last season’s singing competition, which resulted in a broken right elbow and some fractures in her left wrist.
Now the runner-up to Girl Named Tom, has shared an update on how her recovery is going.
"I've never been broken before," Wendy told People. "And so, it's a new experience, but I remind myself that there are people dealing with far more serious things. I'll be OK. I'll just keep working at it."
And working on it she is. She undergoes physical therapy three times a week even while she is out on tour through the end of August with country super star Vince Gill.
"They put a titanium piece in my elbow to keep my arm together," Wendy added. "Right now, my elbow is still crooked, and my fingers are crooked, but with the occupational therapy and the physical therapy I'm currently undergoing, I'm hoping everything gets back to normal soon."
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Update Dec. 28, 2021: The Voice runner-up Wendy Moten underwent surgery on her elbow on Dec. 17 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. Her second place finish allowed her to get it taken care of immediately after The Voice finale and her return home.
“I've got one of the top surgeons at Vanderbilt getting ready to work on my arm,” she said in an Instagram post on her way to the hospital where Dr. Douglas Weikert performed the repair. Then she added, “December, January, February everything shuts down. I will recuperate...Once I get this surgery under wraps and I get through my recovery…then I am going to put some things together and get some shows going. Record some more music."
A week later, and looking good, she posted on Instagram: "Counting the days until I have fully recovered from my elbow surgery so I can get back to work finishing recording my new music and performing live!!! I’ll most definitely keep you all posted and I hope there’s something in the works with @blakeshelton too !!! Fingers crossed!!!"
Update Dec. 13, 2021: It turns out that Wendy Moten's accident on The Voice stage back in November was much worse than she originally made it seem. True she said she broke her right elbow and dislocated it twice, as well as fractured her left hand, but following Monday's final night of performances, the Nashville resident revealed that she is going to have to have surgery on her elbow.
"My elbow is jacked up," she told Parade.com. "It’s shattered. I have to have metal plates and bolts put in, so I was amazed that I was able to still keep going with that knowledge, but I was able to keep going."
Wendy is one of the frontrunners in the competition with a shot at the title and the recording contract, so when she made the appointment for surgery, she took that into consideration.
"I’ve been in talks with the doctor at Vanderbilt and they have everything," she said. "They have two dates set up for me, an if I win date surgery, and then if I don’t win, I have a different date for that surgery. I will have that surgery coming up in a few days or next week."
Wendy was originally supposed to have the surgery in Burbank, but she switched it to Nashville for follow ups should anything go wrong. "I will be at home. My family is closer. "
Update Dec. 12, 2021: Now, that she has made the finale, Wendy Moten says that the fact that she was able to comeback after falling and breaking her arms and ended up in two casts is already winning.
"If I can come back on stage with broken arms, whatever happens is icing on the cake for me and I am thankful for being on this long," she told Parade.com.
As for the finale, she wouldn't reveal just what she would be singing but she did describe her genre, saying, "I love so many different styles and classics that I just want people to hear, classic, nostalgic-type songs. I am old school. I love modern music, but I just love the melody and the stories from another time. I want to hold that banner up and have those songs remembered but make them my own. I feel that I have been able to interpret them and share the story in my own way, but make it feel like you’ve heard it before."
Update Nov. 29, 2021: Even though Wendy Moten told everyone she was OK after her fall on last Tuesday's The Voice elimination show, it turns out nothing could have been further from the truth. Wendy showed up tonight for her performance with casts on both her right arm for a broken elbow and her left arm for a fractured hand at the wrist. She had been rushed to the hospital after last week's elimination show, and X-rays showed the damage that was the result of her fall on the stage after performing with her team.
Even so, Wendy performed an outstanding version of Dolly Parton's "Jolene," and you would never have known that she was injured.
"I have never seen a better example of strength, perseverance, and fearlessness standing on this stage," her coach Blake Shelton told her. "She's here to win this thing. "
After her performance Monday night, Wendy spoke to Parade.com and she told us, "I fell hard and I broke my right elbow, and it dislocated two times. My left hand is fractured, and a little piece is broken, so my sister Mona is out here helping me. She really got me through. She flew out on Thanksgiving Day. It took her away from the family and she's been a real trooper. I just couldn't continue on without her. But the strange thing is, I don't know why I have this energy that I could just keep going. I'll just go day by day but I still feel like I'm still in the game."
Both of Wendy's casts were bedazzled with pearls, not rhinestones, by the costume department for her performance but she says that one of her casts is so heavy she can't lift it without some help.
"I have to go to the doctor this week and they want the swelling to go down and they’ll figure out what’s what," she continued. "But I’m ready to address it and be smart about it and take it day by day. "
Originally published Nov. 23, 2021: The thrill of live television is that anything can go wrong at any time and that is what happened to Wendy Moten on Tuesday night’s elimination episode of The Voice.
Wendy, who had already received word that she had made it through to the Top 10, was performing the Motown classic “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” along with her coach Blake Shelton and teammates Paris Winningham and Lana Scott.
At the end of the performance, Wendy appeared to trip over something on the stage (maybe a floor speaker) and she fell. After her fall, she was immediately helped up and she walked off stage and seemed to be fine.
Host Carson Daly explained to viewers, “We’re clearing the stage. We have some people coming to help now. An unfortunate event for Wendy Moten. She's walking off. We hope she's OK...”
Related: Find Out Who Went Home and Who Made the Top 10 on The Voice Season 21
The show went on to reveal the bottom two for the night—Jim and Sasha Allen and Gymani—but before they could perform their Instant Save of the night, Wendy returned. (BTW—Jim and Sasha were saved).
Carson said of Wendy's fall, “We’ve never had anything like that happen.”
And Wendy told Carson and viewers at home, “"I'm OK, I'm a little bruised, but you know what? I'm still ready to go!"
And she should be because Blake has predicted she will make it to the finale!
Related: Meet the The Voice Season 21’s Contestants Going into the Live Playoffs!
On Tuesday night, Wendy performed Aretha Franklin's "Freeway of Love," a song chosen for her by fans.
“They most definitely got it right,” Wendy told Parade.com of the song selection. “They chose Aretha Franklin and that’s me all the way as far as my core. For the first time, they saw me having fun. All my songs have been so serious, and I was actually smiling, and moving, and dancing. I had something new to offer and I’m glad they saw that side of me.”
Now that she’s made it through to the Top 10, Wendy will be spending Thanksgiving at the hotel where The Voice contestants are housed, and she plans on using the holiday to get some rest!
“I hope to catch up on some sleep and downtime,” Wendy said. “This pace is so fast. I’ve been in the music business 35 years and I’ve never been on this kind of pace. I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. I don’t think I can handle it.’ Not at this pace, so I plan on getting some sleep. That’s my goal and to be thankful for this experience and thankful that I’m here.”
How old is Wendy on The Voice?
Wendy Moten has worked as a professional musician for 30 years. She was born Nov. 22, 1965, which makes her 56.
The Voice airs Monday and Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
