Derby cowboy reaches the end of the trail on NBC’s ‘The Voice’
He sang a soulful and soaring rendition of Tim McGraw’s “If You’re Reading This,” and a panel of celebrity judges seemed to imply that he was a competition front-runner.
Yet at the end of Monday night’s episode of “The Voice” — NBC’s popular singing competition — Wichita singer Jaelen Johnston was eliminated from the competition by his celebrity coach, Kelsea Ballerini, who had to pick two of the five semi-finalists on her team to move forward to the next round of the contest and be a part of the top eight.
She chose instead rocker Iris Herrera and belter Alanna Lynise.
“This is truly the most uncomfortable and nervous I’ve been since I’ve taken this seat this season,” Ballerini said before revealing her choices. “I still get told ‘not this time’ or ‘no’ all the time, and I know how that feels. I try it on often. And it’s just been truly one of the joys of my life to watch you guys grow and be a part of your careers.”
When he realized his time on the show was over, Johnston nodded and applauded for his fellow contestants and watched as Ballerini hugged the winners.
Then, he was gone.
But still, Johnston — a 22-year-old cowboy hat-wearing, deep-voiced member of the Derby High School class of 2021 — was among the top 20 finishers on this season of “The Voice,” and that’s further than any Wichita-area contestant has made it on a reality singing competition since Wichitan Arthur Gunn was named runner-up on the 18th season of “American Idol,” which aired during the COVID-19 pandemic in May of 2020.
Johnston’s elimination was a bit of a surprise, too, especially considering how enthusiastic Ballerini had been about his abilities all season and the fact that he was the only country singer left on the country star’s team. Not only that, but after Johnston performed on Monday’s episode, judge Michael Buble advised Ballerini to choose him.
“...If I was Kelsea Ballerini, and I wanted to win, I would be putting you through to the lives,” Buble said to Johnston. He was referring to the next round of competition, where the finalists must perform on live television.
Johnston was not the only Wichita-area singer who appeared on this season of “The Voice.” Maize High School graduate Kameron Jaso also competed but was eliminated on the April 15 episode.
The winner of “The Voice” will be named on the show’s May 20 episode. Johnston will be performing at the Wichita Riverfest at 7:30 p.m. on June. 7.
This story was originally published April 29, 2025 at 2:55 PM.
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