Blake Shelton Remembers His Late Brother, Richie, During Emotional ‘The Voice’ Moment
The Live Playoffs on Season 23 of The Voice have begun, bringing together memorable performances, plenty of laughs and a few emotional moments. One of the latter took place between Blake Shelton and his newly minted Semi-Finals standout, NOIVAS, when Shelton remembered his late brother, Richie.
In rehearsals, and before his performance, NOIVAS told Shelton that he had hoped to represent his team from the start, primarily because he felt the two shared similarities.
“Not just because we are two tall guys and pretty good-looking, if I do say so myself,” NOIVAS explained. “But even the fact that we both lost brothers.”
That drew Shelton's attention.
“How old were you when you lost your brother?” Shelton asked, to which NOIVAS replied, “21.”
Like NOIVAS, Shelton lost his older brother, Richie, who died in a car accident on Nov. 13, 1990.
Recalling that horrific day, Shelton said, “I was 14.”
“My brother, if he had been around, he would’ve freaked out if he had known what I had gone on to do,” Shelton added. “He was just such a huge music fan. You could hear him coming six blocks away, the stereo blaring out of his truck.”
Sharing his story of losing his brother, Alfred, and his connection to Shelton, NOIVAS said, “My brother passed away in 2013. He was always the person that you looked up to. He was a physical therapist. He was a great father. The last thing he told me was to do me. Before my brother passed away, I was very quiet. It wasn’t until I lost my brother that I started to become fearless.”
“That’s cool your brother got to see you do [music],” Shelton noted of NOIVAS’ talents.
From time to time, Shelton, who also has a sister named Endy, has reflected on the passing of his late brother.
In 2017, he turned to Twitter to pay tribute to his lost sibling, writing, "Lost my brother 27 years ago today, I was only 14 at the time but it changed my life forever ... Made me realize that life is precious and there's no time like RIGHT NOW to go for it ... We still miss you, Richie!!"
On Monday night's (May 1) edition of The Voice, NOIVAS said he was going to take Alfred’s words into every performance and give it his all.
Onstage, he did just that. The talented hopeful, who has rocked a black cowboy hat during every performance up to this point, showcased his rock edge in front of a blazing red backdrop while singing the Beatles’ “Come Together.”
“You’ve brought a different level of energy every week, and this week you come out, and you put on one of the best performances we’ve seen on the show,” Niall Horan said afterward.
“Yeah, you just turned this into your own concert. The use of background and vocalists was something I didn’t see coming,” Chance the Rapper added.
Kelly Clarkson also called the performance “incredible.”
Echoing her sentiments, Shelton said. “Your singing was incredible. The way you perform, it’s a little bit wild, and it just works for you dude, great job.”
Folks will be seeing more of NOIVAS soon, as he is advancing to the Semi-Finals. NOVIAS and country singer Grace West will round out the Top 8, which will be announced when The Voice returns Monday, May 8, on NBC.