Blake Shelton uses last-ever 'save' on 'The Voice' for Milwaukee-area singer Rachel Christine

Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read
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Country superstar Blake Shelton is leaving "The Voice" after this 23rd season — the longest-serving coach on the NBC singing competition series.

And on Monday night's episode, Shelton had one last "save" left, and he used it for Milwaukee-area singer Rachel Christine.

"That meant the world," a stunned Christine said in the final moments of this season's final "knockouts" episode of "The Voice" on Monday. "And to hear that was his last save, I'm putting that on my résumé."

The Burlington-born, Delavan-based singer joined Kelly Clarkson's team after her blind audition singing Alanis Morissette's "Uninvited" on an episode last month. Clarkson then selected Christine to move on in the competition following her take on Maggie Rogers' "Light On" during the "battles" round.

Delavan-based singer Rachel Christine sang Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon" on NBC's "The Voice" on Monday, April 24, 2023. Her coach Kelly Clarkson opted to keep another singer, Holly Brand, on her team after facing off against Christine during the "knockouts" round, but coach Blake Shelton used his save to recruit Christine to his team.
Delavan-based singer Rachel Christine sang Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon" on NBC's "The Voice" on Monday, April 24, 2023. Her coach Kelly Clarkson opted to keep another singer, Holly Brand, on her team after facing off against Christine during the "knockouts" round, but coach Blake Shelton used his save to recruit Christine to his team.

On Monday’s episode, Christine got to have a coaching session with Clarkson and guest mentor Reba McEntire ahead of her "knockouts" performance against fellow Clarkson teammate Holly Brand.

Christine selected Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon" as her song for the knockouts — an ode to her mother, who was a lead singer in a band and "always had very Stevie Nicks vibes," Christine said Monday. The performance received praise from the coaches, with Shelton suggesting Christine "sang the crap out of it" and Clarkson calling her "a really incredibly gifted singer."

" 'Rhiannon' is one of my favorite songs of all time," coach Niall Horan told her Monday. "Your ability to change things up is really impressive. You smashed it out of the park. It was bulletproof."

Despite the praise, Christine faced some stiff competition from Brand, who delivered a shimmering rendition of "Blue Moon of Kentucky."

"This is the toughest one," Clarkson said. When pressed to pick a winner, she ultimately opted to keep Brand on her team.

Blake Shelton used his final save as a coach on "The Voice" following 23 seasons to keep Delavan-based singer Rachel Christine in the competition. She is now on Shelton's team and will advance to the playoffs following Monday’s episode of the NBC singing competition series.
Blake Shelton used his final save as a coach on "The Voice" following 23 seasons to keep Delavan-based singer Rachel Christine in the competition. She is now on Shelton's team and will advance to the playoffs following Monday’s episode of the NBC singing competition series.

But Shelton didn't hesitate for a second when host Carson Daly gave the coaches a chance to use their lone save of the knockouts this season.

"I'm so happy I stole Rachel," Shelton said Monday. "She sang flawlessly. I just think she's a very diverse vocalist and I need that on my team."

Next up for Christine on "The Voice" are the "playoffs," which begin airing next Monday.

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Blake Shelton uses last 'The Voice' 'save' for Milwaukee-area singer