Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton couldn't resist battling for a ‘Voice’ singer after his emotional audition
'The Voice' Season 22 blind audition transformed into a battleground for Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani. The husband-wife duo tried to verbally knock each other out while trying to steal a contestant after an emotional moment on stage. Contestant Jay Allen paid tribute to his late mother, who died of Alzheimer's, with his soul-stirring rendition of Cody Johnson's 'Til You Can't'. However, the only coaches to turn their chairs following Allen's rousing act were Stefani and Shelton, who then engaged in a humorous conversation to entice the Cedar Falls native to join one of their teams.
"I knew you were gonna do that!" Shelton exclaimed while looking over to his wife after she turned the chair. "I had to!" the 'Rich Girl' hitmaker cut in. "You're killing me!" the country music legend shot back. "Your husband and wife duo turned around," Allen teased them. Shelton didn't waste time applauding the performance; he praised Allen's tone and his ability to hold on to the high notes. "The delivery of that lyric is such a conversational song. In order to stay on pitch and get through the lyrics and then hit those powerful moments, man, that's tough. And you sounded great doing it. I mean, I love your tone. I love your approach," he expressed.
Stefani started by lauding her husband's country music roots before moving on to 'steal' Allen, "Blake, he's taught me so much about country music, and I got to be on two number one country hits with Blake Shelton, which was just the most incredible experience of my life. And it made me so joyful to recognize that song when it came in and to hear your voice on it. And the chorus, I thought it sounded really good, and I would love to coach you," she said. She continued by highlighting her musical journey, her experience with world tours, and her time on the show. "And it's kind of a two-for-one, because I'll just ask him (Shelton) if I have questions, so it's fine either way," she said in jest.
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Allen was then questioned by Shelton on his music selection. The young self-made musician revealed that he loved listening to alternative rock and that his parents had introduced him to country music. He then detailed a little about his late mother, "I relate to it because my mother was diagnosed with what's called early-onset Alzheimer's when she was 51. She passed away in 2019 at age 54. I wrote a song about it. I'm proud to say that the song that I wrote has now helped raise close to $50 million to help fight against Alzheimer's." With that, he went on to render his original track 'Blank Stares', making the coaches emotional.
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"You've got a pick between these two lovely people who happen to be married to each other. Um, please tell us who you'd like to be your coach," John Legend eased the room with his lighthearted comment. After a tense pause, Allen announced, "Blake, I'm a giant fan. I respect you so much, but I have to choose your wife," he said. "It's a rough day to be Blake Shelton," Legend joked while the 'Nobody But You' singer mockingly acts out a heart attack.
Allen proceeded to perform in the battle rounds and was eventually included in Shelton's squad after being "stolen." However, he lost against Kate Kalvach and season winner Bryce Leatherwood during the Knockouts, as per NBC. Allen continues to advocate for Alzheimer's through his music. "I’m going to continue doing what I’ve done for the last 5 years, and that’s touring the country to raise awareness and money to fight Alzheimer’s," he said. He also performed live at Shelton and Stefani's bar, 'Ole Red', in Oklahoma, and received the 2022 Country Now Award for Favorite Competition Contestant.