On Tuesday night, 16-year-old country singer Chevel Shepherd of Farmington was crowned the champion of “The Voice” Season 15; she’s now the proud owner of $100,000 and a recording contract with Universal Music Group. She won over fellow country singers Kirk Jay and Chris Kroeze, along with teen pop/R&B singer Kennedy Holmes.
While Shepherd’s victory was somewhat surprising, as Jay and Holmes were considered front-runners, it also ties into one of the show’s big storylines: Shepherd was on Kelly Clarkson’s team, which means for the first time in the show’s history, a winning country singer was not on Blake Shelton’s team.
Why is this a big deal? Over the past few seasons, the celebrity coaches have become increasingly angry that country contestants – who typically do very well on reality singing competition shows – routinely flock to Shelton’s team.
The first step was actually persuading Shepherd to choose a different team. Shepherd appeared on the third episode of the blind auditions in October and introduced herself as a high school junior and Carrie Underwood superfan who grew up singing country music. “If I saw Blake’s chair turn around, I would freak out,” she said excitedly. “Just be like, ‘Hey! He’s country, I’m country.’”
As Shepherd performed The Band Perry’s “If I Die Young,” Shelton spun his chair around – as did Clarkson and Hudson. “It’s no secret I’ve been dying to get a female country singer,” Clarkson said, comparing Shepherd to Dolly Parton and Sarah McLachlan.
Clarkson then ran over to Shelton’s chair and tried to physically block him from Shepherd’s view. She boasted that she also had Nashville connections: “I don’t know if you’ve heard my new duet with Dan + Shay. Other people are in country music!” The other coaches settled in for a good fight. “I turned around because your voice is so pure and so beautiful, and I just wanted to watch the battle between Kelly and Blake,” Hudson said.
At first, it seemed like Shelton was the inevitable choice, as Shepherd lit up when he started talking about his experience with 15 seasons on the show. Clarkson looked resigned. “I know I’m going to lose you, but I’m a fan,” she told Shepherd.
In a decision that shocked everyone, Shepherd made her choice: Clarkson! “I had to go with Kelly. I liked what she said,” Shepherd explained.
On Monday, host Carson Daly asked Clarkson why she wanted Shepherd for her team so badly. “Did you see a little bit of yourself in her?” he asked.
“I think she’s way cooler than me. She is authentic country,” Clarkson said.