Miranda Lambert to RaeLynn: ‘You Don’t Have to Finish First to Win’

In a surprising turn of events on Tuesday night’s episode of ‘The Voice,’ celebrity coach Blake Shelton ended up eliminating his only remaining country act: blonde country cutie RaeLynn. And while Shelton admitted immediately after the live show that he had to go with his gut and judge her truly on her very last performance, he also acknowledged that his wife Miranda Lambert probably wouldn’t be too keen on his decision.

“She’s probably a little bit [disappointed],” he told the Hollywood Reporter after the show. “But, I have to do what I think is right as a coach and based off what I saw that was my kneejerk reaction. RaeLynn will be fine. Oh my God, my wife is in love with her. She’ll probably make a record on her and everything else.”

Shelton admitted that he had already made a plan in his head about how he would choose between his bottom two team members — RaeLynn and Erin Willett — if they ended up giving comparable performances.

“I actually came in to the battle thinking that if they both do really good, I’d probably go with RaeLynn just because she was a country artist,” he said. “I feel like I can affect change there. I just don’t think she did a very good performance tonight and that wouldn’t be fair to Erin. I couldn’t feel good about doing my job if I would have made my decision just because RaeLynn is a country artist.”

And though she was eliminated and came in third place on Team Blake, the bubbly little RaeLynn seems more than content with her consolation prize — encouragement from Lambert, which came in the form of a phone call following the show, congratulating her on how well she did.

“It’s awesome to have Miranda backing me. She’s a great person,” RaeLynn said. “She finished third [on 'Nashville Star'] and she said, ‘I’m bigger than the person that won.’ And not saying that in a rude way, but she goes, ‘You don’t have to finish first to win ultimately. You just do your best and that’s what’s going to help you win.’ I take that to heart and I finished third on Blake’s team and that means a lot to me.”

Somehow, we think country music will help find the perfect niche for the Texas native, who is a sparkplug for her young age. Following the show, Lambert reached out again — this time via Twitter — to congratulate the last standing two and officially welcome RaeLynn into the genre. “I’m so excited to have a new Bad Ass girl in country music,” she tweeted. “@RaeLynnOfficial we need u! @PistolAnnies are proud of u;) #BabyAnnie.”

Read Original: Miranda Lambert to RaeLynn: ‘You Don’t Have to Finish First to Win’