‘The Voice’ record: Niall Horan joins Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson as only coaches to win 2 in a row
If “The Voice” had a Mount Rushmore of coaches, three of the faces carved into its granite would no doubt be Niall Horan, Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson. Why? Because as of the Season 24 finale on December 19, they are the only coaches to have won two seasons in a row. That’s quite an impressive feat, especially considering the immense amount of talent that has graced the NBC reality TV show since its debut in 2011. See the updated “The Voice” winners list.
Niall joined the esteemed list on Tuesday night when Huntley, his 33-year-old artist from Fredericksburg, Virginia, won Season 24 over runner-up Ruby Leigh of Team Reba McEntire. That gave Niall back-to-back victories because he also prevailed in Season 23 with Illinois pop singer Gina Miles, who bested runner-up Grace West of Team Blake. Since Niall isn’t returning in the spring for Season 25, that means he will remain undefeated for the time being.
Blake is so far the only coach to have won three in a row on “The Voice,” for Season 2 (Jermaine Paul), Season 3 (Cassadee Pope) and Season 4 (Danielle Bradbery). His other six victories came in Season 7 (Craig Wayne Boyd), Season 11 (Sundance Head), Season 13 (Chloe Kohanski), Season 18 (Todd Tilghman), Season 20 (Cam Anthony) and Season 22 (Bryce Leatherwood). The country superstar left the program last year after 23 seasons at the helm.
SEE ‘The Voice’ coaches ranked worst to best
As for Kelly, sho proved victorious on her first two consecutive cycles: Season 14 (Brynn Cartelli) and Season 15 (Chevel Shepherd). She later also won in Season 17 (Jake Hoot) and Season 21 (Girl Named Tom) before saying goodbye to “The Voice” after Season 23 when she moved away to New York.
During the two-hour finale of Season 24, Niall ended up with two of the Top 3 finalists: Huntley (who won) and Mara Justine (who placed third). The other artists who gave it their all in the last episode were Ruby Leigh (who placed second) and Jacquie Roar (who placed fourth) of Team Reba, and Lila Forde (who placed fifth) of Team John Legend. Read our minute-by-minute live blog.
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Huntley was a rock star from the very beginning, earning a four-chair turn for his blind audition of “She Talks to Angels.” He then won his battle of “Hold My Hand” against Brailey Lenderman. In the knockouts, he sang “Wanted Dead or Alive” and beat out both Claudia B. and Noah Spencer. Huntley later performed “Daylight” (playoffs), “With a Little Help from My Friends” (Top 12), “Way Down We Go” (Top 9), and then “Higher” and “Another Love” (Top 5).
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