"Messed up big" — The Voice fans react to Jaelen Johnston forgetting the lyrics of his song in the finale

The Voice season 27 aired Part 1 of the live finale on May 19, 2025. The segment saw the five finalists—Jadyn Cree, Renzo, Jaelen Johnston, Adam David, and Lucia Flores-Wiseman—step on the stage to perform one last time before viewers decided the winner. While each artist tried to put their best foot forward, some felt overwhelmed. Jalelen forgot the lyrics during his act and struggled to recover.

During his first performance of the night, which was an up-tempo song, Jaelen sang What Was I Thinkin' by Dierks Bentley. Despite his best efforts, Jaelen became nervous, forgetting an entire line of the song. However, he continued by mumbling through the mishap.

His mentor, coach Kelsea Ballerini, praised Jaelen for not backing down and showing courage on stage. However, fans of The Voice were not so pleased with his mistake. Netizens flooded X, criticizing Jaelen for forgetting the words at such a crucial stage in the competition. Some even said it would negatively impact his chances of winning the contest.

"Jaelen messed up big that performance. Recovered but a little too late. Hell prolly get 5th or 4th place," a fan wrote.

"Who made Jaelen sing this song? Seems really difficult," another fan commented.

"jaelyn is so baddd and HE DON’t KNOW THE WORDS HAHAAHAH," a netizen tweeted.

Many fans of The Voice were displeased with Jaelen's mistake, convinced he lost the opportunity to please the voters.

"Oh poor Jaelen. That’s not a good feeling," a user reacted.

"Oooh no Jaelen forgot the words," a person commented.

"Oops... Did Jaelen forgot the words???" another fan wrote.

"right jaelen…what were you thinking? forgot a whole line of lyrics lol," one user posted.

However, some fans of The Voice applauded him for recovering after the mistake.

"Jaelen Johnston coming in hard and fast. Oh no! He forgot the words and had to mumble for half the verse. When he got back on, he was locked in, spitting out the lyrics, on and off the mic, even managed a few smiles. Good recovery," a person reacted.

"I’m proud of Jaelen .. the way he locked back in… what a professional," another netizen commented.

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"I'm so proud of you" — The Voice coach Kelsea Ballerini praises Jaelen Johnston for continuing his act despite the mishap

In Part 1 of the live finale of The Voice, the contestants had to deliver two performances: a ballad and an up-tempo song. Since it was their last attempt to convince viewers to vote for them, every artist was determined to give their best act. However, the pressure of the event got to one finalist. Jaelen forgot the words while singing Dierks Bentley's What Was I Thinkin'.

However, the 21-year-old Derby, Kansas, resident did not stop mid-performance and completed it, impressing his coach, Kelsea. While reviewing his act, she said:

"I know you had a moment early on when you got nervous... but the way you recovered is all that matters. You really showed up, I'm so proud of you."

Later in the episode, The Voice contestant delivered a noteworthy rendition of Chris Stapleton's Cold. His ballad performance pleasantly surprised his mentor as well as her co-panelists. Kelsea revealed she was initially nervous about Jaelen singing a Chris Stapleton song, but changed her mind after hearing him sing during rehearsals.

After listening to him on stage, she said:

"I'm out of breath, I'm sweating. It's a big song to take on... I didn't know how good you were until you did that song."

The NBC show will return with the second part of the finale on May 20, 2025, in which host Carson Daly will announce the winner of season 27.

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