“The Voice” Season 19 has crowned its winner: Congrats to 14-year-old Carter Rubin of Team Gwen!
The five finalists were Jim Ranger and Ian Flanigan from Team Blake, Desz from Team Kelly, John Holiday from Team Legend and Rubin from Gwen Stefani’s stable.
Above, Rubin is pictured second-from-the-left.
In addition to coaches Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, Dan + Shay, Jason Derulo, JP Saxe, Julia Michaels, Keith Urban, Lauren Daigle, Lewis Capaldi, Nelly ft. Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard and 24KGoldn ft. Iann Dior performed on Tuesday’s live, two-hour Season 19 finale.
Plus, Season 19’s Top 20 performed “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” featuring the Top 20. The five finalists performed on last night’s show.
Below are the finalists’ bios straight from NBC.
John Holiday, 35
Team Legend
Hometown: Rosenberg, Texas
Resident: Appleton, Wisconsin
John grew up singing in church and learned to play piano with encouragement from his grandmother. John later joined the Fort Bend Boys Choir of Texas and they were invited to perform with the Houston Symphony. It was there that John experienced opera for the first time and remembers being inspired after seeing and hearing someone of color perform that style of music. He decided to pursue opera himself to break more barriers as a young gay black man. John now performs opera in four languages and works as a jazz singer. He currently lives in Wisconsin with his husband, Paul, where he is a voice teacher at the Conservatory of Music at Lawrence University.
Jim Ranger, 38
Team Blake
Hometown: Newport, Arizona
Resident: Bakersfield, California
Jim spent the first part of his childhood traveling the country in an RV with his parents, who would sing and preach at churches and festivals. He started singing at 4 years old and learned the guitar at 13. Once his family settled down, he joined the school choir and found a passion for secular music. He went on to play in a jazz band and, at 20, married his wife, Camilla, whom he has known since they were babies. They now have three kids together and Jim works as a campus pastor and worship leader at his dad’s church. Jim loves his role in the church but feels he has neglected his passion for secular music. He comes to “The Voice” to prove to his kids that it is never too late to follow your dreams.
Carter Rubin, 14
Team Gwen
Hometown: Shoreham, New York
Resident: Shoreham, New York
Carter grew up in a musical family and was inspired by his grandfather, a guitarist and backup vocalist for Jay and the Americans. Carter loves singing and playing music, especially with his older brother, Jack, who has autism. They perform together at their family’s autism foundation, which surprises families with trips to amusement parks. Outside of the foundation, Carter also performs in his school’s musicals and various community events.
Desz, 30
Team Kelly
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Resident: Los Angeles, California
Desz grew up as a shy child in a musical family, whose mother always encouraged her to sing. Her mother passed away unexpectedly when Desz was 11, and Desz courageously performed for the first time at the funeral to honor her. Soon after, Desz began singing in church and at school and never looked back. She spent the decade after college as a worship leader and gigging artist, but was often overlooked for bigger opportunities due to the industry’s perception of beauty standards. Refusing to fail and determined to break image stereotypes, Desz moved to Los Angeles to chase her dream. She is now a member of Kanye West’s Sunday Service Choir and spent the last year touring the world playing sold-out shows.
Ian Flanigan, 30
Team Blake
Hometown: Saugerties, New York
Resident: Saugerties, New York
Ian grew up playing music and was writing songs by age 11. Being a songwriter has always been his dream and after high school he traveled around playing in bands and performing where he could. After years of gigging, Ian had fallen into an unhealthy lifestyle. He made the decision to put himself through rehab and has now been sober for four years. After getting sober he met his life partner, Ayla, and her daughter, Kamea. They created their own production company and now tour full-time from their motorhome. Being a traveling musician and a dad is hard work, but Ian is grateful that his family supports him and enjoys coming along for the ride.