'I'm on Blake’s last team and all I got was this lousy T-shirt': Shelton bids farewell to 'The Voice,' takes on new coaches Chance the Rapper and Niall Horan

Since The Voice debuted in 2011, every season has offered some sort of unofficial drinking game. Take a sip every time every time Adam Levine wears a holey T-shirt; or Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, or Camilla Cabello say they were on an unnamed “singing competition like this one”; or Gwen Stefani claims she’s a country music artist now… and you’ll be tipsy by the end of the season premiere. This year, reach for your glass every time Blake Shelton mentions that this is his final season… and you’ll be passed out before the Season 23 premiere’s first commercial break.

The four original Voice coaches were Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, and CeeLo Green, but one by one, the coaches vacated their big red chairs, leaving Blake as the last coach standing (or, um, sitting). Since then, the country superstar has shared the stage and playfully sparred with rotating coaches Shakira, Usher, Pharrell Williams, Miley Cyrus, Alicia Keys, Nick Jonas, John Legend, Ariana Grande, Camila Cabello, Kelly Clarkson, and his own wife Gwen (who he met-cute on the set), but he’s always remained the panel’s most popular and successful coach, guiding nine contestants to the winner’s circle.

But that era ends now — and if Monday’s premiere is any indication, Blake is going milk his last season for all it’s worth. (“I’ve got to win!” he declared during the show’s cold open. “I’m going out with a bang.”) Throughout the two-hour episode, Blake lured contestants by constantly saying, “I’d be honored for you to be on the last Team Blake” and even offering them limited-edition commemorative shirts that read, “I’m on Blake’s last team and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.”

Blake mentioned that this was his final season so often, in fact, that new coach Niall Horan actually accused him of crying wolf and just staging a publicity stunt, joking to Blake, “Yeah, it’s your last season… unless NBC pays you more money to come back next year, and this is like a fake retirement!”

It is hard to imagine The Voice, billed Monday as the “Home of BS,” without Blake, but the man seemed serious — and already seemed to be passing the torch to his successor. While back in 2017, when Yahoo Entertainment asked Blake to suggest his replacement, he said David Lee Roth (which you know would be must-see TV), this week he was “grooming” Niall for the role. By the episode’s end, an alliance had seemingly formed, with Niall calling Blake “Dad” and imitating that pointing-to-head gesture that has always been the incumbent coach’s signature recruiting move.

Niall’s first team recruit was actually a four-chair country singer, Ross Clayton, and the One Direction heartthrob pulled out allthe drinking-game-worthy stops for Ross. The former X Factor U.K. star pointed out that he’d competed on another “show like this”; he shouted out his devoted, ready-to-vote boy-band fanbase and had the girls in the studio audience scream for him on command; he got on his knees and begged; and in case none of that worked, he even hit the other three coaches’ buttons to make their red chairs swivel back around, so he and Ross could have a “private” chat. When Ross eventually, surprisingly picked Niall over Blake, Blake just said, “I’m happy for Niall. I feel like Niall is gonna take my seat on this show [in future seasons] by playing those dirty tricks.” Blake even shook Niall’s hand, in a good-sportsmanlike, game-recognizing-game moment.

Blake and The Voice may be positioning Niall as the new coach to watch/beat, but there are two new panelists this season — a development that returning coach Kelly Clarkson called a “game-changer” — and new cast member Chance the Rapper should not be underestimated. “Chance has come into this thing fearless. When he gets excited about somebody, he goes all-in,” Blake admitted.

While Chance described himself as “pretty chill,” he was anything but; a fierce competitor, he proved that Niall isn’t the only coach of this “rookie season” who can play “dirty tricks.” He actually used his one Block on Blake for another four-chair contestant, NOIVAS, and even orchestrated some sort of secret production sorcery to switch the illuminated names on the stage floor in front of the coaches’ chairs to all spell out his name in big capital letters. He also lured harmonic sister trio Sorelle away from Blake by — as Blake put it — “producing a record live” with them “before our eyes. Once that happened, I knew it was over for me.”

But it ain’t over until the winning Season 23 contestant sings. Will that singer coached by Blake and get a whole lot more than a lousy T-shirt? Will Niall or Chance pull off an upset? Or will the show’s other veteran, Kelly, who’s now in her ninth Voice season, win for a fifth time? Perhaps the series’ 23rd champion will be one of Monday’s Blind Auditioners, listed below.

­­­Neil Salisch, 34: “Honky Tonk Blues”

Kelly dug this affable St. Louis journeyman’s “cool vibe”; Blake loved his old-school yodel; Chance was impressed by Neil’s texture, tone, and range; and Niall, who pointed out the connection between American roots music and traditional Irish folk (other unofficial season 23 drinking game so far), called Neil a “seasoned” storyteller. To be honest, I didn’t think Neil was good enough to turn four chairs and kick off this entire important season, but maybe he sounded better in the room.

Who turned? All four coaches — but Blake wasted no time with his gameplay, blocking fellow country fan Kelly.

Result: Team Blake, of course. I agreed with Chance that it would’ve made for “interesting” TV if a bar-band dude who covered Hank Williams Sr. had picked Chance, who admitted he’s no country expert. (“Hey, why not?” said Chance, which an amused Kelly said was her favorite pitch in Voice history.) But we all knew that wasn’t going to happen.

Sorelle, “Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy”

This sister trio of self-described social media influencers (3.2 million TikTok followers) was unique in so many ways. They went with a left-field Queen cover, and while their performance started off a bit barbershop/Good Ship Lollipop, as it progressed, it got into some pleasingly Beach Boys/Mika/Jellyfish territory. Their arrangement was creative and theatrical, and while their intricate, dissonant harmonies were initially off-putting to Chance, once he realized those harmonies were intentional, he was intrigued and called Sorelle “dope.” Putting on his producer hat, he asked

them to trill a few lines of “What Would I Do” from The Wiz — and the result was unexpectedly magical. I feel Chance could be a chance-taking whiz of a coach this season. “I’ve got a vision!” he declared.

Who turned? Blake and Chance.

Result: Team Chance. OK, this will be interesting TV!

Holly Brand, 22, “Mississippi Girl”

This pageant girl with the big voice and big dreams opened for Blake at age 10 — a moment that changed her life and set her on her career path. I’m sure she came to The Voice hoping to join Team Blake, but the other coaches had other plans for her. Niall compared Holly to his “good friend” Maren Morris; Kelly described Holly as a cross between Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood; and Chance told her, “That whistle note took me out!… You have a crazy control of your vocal range.”

Who turned? Kelly (right away), Niall, and Chance… but not Blake, surprisingly. “What is wrong with you?” gasped Kelly — although she was clearly thrilled to not have to compete with Blake for this particular country contestant. As for the other two coaches in the running, Kelly didn’t really have to compete with them. “I definitely know a helluva more about country than these two,” Kelly smugly told Holly.

Result: Team Kelly, of course.