Blake Shelton Swallows His Pride to Congratulate Niall Horan on ‘The Voice’ Triumph

It’s been just over two weeks since The Voice , Gina Miles of Team Niall, and Blake Shelton has finally said his congratulations. The country superstar, who is officially no longer on the NBC singing competition after coaching since the very beginning, has been one to remind people time and time again that he has won the most seasons, and he very nearly won his last season, if not for former One Direction member Niall Horan.

Horan’s last remaining singer, Gina Miles, was up against Shelton’s Grace West, and Miles eventually landed on top. Shelton has been unsurprisingly silent about losing his final season, and via E! News, he finally swallowed his pride and sent a video message to TODAY, where Horan was performing. In true Shelton fashion, he not only joked about him winning The Voice but also made sure to truly congratulate him.

“Now that it’s over with, I can finally tell you that I wrote it into the script that you were going to win The Voice,” Shelton shared. “Congrats buddy. Good luck on the tour. Good luck on all the new music. I’ll see you down the road.”

Considering Blake Shelton and Niall Horan’s playful friendship, the country star was probably very happy for his friend, even if it did mean that he lost. It is impressive that Horan was able to win his first season, and since he is returning next season, that means he is going to be the reigning champion, and the other coaches will need to watch out. It is going to be hard to watch The Voice knowing that “Grandpa Blake” will not be coming back, but it’s always possible he could return to the series in a mentor capacity or perform. Plus, with Shelton’s better half, Gwen Stefani, returning as coach, it wouldn’t be surprising if she kept the jokes going in place of her hubby.

During his time on The Voice, Blake Shelton won nine seasons total, making him the coach with the most wins on the series, with 15 runner-ups. So while he didn’t win Season 23, he did come pretty close on multiple occasions, and he has won quite a lot. Even though The Voice, this does give the other coaches to actually have a chance at winning and being the runner-up, which is always a plus, but the banter just won’t be the same without Shelton.