Blake Shelton bids 'The Voice' farewell on bittersweet Season 23 finale: 'Not a dry eye in the house'

It was a bittersweet goodbye for “The Cowboy” Tuesday, as retiring original coach Blake Shelton’s run on The Voice finally came to an end — after, as host Carson Daly worded it, he’d “pushed his button nearly 600 times, coached over 300 artists, worn 210 pairs of boots, and drunk 100 gallons of whatever is in his cup.”

And as Blake prepared to abdicate his hydraulic red throne (making way for his replacement, fellow country superstar Reba McEntire) on Season 23's grand finale, Carson rattled off some other statistics — unveiling Blake’s retired jean jacket, which was proudly displayed on the Universal Studios soundstage’s wall and embroidered with the numbers of Team Blake’s nine winning seasons.

“I think we’re missing one — we need to be able to take that [jacket] back down and put a ‘23’ on there, I’m hoping, before the night’s over,” Blake quipped.

But at the end of the historic night, that jacket remained pinned to the wall. After the closest margin of voting in Voice history, Blake actually lost his farewell season, with his two finalists, rock ‘n’ soul powerhouse NOIVAS and classic country crooner Grace West, respectively placing fifth and second.

Instead, it was the rookie coach that Blake practically picked as his successor on the Season 23 premiere, Niall Horan, who won in a torch-passing moment, with Team Niall indie-pop chanteuse Gina Miles. (Gina seemed utterly shocked, and of course many viewers did predict that Grace would win, but allow me to gloat for a moment and point out that I’d predicted this outcome, after Gina stunned during the finals with "Nothing Compares 2 U.")

Whether or not Tuesday's result was surprising (or disappointing, to some fans), Blake did receive a hero’s sendoff on the celebratory evening, and as Carson noted, there was "not a dry eye in the house.” Blake’s old onscreen bromance buddy, Adam Levine — who quit the show much more abruptly and acrimoniously in 2019 — returned not only to perform with Maroon 5, but to introduce Blake at the top of the show. After Adam warbled his new single “Middle Ground,” Blake ran onstage to bear-hug him, as Carson remarked, “I can’t imagine tonight without Adam being back for Blake’s final show. … It’s special to have Adam here.”

Another O.G. Voice coach, CeeLo Green, kicked off the festivities with a medley of songs from Blake’s favorite decade, the ‘80s, accompanied by Team Blake winners Chloe Kohanski and Cam Anthony and fan favorites Bodie and Wendy Moten. Other past panelists from what Pharrell Williams amusingly called “The Blake Shelton Show” — Camila Cabello, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Hudson, Nick Jonas, John Legend, Usher, and Pharrell — also sent their pre-taped well-wishes.

In the night's most feel-good moment, Blake was also fêted with a “big surprise” group performance of Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” by a troupe of familiar, friendly Team Blake faces, including his seven other past champions (Jermaine Paul, Cassadee Pope, Danielle Bradbery, Craig Wayne Boyd, Sundance Head, Todd Tilghman, and Bryce Leatherwood) and standout finalists Dia Frampton, Xenia, RaeLynn, the Swon Brothers, and Ian Flanigan — all people who, as Carson put it, had had their “lives changed” by The Voice. A genuinely delighted and choked-up Blake looked on, beaming. More bear-hugs ensued.

But even more important than that above-mentioned Adam/Blake bromance, there was a sweet look back at Blake’s romance with the person whose life was changed most by the show: his wife and occasional castmate, Gwen Stefani. “The Voice is the reason I met Blake Shelton, and my life completely changed after that,” Gwen gushed.

It was a little odd that Gwen wasn’t there in person for her “soulmate's” big farewell (she will be back on the show as a coach in the fall), but in her own pre-taped segment, she fondly recalled the bond they formed when “parallel destruction” was happening in both their lives due to the breakdowns of their respective previous marriages. “And then, next thing you know, Blake and I are becoming besties — and then falling in love!” she gushed. “It’s hard to talk about it without being emotional.” Gwen also surprised Blake by revealing that she’d arranged to have his original Voice chair shipped to their Oklahoma ranch, giggling, “Blake, do I love you or what?” Blake later adorably declared meeting Gwen on The Voice “the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me in my life.”

Other highlights from The Voice Season 23’s two-hour finale included third-placer D.Smooth and his coach, Kelly “K.Smooth” Clarkson, spectacularly dueting on Joji‘s “Slow Dancing In the Dark”; Chance the Rapper and his fourth-place sister act Sorelle doing the Five Stairsteps’ “O-o-h Child”; and Niall and Gina performing a gorgeous duet of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind.” Blake and NOIVAS sang “Home” by another one of Blake’s bromance buddies, Michael Bublé, while Blake and Grace joined forces on his own song, “Lonely Tonight,” which will go down in TV history as his last-ever Voice performance (at least until he “pulls an Elton,” as Miley joked, and returns as a guest performer to promote his next single).

But even if the Cowboy never returns to The Voice in any capacity, I hope he’ll be back on NBC eventually for Season 1 of his new sitcom with Niall, The Oddest Couple — which aired its unofficial "pilot" during Tuesday’s finale. (Someone at the network green-light that, please!) In the meantime, Niall will be back on NBC in the fall, returning to The Voice as the reigning champion, alongside Season 24 coaches Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani, and John Legend.

Tuesday’s Voice finale ended on a quiet, somber note, with a scene of Blake carrying a cardboard box of his personal effects, walking down a corporate corridor, and shutting off the NBC office lights. But as Gwen said, “The Voice is going to go on, but Blake’s legacy will go on forever.”

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

• New 'Voice' coach Reba McEntire shows up early to replace Blake Shelton: 'I like this chair!'

• 'No one's ever heard that song like that': 'The Voice' Season 23 Battle Rounds make history with 'game-changing' twist

• Late 'AGT' and 'Voice' veteran Nolan Neal's daughter honors dad with 'Idol' audition: 'It could have been so different. He didn’t mean to die.'

• Blake Shelton faces 'horrifying' decision during 'Voice' Battles: 'I did not want to go out doing something like this, but here I am.'

• 'Wildest Blind Audition ever': Superstar surprises 'Voice' viewers with 'biggest performance of their entire life'

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