Photo: NBC
The Voice finalist Jaelen Johnston and his coach, country star Kelsea Ballerini, took the stage together during the season finale on Tuesday night (May 20). The pair sat in front of a glowing campfire and performed one of the saddest country songs of all time.
Johnston, 22, began the rendition of “Whiskey Lullaby,” the duet Brad Paisley released with Allison Krauss in 2003. The duet is widely considered ons of the saddest country songs of all time — one tanking places it at No. 1 — as it tells the story of a split that leaves the man and woman heartbroken (and leaning on whiskey) for the rest of their lives. Bill Anderson and John Randall wrote the duet, which appeared on Paisley’s 17-track studio album, Mud on the Tires, in 2003.
“Whiskey Lullaby” ranks No. 3 on a Rolling Stones list of the 40 Saddest Country Songs of All Time, along with Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” Martina McBride’s “Concrete Angel,” and others. The Paisley-Krauss duet takes the No. 1 spot in a ranking of the Saddest Country Songs via The Top Tens, a reference site that includes hundreds of thousands of Top 10 rankings. That list also includes McBride’s ballad, plus George Strait’s “The Breath You Take,” Randy Travis’ “Three Wooden Crosses” and more.
Johnston, who is from Derby, Kansas, was the last country singer in the 27th season of The Voice. He took the stage throughout the season with renditions of Tim McGraw's “If You're Reading This,” Luke Combs' “Where the Wild Things Are,” Brooks & Dunn’s “Neon Moon” (with fellow Team Kelsea artist Hailey Wright), and Lee Brice’s “I Drive Your Truck.” Johnston represented Team Kelsea in the finale, performing “What Was I Thinkin’” by Dierks Bentley and “Cold” by Chris Stapleton (Ballerini applauded Johnston’s recovery when he forgot the lyrics on stage).
Johnston made the Top 5 with Lucia Flores-Wiseman (Team Adam), Adam David and Jadyn Cree (both from Team Michael Bublé), and Renzo (Team John Legend). Scroll below to watch the emotional moment the winner was revealed (warning: spoiler). Watch Johnson and Ballerini perform “Whiskey Lullaby” here: