Monday was a good night for the two Wichita-area contestants on ‘The Voice’
Both of the Wichita-area contestants appearing on this season of “The Voice” were shown on Monday’s episode competing in the show’s Battle Rounds — and both were chosen to move forward in the competition.
Jaelen Johnston, a singer from Derby, and Kameron Jaso, a Maize High School graduate, both will perform next in the show’s Knockout Rounds. They earned their spots after singing duets against fellow contestants and being chosen as the superior performers.
Johnston, who is competing on a team coached by country star Kelsea Ballerini, was asked on Monday’s episode to perform a duet of the Brooks & Dunn song “Neon Moon” as part of the show’s Battle Rounds.
During the Battle Rounds, two singers are given a duet to sing together, but only one moves on. On Monday’s episode, Ballerini chose Johnston over his competitor — 19-year-old singer Hailey Wright from Redwater, Texas.
Ballerini praised Johnston’s deep, baritone voice and his stage presence.
“Jaelen just has that thing where, as soon as he started singing, even the audience reacted. He has a reactive voice. You can’t explain it. It’s like lightning in a bottle,” she said. “Country music is going to be like, ‘Where have you been, and why aren’t you on our label?’”
After she picked Johnston, though, Ballerini also exercised her ability to save another contestant and asked Wright to stay as well. Both singers will now move on to the next round.
Jaso, a 19-year-old former Maize High School baseball player who turned to music after a 2023 car crash sidelined his sports career, was shown in a shorter clip on Monday’s episode. He performed a duet of the Daryl Hall & John Oates song “You Make My Dreams (Come True)“ with singer Naomi Soleil. Both singers are on celebrity judge Michale Buble’s team, and Buble chose Jaso as the winner.
“Kameron has a lot of potential,” Buble said during the episode. “He has great pitch control, he’s got a big heart, very charismatic. He’s got the whole package.”
The Battle Rounds will continue through March 24 and will be followed by the Knockout Rounds, during which coaches pit their own team members against each other, performing individually. The coach will pick one singer to advance, and the other coaches will have a chance to steal the contestant that isn’t chosen.
The winner of the competition will be chosen in May.
On Monday, The Wichita Riverfest announced that Johnston will be one of its main stage performers for 2025. He’ll appear on Kennedy Plaza on Saturday, June 7, as one of the opening acts for country star Chris Janson.
This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 6:03 AM.
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