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Who is Emily Rhyne? Meet the girl who left Blake Shelton 'heartbroken' in 'The Voice' Season 23

Emily Rhyne made Blake Shelton deeply regret not turning his chair for her, as he said, 'If I could ever go back in time it would have been for Emily'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: On March 6, Monday, ‘The Voice’ made its official comeback for the 23rd season, featuring the debut of two fresh coaches, namely Niall Horan, a former member of One Direction, and Chance the Rapper. Blake Shelton, a longstanding veteran of the show, and Kelly Clarkson, who returned as a coach, were also present. The two new additions brought a fresh and distinct perspective to the competition, making quite an impact.

Coaching on ‘The Voice’ since its debut in 2011 has been a transformative experience for Shelton, both in his personal and professional life. Nevertheless, he disclosed his intention to step down from the show last year, citing the simple reason that "it's time." He has expressed that he wants to have more quality time with his spouse, Gwen Stefani, whom he met on 'The Voice', and their three stepchildren, Kingston, Zuma, and Apollo. Although fans are quite emotional about this farewell, they cannot help but appreciate his dedication to a healthy work-life balance. But the table turned for one fan who left Shelton heartbroken and emotional after her performance in the first episode. Scroll down to read all about it.

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Who is ‘The Voice’ Season 23 contestant Emily Rhyne?

In the initial episode, Emily Rhyne graced the stage with a captivating rendition of 'The First Cut is The Deepest' by Rod Stewart. Prior to her audition, Emily shared that everything in her life has led her to Blake Shelton, as she grew up in his hometown, Ada, Oklahoma, shares his passion for music, and even performs at his bar in Oklahoma.

Although none of the coaches turned for Emily during her audition, she was granted the opportunity to converse with Shelton about her past. She presented the country singer with a shirt signed by local musicians. After receiving it, Shelton jokingly remarked that he may have gone to high school with her grandfather. To some extent, this turned out to be true since Shelton recognized the name of Emily's grandfather.

However, the highlight of the conversation was when Emily presented Shelton with his demo tracks from his 13th birthday. Emily's grandfather had given her access to the tracks, and the coaches listened to them together. Everyone was astonished by Shelton's dedication to the genre, even at such a young age.

But why was Shelton heartbroken?

Even though Emily had a hometown connection with Shelton, none of the coaches turned their chairs for her. Blake expressed regret for not choosing her, feeling terrible about it. He admitted that if he had known her backstory earlier, he would have definitely turned his chair for her. This was a heart-wrenching moment for him, leaving him feeling saddened and wishing he could turn back time. This also left fans of the show and Blake very disheartened. “Man, if I could ever go back in time, it would have been for Emily,” said Shelton. “It just didn’t move me enough, but knowing the backstory — if I had known it — I definitely would have hit my button. That’s a heartbreaker for me.”

One of the tweets read, "Emily Rhyne has that storytelling voice with some beautiful inflections to the lyric. She was invested and emotional but didn't get a turn!! #TheVoice #VoicePremiere". Another fan tweeted," #EmilyRhyne did not receive any chair turns, but gave @blakeshelton some gifts after her performance #shusocial23 #TheVoice @NBCTheVoice". "Up next on #VoicePremiere is #EmilyRhyne and sadly no chairs turn. What a lovely girl from Ada, OK and @BlakeShelton should have turned! Best wishes Emily, stay sweet!" tweeted another user commending the effort Rhyne put in her audition.

One fan could not get over Blake's voice from years ago. They tweeted, "I never heard that recording of Blake’s 13 year old singing voice before. He sounded so great, and funny, lol! #TheVoice #VoicePremiere", while some fans are already looking forward to having Rhyne on the show next season. Another reaction reads, "Emily should have gotten her Hometown singer @blakeshelton as her coach. Perhaps she should go back in Season 24 using Blake's replacement coach if announced". Another fan of the show tweeted, "Emily singing First Cut Is The Deepest, love that song!! #TheVoice #VoicePremiere."

'The Voice' Season 23 airs on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8/7c on NBC, and is available for streaming on Peacock.

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